Singer and songwriter Taylor Swift and her most loyal fans are reportedly standing in solidarity with Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump. But in the midst of a highly competitive campaign cycle, what should constituents believe?
The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election campaign cycle has been in full swing for months, and though times have changed, the generally poor and divisive behavior exhibited by the nominees on both sides of the aisle, as well as those in charge of their respective campaigns and mud-slinging tactics, remain the same—for the most part.
Sadly, the usual practices include taking whatever measures–sometimes drastic–to get the word out: “Vote for me, not for them, and here’s why.”
The current United States Presidential election cycle has already seen more than its share of egregious and despicable behavior–the most notable example of which was the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life during a campaign rally in a rural part of Pennsylvania on July 13.
Credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Associated Press
Shots rang out during Mr. Trump’s speech, and the 78-year-old Republican presidential nominee ducked behind the podium to avoid being struck, but not before a bullet grazed his right ear, causing him to visibly bleed as Secret Service agents rushed the stage and shielded the former president’s body with their own.
Credit: Disney/ABC
That evening, statements were issued by numerous politicians and other prominent individuals, including former President Barack Obama, who encouraged Americans with his observation when he said:
There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy . . . we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics.
The call to “recommit ourselves” as a nation “to civility and respect in our politics” was the right call, indeed, regardless of party lines. Sadly, just days after the chaos of the assassination attempt settled down, we, as a nation, were back to politics as usual.
Politics As Usual?
Confirmation of this sad truth has made headlines this week, as the Trump campaign has reportedly resorted to using the false likeness of pop superstar Taylor Swift in an effort to bolster support for his campaign against the Democratic presidential nominee, current Vice President Kamala Harris.
Credit: Disney/Good Morning America
Donald Trump reportedly used his social media platform, Truth Social, to repost AI-generated images of Taylor Swift and her “fans,” each of which was created to give the impression that the multi-platinum singer/songwriter and her fans, so-called “Swifties,” have whole-heartedly thrown their support behind Trump in the race for the White House that will culminate on the first Tuesday of November.
Trump Reportedly Takes to Truth Social to Share the “News”
The likenesses of Swift were apparently generated by artificial intelligence and appear to depict the songstress as she attempts to encourage others to vote for Trump. The intent of the Swifties For Trump initiative appears clear: Taylor Swift’s likeness was used in an attempt to give voters the impression that the 34-year-old pop star and her followers have endorsed the Republican nominee.
Captions for some of the images suggest that the Kamala Harris campaign is “in a shambles” after learning that Swifties have thrown their support behind Mr. Trump.
Credit: Truth Social/@aka
Another Uncle Sam-esque campaign poster within Trump’s post on Truth Social reads, “Taylor Wants You to Vote For Donald Trump.”
Credit: Truth Social/@aka
Though the images are credited to users on the Truth Social platform and not to Mr. Trump, the former President reposted the images with a show of support, captioning his re-post with two simple words: “I accept!”
Swifties Take Issue With the Images
In response to the repost, one of Taylor Swift’s devoted fans responded, saying:
You’re going to get sued . . . using her likeness and saying she supports you is not parody., its slander.Can you afford that?
Another Swift supporter echoed those sentiments, posting simply, “I see a cease and desist order.”
Credit: @TaylorSwift13 on “X” / Disney
Does Taylor Swift Have a Case?
Since the post was made, legal experts have weighed in on the question about whether Swift can sue Mr. Trump for trademark infringement and false advertising, and the general consensus of counsel is that Swift absolutely has the right to bring suit against Mr. Trump and his campaign for using the images, though they aren’t nearly as certain about the outcome of such a suit.
Credit: DisneyDining
In fact, many of the legal experts who offered an opinion on the matter said that the odds are surely stacked against the “Fortnight” songstress.
“Swift could sue Trump and those who misappropriated her likeness by creating AI-generated images,” explained Neama Rahmani, the president and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers. “Privacy torts protect people from having their name, image, or likeness used without their permission. Manipulating it using AI doesn’t change things.”
Credit: Disney/Good Morning America
Harry Surden, University of Colorado at Boulder law professor gave his professional opinion as well, saying, “Swift’s best option, in my opinion, is not legal in nature but to publicly communicate that Trump’s use of her image and endorsement is false and misleading.” He continued, suggesting that Swift “could also send a public cease-and-desist letter.”
What’s the Truth About Swift’s Endorsement?
As of the time of this post, attempts to hear a response from Swift’s representatives have been futile.
Credit: DisneyDining
It’s important to note, however, that though she endorsed the Biden-Harris campaign in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, she has yet to publicly endorse a candidate during the current campaign cycle.
In a post made on X, formerly Twitter, in May 2020, Swift called out Donald Trump, accusing him of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” and calling into question his “nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence.” Swift ended her post by promising Mr. Trump that “we will vote you out in November.”
https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1266392274549776387?lang=en
It is unclear whether the singer’s sentiments about the Republican Presidential hopeful have changed since she first made the post more than four years ago.
Becky's from the Lone Star State and has been writing since she was 10 and encountered her first Disney Park when she was 11. It was love at first Main Street Electrical Parade. Joy is blank lined journals, 0.7 mm pens, and all things Walt, Woody and Buzz, PIXAR, Imagineering, Sleeping Beauty (make it blue!), Disney Parks history and EPCOT. At Disney World, you'll find her croonin' with the birdies at the Enchanted Tiki Room or hangin' with Woody and the gang at Toy Story Land. If you can dream, you really can do it!
