5/30/20
During a week in which President Trump’s war with Twitter was at the center of the national conversation, it might actually be a Tweet by a pop star that changes the outcome of the 2020 presidential campaign. On Friday morning, Taylor Swift, one of the world’s biggest musical superstars, shared a 38-word Tweet admonishing President Trump for his provocative comments about the riots in Minneapolis. In doing so, she put the President on notice...
Taylor Swift ✔
@taylorswift13
After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire
presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before
threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting
starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump
1.94M 10:33 AM - May 29, 2020
Swift’s social media post comes in response to the President’s Thursday Tweet addressing the ongoing riots in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers. Trump’s comment that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts” was a call back to racially charged words used by Miami Police Chief Walter Headley in 1967, and echoed the commonly used phrase by presidential candidate George Wallace during the highly volatile 1968 presidential campaign. But it might be what her followers do in November that will make the biggest difference. Her decision could have enormous political consequences. Swift has 86.2 million followers on Twitter, and a fan-base of “Swifties” that has a reputation for rallying behind the singer-songwriter and her calls to action. Already her Friday morning post is her most liked Tweet ever, and has been retweeted over 390,000 times by Saturday morning. Polls suggest President Trump is already struggling with winning over white women voters, a key part of the coalition that elected him in 2016. Her decision could have enormous political consequences. Polls suggest President Trump is already struggling with winning over white women voters, a key part of the coalition that elected him in 2016.
