President Trump is none too pleased to hear that Taylor Swift has gone public to promote the election of a pair of Democrats running for office in her home state of Tennessee.
Trump received word of Swift’s endorsement of candidates Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper just before he departed from reporters near the White House’s South Lawn early Monday evening, October 8. After fielding inquiries into special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russian collusion case and Saudi Arabia’s suspected role in the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the president was filled in and asked what he thinks about Swift’s decision to buck Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn in favor of Bredesen. As an NBC News recording of his reaction shows, the question drew a snicker and an assumption that the prolific singer-songwriter likely doesn’t know politics like she knows music.
“Marsha Blackburn is doing a very good job in Tennessee. She’s leading now, which she should. She’s a tremendous woman. I’m sure Taylor Swift knows nothing or doesn’t know anything about her,” Trump told reporters. He then took a moment to reassess his opinion of Swift’s catalog, adding, “Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now, OK?”
If President Trump’s take is of any indication, one would imagine that Swift’s sales may actually begin to dip as much as his affinity for her has. After all, the commander-in-chief continues to enjoy the security of a rock solid base of loyalists who would follow his lead — in spite of the polls reflecting that his overall popularity remains low. And since sharing Swift’s plans to vote blue in the upcoming midterms, reports by such outlets as the New York Daily News indicate that a #BoycottTaylorSwift media campaign has already begun to take shape.
However, an article published by W Magazine on Monday cites the latest iTunes charts numbers as having Swift’s Reputation album up as many as 25 spots since Saturday. Prior to Swift calling Rep. Blackburn out on Instagram for what she deems a “terrifying” record on LGBTQ and women’s issues, Reputation was stuck at No. 32 in the U.S. Albums chart rankings. The November 2017 release is now creeping back towards the top in time for its one-year anniversary, with its highest position being No. 7 before it slipped back a bit to finish the day in the No. 19 spot.
How Swift’s projects perform over the next several days ought to be very telling in regard to the ability of artists with a pop/country following to openly veer from the conservative politics that dominate the genre.
