(The Hill) – Former President Donald Trump is questioning whether Taylor Swift is “legitimately liberal,” or if it’s “just an act,” wondering aloud about the “Shake it Off” superstar’s political beliefs.
“I think she’s beautiful — very beautiful!” Trump replied when asked about Swift, according to the forthcoming book, “Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass,” from Variety co-editor in chief Ramin Setoodeh.
In an excerpt released in Variety on Monday, Trump said of Swift, “I think she’s liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump.”
“But she is liberal, or is that just an act?” he asked Setoodeh.
“She’s legitimately liberal? It’s not an act? It surprises me that a country star can be successful being liberal,” Trump said, before the author noted that Swift crossed over to pop music years ago.
Despite dominating the charts — earlier this year, Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” became her 14th album to top the Billboard 200 — Trump wouldn’t exactly describe himself as a Swiftie.
“Don’t know it well,” he said of the “Eras” performer’s music.
“I hear she’s very talented,” the 45th president said of the 34-year-old songwriter, before repeating his praise for her appearance.
“I think she’s very beautiful, actually — unusually beautiful!”
A Swift representative didn’t respond to ITK’s request for comment about Trump’s remarks.
The entertainer broke a careerlong near-virtual silence about politics in 2018 to endorse two Democrats competing in a Tennessee House and Senate race. She’s been critical of Trump in the past, accusing him in 2019 of “gaslighting the American public.”
Swift endorsed Joe Biden just weeks ahead of the 2020 presidential election, saying she would “proudly vote” for the former vice president and then-Sen. Kamala Harris.
“Under their leadership,” Swift said in an interview, “I believe America has a chance to start the healing process is so desperately needs.”
Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that President Biden’s campaign was actively seeking an endorsement from Swift in the 2024 race.