Trump's AI-Generated Taylor Swift Support Has Swifties Demanding One Thing

Donald Trump seems to think he's flipped Taylor Swift from a political rival to a supporter. He posted a series of photos on his Truth Social page that make it seem like Swift and her fans are backing him in the upcoming presidential election, and he included the comment "I accept!"

The problem is that at least some of the pictures are AI-generated, plus some are specifically labeled satire. We're not entirely sure if Trump realized that or was trying to make a joke. Whatever the reason for sharing them, Swifties took notice. When it comes to this post about Swift — Trump has previously commented on Swift's looks and political leanings — a number of people thought it could and should land Trump in some legal hot water. "Using Taylor Swift['s] image for his political campaign could get him more than a cease & desist letter — it could literally bankrupt him," wrote one person.

Another said, "She should file a defamation lawsuit. This harms the reputation of Taylor Swift. She could also lose money via tickets to her concerts. I am sure she feels insulted, embarrassed and humiliated with these fake images. I know I would be." There are even those who think that Trump should expect to be soon hearing from Tree Paine, Swift's longtime publicist and fierce defender.

Some of the images that Donald Trump shared are of real Trump supporter and Taylor Swift fan Jenna Piwowarczyk, who posted on YouTube about her reasons for starting "Swifties for Trump." But those seem to be the only real pictures of the bunch.

The @amuse X account, which created pictures of young women wearing "Swifties for Trump" shirts, clarified via X that the pictures weren't real and were never presented as such: "As you might assume from my X handle, from time to time I will use satire to make a point or just to get a laugh. When I do I will mark it 'satire' in two places. I include the 'satire' tag on the graphic and in the ALT text." The post that Trump shared had those indicators.

However, the image of Swift herself mocked up on a campaign-style poster that says she wants people to vote for Trump certainly is fake, and that's the one that seems to be prompting the most calls for a lawsuit from Swift. Even if there is no legal action over the images that Trump shared, there could be consequences for what some are calling a political misstep. Scott Dworkin, co-founder of a grassroots progressive organization, wrote on X: "You'd have to be dumb as rocks to lie about Taylor Swift and think you can fool Swifties. This will turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes Trump's ever made."

Scott Dworkin wasn't alone in calling out Donald Trump's blunder. U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell from California posted on X, "Of the all-time dumbest strategies in presidential politics, f***ing with Swifties will rank at the very top. Game on, Donald. They will have a marvelous time ruining everything."

People predicted that a move like this would further incentivize Swift to come out publicly in support of Vice-President Kamala Harris with potentially big results. "That's going to mobilize 3 million young women to vote," one person wrote. Swift has not yet endorsed anyone in the presidential campaign, but given the number of negative things Swift has said about Trump, it doesn't seem likely to be him. Trump's latest move also has some thinking that Swift will make an appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, something that's been rumored, but not confirmed. The DNC runs through August 22, and Swift performs her last European show of the Eras Tour in London on August 20.

Trump has railed against AI images when it comes to Kamala Harris — Trump accused Harris of using AI to fake crowd size — so we're not sure why he'd be sharing AI images of Swift supporters on his account. Some think the answer is that Trump is flailing as Harris beating Trump in a series of recent polls.