Taylor Swift has a "big reputation." And on Tuesday night, she lived up to her own lyrics.
The global pop star used her ever-growing influence Tuesday to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race for the U.S. presidency in a viral Instagram post, picking the vice president over former President Donald Trump. The endorsement came after a fiery debate in Philadelphia as the pair traded barbs for 90 minutes on ABC.
But on Wednesday morning, Trump told Fox News he preferred the "Fortnight" singer's friend Brittany Mahomes, the Kansas City businesswoman and wife of NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes, over Swift .
Taylor Swift, Brittany Mahomes hugged. Then the backlash. Here's what it says about us.
"I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better if you want to know the truth," telling Fox that Brittany Mahomes is "a big Trump fan." He told the network that he "was not a Taylor Swift fan. It was just a question of time. She couldn't, you couldn't, possibly endorse Biden" and added that "she's a very liberal person."
He continued, telling Fox News that Swift "seems to always endorse a Democrat" and "she'll probably pay a price for it" in the marketplace, adding that he likes Brittany Mahomes and thinks she's "great" and a "big MAGA fan." Trump told the network he thinks the Kansas City Current co-owner is "terrific, not Taylor Swift."
Swift and Trump have had their fair share of feuds during their respective decades long careers in politics and pop music. But none seem to be with bigger figures than each other.
Here's what led to Swift's endorsement of Harris — and how Brittany Mahomes entered into the conversation.
Why did Donald Trump say Brittany Mahomes is 'terrific?'
Brittany Mahomes spent the end of summer taking heat for her own potential political positions.
She sparked backlash when she seemingly liked an Instagram post by former President Donald Trump last month and allegedly unliked the post at a later date after backlash. The post for Trump's “2024 GOP Platform" called for sealing the border, keeping "men out of women's sports" and not funding schools that teach critical race theory. Brittany Mahomes later seemingly doubled down on her opinion and criticized the haters. She also liked several comments that were pro-Trump on her Instagram.
Brittany Mahomes has not publicly endorsed a candidate.
Brittany Mahomes' social media behavior caused Swift to receive backlash, too, for failing to speak out about her endorsement. Since Swift started publicly dating Travis Kelce , Patrick Mahomes' husband's close friend and teammate, last summer, the two women have become fast friends. But some on the internet took Swift's silence as a signal to the conservative right that she supported their politics and policies.
Then, Tuesday night arrived. In her endorsement, Swift addressed candidates' "stances" and suspected artificial intelligence-generated (AI) images that suggested Swift previously supported Trump's campaign.
"I'm voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos," Swift wrote in the Instagram post Tuesday.
She signed the message "With love and hope, Taylor Swift," adding "Childless Cat Lady" in a direct dig at comments made by Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance .
Despite social media speculation, Taylor Swift previously endorsed Kamala Harris
Despite rampant social media speculation about Swift's political beliefs, she previously endorsed Harris in 2020 and has called Trump a "homophobic racist" in the past.
The singer stayed mum in the 2016 matchup between Trump and Hillary Clinton. She kicked the hinges off the political closet in 2018 endorsing U.S. Senate candidate Phil Bredesen , U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper in his 2018 re-election bid to Tennessee's 5th Congressional District, and Biden in the 2020 race for president with Harris as his running mate.
"I will proudly vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election. Under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs," she told V Magazine at the time.
In 2020, the singer explained in her documentary "Miss Americana" why she stopped being afraid to voice her opinion. When warned by her publicist about Trump coming after her, Swift quipped, "I don't care. If I get bad press for saying, 'Don't put a homophobic racist in office,' then I get bad press for that."
Contributing: Anika Reed, Bryan West and Michael Collins
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris. Donald Trump says he prefers Brittany Mahomes. Why?
Local News
