President Trump: Taylor Swift ‘Doesn’t Know Anything About’ Marsha Blackburn

President Donald Trump supported Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn Monday after pop superstar Taylor Swift “smeared” her, and he criticized the singer, Breitbart News said.

“She’s a tremendous woman,” Trump said about Blackburn. “I’m sure Taylor Swift has nothing or doesn’t know anything about her.”

Swift endorsed Blackburn’s opponent, Democratic former Governor Phil Bredesen, as well as U.S. Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN-05). She also took a swipe at U.S. Representative Blackburn (R-TN-0-7).

“As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me.” (emphasis added)

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I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

However, Blackburn is “leading substantially” in the polls, the president said.

A CBS News poll shows her leading Bredesen by 50 percent to 42 percent.

The president added that he liked Swift’s music less, Breitbart reported.

“Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25 percent less now,” he said.

The president defeated Hillary Clinton in Tennessee by 26 points in 2016.

The National Republican Senate Committee said in a statement, “If you haven’t heard, multimillionaire pop star Taylor Swift came down from her ivory tower to tell hardworking Tennesseans to vote for Phil Bredesen.”

Swift, 28, had previously stayed neutral, frustrating many liberals, The Guardian said. She said that as a young woman whose expertise is in music, she did not feel right influencing her fans’ politics.

“I don’t talk about politics because it might influence other people,” she told Time magazine six years ago. “And I don’t think that I know enough yet in life to be telling people who to vote for.”

On the day of the 2016 election, she urged fans to vote but did not reveal how she would cast her own ballot. “Who is Taylor Swift voting for?” was a top search on Google.

She inched closer to revealing a liberal orientation when she tweeted support for last year’s Women’s March, saying: “So much love, pride, and respect for those who marched. I’m proud to be a woman today, and every day.”

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Jason M. Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist at outlets of all sizes.