What did Donald Trump say about Taylor Swift? The presidential hopeful called her ‘very beautiful’ while questioning whether her liberal politics are ‘an act’ in new book Apprentice in Wonderland

Jun 12 , 2024

What has presidential hopeful and convicted felon Donald Trump said about Taylor Swift? Photo: TNS/ EPA

Donald Trump has thoughts on Taylor Swift – but they’re not about her sold-out international Eras Tour or business savvy. They’re about her being very hot.

In an upcoming book by entertainment journalist and Variety editor Ramin Setoodeh, Trump opined about Swift, calling her “unusually beautiful” and questioning if her personal political views were “an act”.

Donald Trump at a rally in Sunset Park, in June. Photo: TNS

“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!”

Apprentice in Wonderland also features the former president’s unfiltered thoughts on other celebrities, ranging from Kim Kardashian to Martha Stewart. The book is scheduled to come out on June 18.

What else did Donald Trump say about Taylor Swift?

Taylor Swift performing on a stop of her The Eras Tour in 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Setoodeh’s book, Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, charts Donald’s TV star era, chronicling his long-running reality series in a mix of interviews with Donald himself, Apprentice producer Mark Burnett, Donald’s son Eric Trump, and various contestants.

According to Setoodeh, his conversation with Trump about Swift took place in November 2023, when Swift’s Eras Tour was making international stops and her budding relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was unfolding under the public eye.

Taylor Swift performs on stage in France, in June, as part of her Eras Tour. Photo: AFP

“She is liberal, or is that just an act?” he asked Setoodeh during the interview. “She’s legitimately liberal? It’s not an act? It surprises me that a country star can be successful being liberal.”

Setoodeh told the former president that Swift had been making pop music for years. “He doesn’t seem aware of this,” Setoodeh wrote.

Donald Trump loves to use “beautiful” to describe women

Donald Trump at UFC 302 in June. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

Setoodeh went on to call Trump effusive in his praise of Swift’s appearance, saying Trump used the phrase “beautiful”, several times. It’s an adjective Trump has historically used to describe women in his orbit – for better or worse. Critics have long called out Trump’s misogynistic past and how he talks about women.

As for Swift, the artist has a history for calling out sexism in the music industry and beyond. In 2017, jurors awarded her US$1 in damages – a symbolic dollar – after she sued a radio host for groping her at fan meet-and-greet. Her lawyers said the case was meant to be an “example to other women”.

Last week, Swift commented on a video posted by Lady Gaga, defending her against comments about her appearance and pregnancy rumours. “Can we all agree that it’s invasive and irresponsible to comment on a woman’s body,” Swift wrote. “Gaga doesn’t owe anyone an explanation and neither does any woman.”

Taylor Swift has previously criticised Donald Trump

For the first half of her career, Swift was quiet about her political stances, commenting that she didn’t think it was appropriate for a singer to weigh in. That changed in 2018, when she publicly endorsed two Tennessee Democratic candidates for House of Representatives seats.

Swift discussed this change of heart more in her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana. “Back in the [2016] presidential election, I was in such a horrendous place that I wasn’t going to pop my head out,” she said in the film. “These aren’t your dad’s celebrities and these aren’t your dad’s Republicans. I need to be on the right side of history.”

Swift then endorsed now-President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ 2020 run for the White House, and criticised Trump’s term. “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,” she wrote to Trump on X (formerly Twitter).

Swift has not made a public endorsement for the upcoming 2024 election. A New York Times report said Biden aides see Swift as a key endorsement in his re-election bid.

Trump has spoken about Swift before, too

Taylor Swift at a Kansas City Chiefs game in 2023. Photo: Getty Images

It’s not the first time Trump has mentioned Swift either. When the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl last season, it fanned the flames for a slew of conspiracy theories pertaining to Swift and her Pfizer ad spokesperson boyfriend Kelce’s involvement in the upcoming election.

In February, Trump said it would be “disloyal” for Swift to endorse Biden, citing his signing of legislation that made it easier for artists to collect song streaming royalties.

Donald Trump

In Ramin Setoodeh’s book, the former president calls Swift ‘beautiful, very beautiful, unusually beautiful’; in the past, Swift has accused him of ‘racism’ and ‘white supremacy’
Setoodeh says his conversation with Trump about Swift took place in November 2023, in the midst of the pop star’s Eras Tour and her budding relationship with Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce