In this day and age, when politics and pop culture often overlap, former President Donald Trump has taken it all to a new level by sharing AI-generated images that portray pop sensation Taylor Swift, as well as her fanbase, the “Swifties,” as huger supporters of his political campaign.
Those posts, which Trump shared on his Truth Social platform, went viral instantly, sparking debate and, among other things, raising questions around the ethics of AI in political messaging and what the images might mean in a 2024 presidential race.
The AI-generated images depict Taylor Swift in various scenarios that hint at her support going Trump’s way.
Another eye-popping image shows Swift dressed as Uncle Sam, pointing at the viewer with the caption “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”
In another, a crowd of AI-generated fans glow as they beam while wearing T-shirts reading “Swifties for Trump.” The headline above it is marked “satire” and hollers the words, “Swifties turning to Trump after ISIS foiled Taylor Swift Concert.”
Which he then capped off with a very big “I accept!”
This is made more powerful since Swift, being an influential and controversial figure in politics, as these posts are.
Swift has also come out openly with her support for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election that really saw a massive voter turn-up from the youths.
A simple Instagram post where Swift urged her 283 million followers to register to vote generated more than 35,000 online sign-ups within hours, according to Vote.org.
She has that special ability to mobilize her fans, most of whom are in the Gen Z and millennial demographics, and comes out as a powerful role model in modern politics.
Even if Taylor Swift enjoys heavy political influence, she has not supported any candidate for the coming presidential election in 2024.
With Taylor Swift keeping silent, it leaves her fans and political analysts alike in a place of curiousness about where her support might land nearing the election.
This makes Trump’s posts all the more provocative, insinuating a shift in Swift’s political allegiances that is entirely without confirmation from the star herself.
Interestingly, though most of the images shared by Trump were obviously AI-generated, one was of an actual Trump supporter. There was 19-year-old Jenna Piwowarczyk — a self-proclaimed “Swift Supremacist” and Trump supporter — who showed up in a “Swifties for Trump” emblazoned tee in June at a Trump rally in Racine, Wisconsin.
The viral photo of Piwowarczyk that Trump reposted went viral on social media platforms, including X.
PIwowarczyk also verified to The Independent that the photo is not a fake and described how they met while she was wearing the T-shirt that has now gone viral. Trump, as according to Piwowarczyk, was even quoted as saying “She is great.”
Reactions to Trump’s posts have been mixed.
His decision to post these AI-generated images comes at a time the Democratic National Convention (DNC) is ready to kick off and forecasters suggest it will put a heavier focus on Vice President Kamala Harris.
Well, now there are rumors that both Taylor Swift and Beyoncé will perform at the DNC, which is going to get both fanbases even more galvanized and the political story under more control.
Trump, it was reported, responded with a different AI-created image of Harris addressing a crowd under the Soviet Union banner, complete with the hammer and sickle—an image that really seemed designed to inflame the fears of socialism.
