Former President Donald Trump questioned whether Taylor Swift was "legitimately liberal" or putting on an "act."
Trump discussed Swift's previous foray into politics and the cultural war during an interview with Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh for his upcoming book, Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass.
The interview was conducted in November 2023 in preparation for Setoodeh's book and was released through Variety on Monday.
“I think she’s beautiful — very beautiful! I find her very beautiful. I think she’s liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump. I hear she’s very talented,” Trump said. “I think she’s very beautiful, actually — unusually beautiful!”
“She is liberal, or is that just an act?” Trump asked Setoodeh. “She’s legitimately liberal? It’s not an act? It surprises me that a country star can be successful being liberal.” Donald Trump Calls Taylor Swift ‘Unusually Beautiful’ but ‘Liberal’ in New ‘Apprentice’ Book (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/7g0UzWM2t8
— Variety (@Variety) June 10, 2024
Setoodeh noted Swift, who began her career as a country artist, had not released an album in that genre since 2012's Red.
"Garth Brooks is liberal. Explain that!" Trump responded in reference to the fellow country artist. "How does it happen?"
In February, Trump suggested he made an impression on Swift by signing the Music Modernization Act in 2018 which sought to close loopholes with digital royalty laws for those in the music industry.
"I signed the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists," Trump wrote to Truth Social at the time. "Joe Biden didn't do anything for Taylor and never will."
Trump added there was "no way" Swift could endorse President Biden over him this November before commenting on Swift's current boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.
"Besides that, I like her boyfriend Travis, even though he may be a liberal, and probably can't stand me!" Trump wrote.
In an infamous image shared to her social media accounts in October 2020, the pop star notably endorsed the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket. Swift also discussed her endorsement with V Magazine at the time.
“I spoke to V Magazine about why I’ll be voting for Joe Biden for president,” Swift wrote in her 2020 post on X, then-Twitter. “So apt that it’s come out on the night of the VP debate.”
“Gonna be watching and supporting Kamala Harris by yelling at the tv a lot. And I also have custom cookies,” she added.
The picture accompanying her post featured the pop star holding a plate of cookies designed after the 2020 Biden-Harris logo used throughout their campaign.
Swift has not publicly thrown support behind Biden thus far this election cycle.
