There are many things in this world that I find funny. From hilarious memes on the internet to watching “try not to laugh” videos, I am always turning to comedy as a way to bring me joy. What I don’t find funny, though, is people making jokes about the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Sept. 15 — specifically, when it comes to the Taylor Swift of it all.
In case you missed it, on Sept. 15, there was an apparent assassination attempt on the former president at his Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Multiple news outlets have since reported that Trump is safe and unharmed and the suspect has been taken into custody. This is the second apparent assassination attempt on Trump this year, with the first incident taking place at a Pennsylvania rally in July.
So, how does Taylor Swift come into play in all this? The golf course incident took place 12 hours after Trump expressed his hate for Swift on Truth Social and five days after she publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for president following the presidential debate on Sept. 10. Trump’s statement about the singer immediately caught the attention of Swifties and made a lot of them upset, so after news of the apparent assassination attempt broke, some people took to social media to jokingly suggest that Swifties — or, at least, some kind of Swift-related karma — had something to do with the incident.
Notice how Trump got shot at 6 hours later.. swifties dont play pic.twitter.com/ggFuvEjeRo
— moose 🐦🔥 (@usermooseontwt) September 15, 2024
Donald Trump tweets i Hate Taylor Swift and then later today there were gunshots heard near him. I didn’t know Swifties gets active like that pic.twitter.com/MC289LUITQ
— YorYor (@YoriTadashi) September 15, 2024
Trump said “i hate Taylor swift” and the swifties said fuck around and find out. pic.twitter.com/2ucZFzQFyk
— Aalyah ❤️🔥 (@lowkeylyah) September 15, 2024
These posts seem to have been created by Swifties and non-Swifties alike who are looking to make a quick joke based on relevance in pop culture. On both sides, the jokes can be seen as a way to bring a little levity to the situation, but making illegitimate claims about Swifties being involved in the shooting — regardless of them being obviously untrue and unserious — is downright wrong and heinous. As a Swiftie, I refuse to stand for them.
Not only is spreading false information becoming more common by the day, but it’s also presenting Swift and her fandom in a horrible light. The Swiftie fandom already gets enough heat from the public due to claims of intense parasocial relationships with Swift, and this recent incident is only adding more fuel to the fire. It’s encouraging violence at a time when the country is dealing with horrific instances of gun violence on a daily basis. It’s also encouraging the act of spreading hate at a time when people should be sticking together and hearing each other’s voices. Overall, it’s damaging the fandom as a whole and it’s going to cause way more harm than good.
Throughout Swift’s career, she has always preached acceptance and kindness. Despite Trump publicly sharing his hate for her, she wouldn’t want her fans to stoop way below the level of what he said and make jokes about a possible assassination. I believe that everyone is free to speak their minds and practice freedom of speech, but joking about someone potentially getting killed isn’t the way to go. As a fan of Swift’s, I know this is something that Swift herself wouldn’t stand for or encourage her fans to do — and I think the people making these jokes know better, too.