Why Trump accepted an AI-generated endorsement from Taylor Swift

The race to be president might be the world’s most prestigious popularity contest, but Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are jostling to get Taylor Swift‘s approval.

Trump is stirring up trouble with Swift’s fans after sharing artificial intelligence-generated photos that show the superstar and her fans endorsing him for president. He shared the AI-generated photos of Swift’s fans wearing “Swifties for Trump” shirts and a photo of Swift dressed as Uncle Sam with a caption that states, “Taylor Swift wants you to vote for Donald Trump,” on his Truth Social account.

“I accept,” Trump wrote.

The move was a curious one for Trump, who doesn’t fit into Swift’s target audience or seem to align with any political view she has ever shared.

It’s not clear whether Trump took the pseudo-endorsements seriously. The AI-generated pictures of girls wearing “Swifties for Trump” shirts were created as satire in response to Swift’s concert being canceled in Vienna, Austria, due to Islamic State threats.  

“Swifties have determined they want a strong leader in the White House,” the creator of the meme known on X as “amuse” wrote. “The Swifties For Trump movement is real!”

However, there was one picture of a girl wearing a “Swifties for Trump” shirt that was real.

Jenna Piwowarczyk said she created the shirt to wear at a Trump rally in Racine, Wisconsin, in June. 

“I think this movement is super awesome but also super important because it’s no secret that young female voters consider themselves Swifties,” Piwowarczyk said in a YouTube video. “And we don’t want them to have to choose between loving Taylor Swift and supporting their conservative ideologies at the ballot box in November.”

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said they are seeing more and more of Swift’s fans come out to support Trump.

“Swifties for Trump is a massive movement that grows bigger every single day,” Cheung told the Washington Examiner. “While Kamala Harris is guilty as sin for all the hurt she has caused every American.”

The “Swifties for Trump” movement might be growing — the associated X account has 3,700 followers — but it is dwarfed by “Swifties for Kamala,” which has over 60,000 followers on the platform.

Swift hasn’t weighed in on who she is voting for or whether she would offer an endorsement for either candidate. She expressed support for President Joe Biden and Harris in 2020, sharing a social media post of homemade cookies with Biden-Harris written on them. She also did an interview for V magazine explaining why she was voting for Biden in 2020. 

Biden’s team has been seeking an endorsement from the global superstar for months, a feeling that isn’t likely to have disappeared with the change to Harris.

In March, Swift weighed in on the political sidelines, posting a message telling her followers to make sure they went out to vote on Super Tuesday, though she declined to give them any instructions on whom they should support.

“Today, March 5, is the Presidential Primary in Tennessee and 16 other states and territories,” Swift wrote in an Instagram story. “I wanted to remind you guys to vote the people who most represent YOU into power. If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote today. Whether you’re in Tennessee or somewhere else in the U.S., check your polling places and times at vote.org.”

There is some buzz Swift could make an appearance in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention this week to put herself behind Harris. If she were to come to town, she would join John Legend and Joan Jett as musicians to attend. Along with rumors about Swift attending, there is high anticipation about Beyonce showing up after she gave Harris permission to use her music during rallies.