Taylor Swift political comments resurface out of context

"Taylor Swift on Donald Trump. Is she right?" says a September 25, 2023 post by far-right blogger Ian Miles Cheong, on X -- formerly Twitter -- sharing a clip of the singer, which garnered thousands of likes.

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A screenshot of an X post taken on September 28, 2023

Others shared the video to portray the music star as courageous, including political commentator Bryan Tyler Cohen in a Facebook post titled: "Taylor Swift SLAMS Trump in resurfaced video."

One X user wrote on September 24 that Swift "DEFIANTLY tells her team that she's speaking out against Donald Trump no matter the consequences."

The posts circulated shortly after the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization "Vote.org," reported a surge in new voter registrations following a message by the 12-time Grammy winner on her Instagram stories encouraging people to get ready for the elections and linking to the website.

But the scene in the clip discusses the 2018 election for US Senate and was not filmed in the context of the 2023 political environment.

Through a reverse image search, AFP found the clip originated from the 2020 Netflix documentary called "Miss Americana" (archived here).

The pop star -- who continues to grab attention with her record-breaking "Eras Tour," a concert film set to hit theaters worldwide and recent rumors of a relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce -- was not speaking about the former president specifically. Her remarks focused on Blackburn, the Republican candidate for US Senate in the Tennessee, who was backed by Trump in 2018.

Around an hour into the film -- which showcases onstage and backstage moments of the artist's life over several years -- she is heard discussing with her staff and parents about taking her first public political stance by backing Democratic candidate Phil Bredesen, ahead of the 2018 Senate race in her home state.

While Trump is briefly mentioned at the start of the clip shared on social media, he is not the focus of her remarks.

It begins: "And another thing, just from a security standpoint, 'Taylor Swift comes out against Donald Trump.'"

But the singer cuts off the speaker saying: "I don't care if they write that. I am sad that I didn't two years ago, but I can't change that. I am saying right now that this is something that I know is right."

She then goes on to discuss Blackburn's policies on women and LGBTQ rights saying: "I can't see another commercial and see her disguising these policies behind the words, 'Tennessee Christian values.' Those aren't Tennessee Christian values. I live in Tennessee, I am Christian, that's not what we stand for." Swift specifically references the Republican candidate's partial opposition (archived here) to the reauthorization of the "Violence Against Women Act."

Swift eventually did post on her Instagram page, on October 7, 2018, supporting Bredesen and speaking out against Blackburn.

In a different scene of the documentary, Swift is again heard saying: "I don't care" in response to concerns that then-president Trump could "come after" her, following her post.

Trump did react to Swift's foray into politics, telling reporters at the White House that he was "sure Taylor Swift doesn't know anything" about Blackburn.

"Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25 percent less now, okay?" he added.

Blackburn defeated Bredesen and has been in office since 2019.

Looking to 2024's presidential race, Trump has been holding overwhelming leads over all of his rivals, while facing multiple criminal indictments, including one on his involvement in efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

AFP also fact-checked an altered image of Swift, here.