Look What She Made Him Do

The post was sandwiched between a screed about capital-gains taxes and a video clip from a Donald Trump rally. Four words, all-caps: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

Haters gonna hate (hate, hate, hate, hate), Taylor Swift has observed, and the claim has been validated, now, by an expert. On Sunday morning, Trump made his current feelings about Swift known on Truth Social—an extremely belated reaction, it would seem, to the pop star’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, issued last Tuesday evening. While “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” was not a proportional response, it was a revealing one—because Trump’s anger did not come out of nowhere. It came, instead, from the same place so many of his declarations of hatred do: indignation.

And so, as his fellow Americans were going about their Sundays, he took his revenge. He hates Taylor Swift now, the former president would like you to know. He hates her in all caps. He hates her with an exclamation point.

Swift’s endorsement of Harris might have been unexpected, but it was not, strictly, a surprise. She has made no secret of her political leanings; she has, in fact, starred in a documentary whose entire premise was her unwillingness to keep her political leanings to herself. In the past, Swift has made her feelings known through direct endorsements—the Tennessee congressional candidates Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper in 2018, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020—and through blunt commentary. Trump “thinks this is an autocracy,” she said in 2019. Trump spent his presidency “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism,” she said in 2020. She has criticized his attempts to “subvert and destroy our right to vote and vote safely.” In August 2020, Swift said that Trump had “chosen to blatantly cheat and put millions of Americans’ lives at risk in an effort to hold on to power.”

With these, and with her newly announced support for Harris, the artist who sings in poetry made a point of using prose—strident, clear, unable to be misinterpreted. Whether her comments will sway voters is unknown. But Trump loves adulation, and he likely wanted Swift’s endorsement—badly enough to claim her support even when she hadn’t given it: In August, Trump shared a collection of images that included a picture of Swift dressed as Uncle Sam. “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump,” the caption read.

“I accept!” Trump “replied” while sharing the collage.

This was fakery, all the way down—and in her Harris endorsement, Swift referred to the incident, writing that it “conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.” The images were of a piece with other moments that seemed to suggest Trump’s belief that Swift could be charmed into supporting him. In a book published in June, Trump went on the record praising Swift’s appearance: “I think she’s beautiful—very beautiful! I find her very beautiful.” For a moment, he conceded the reality: “I think she’s liberal,” he told the book’s author. “She probably doesn’t like Trump.” But then: “I hear she’s very talented. I think she’s very beautiful, actually—unusually beautiful!”

The flattery came after Trump declared, in February, that “I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists. Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will.” He added: “There’s no way she could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money.”

[Read: The Taylor Swift way to defuse a troll]

Beauty and riches: These are the currencies Trump understands. And loyalty leads to, in his world, remuneration. Swift may have spent years making her feelings known—but feelings, Trump knows, can change. He seemed to believe that he actually could win her endorsement, despite her years’ worth of protestations. He seemed to believe that she owed him her support. After all: He had made her money. He had called her beautiful. What else is there? He had initiated the transaction, and he expected to be repaid.

When Swift refused, the former president responded like a jilted boyfriend: broken heart, wounded pride. Look what you made me do. “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” may read primarily as pitiable—a 78-year-old man treating the internet as his personal burn book. But the post also marks a real change. When Swift announced, in 2018, that she would be supporting Bredesen, the Democrat in Tennessee’s senatorial election, Trump was able to laugh about it: “I like Taylor’s music about 25 percent less now, OK?” he said. The old laughter has now curdled into something more personal and petulant—and potentially dangerous. Haters will hate, yes. The question is: To what end?