Internet jokes Swifties are behind Trump assassination try

Donald Trump survived a second assassination attempt just hours after publicly posting a message which read ‘I hate Taylor Swift‘ – prompting a social media frenzy which poked fun at the coincidental timing.

The internet was alight with suggestions that the former president fell afoul of her die-hard fans.

Ryan Wesley Routh, a Democrat donor, was arrested on Sunday accused of pointing an AK-47 at Trump as he played golf in West Palm Beach.

Trump made his anti-Swift post on X at 10.44am.

The gunman was identified by Secret Service agents – already in position at the 6th hole of the course – at 1.30pm. He fled and was arrested at 2pm.

‘Trump saying he hated Taylor was the last straw for Swifties,’ one person noted.

‘Biggest mistake anyone can ever make is p***ing off Swifties. Most ruthless group out there, Trump is gonna have to sleep with both eyes open,’ another said.

Swift is currently the biggest artist in the globe, and is known for having diehard, long term fans.

When she recently endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, her Instagram post led to more than 400,000 clicks on the government voter registration website. 

It received more than 10 million likes.

She’d faced weeks of pressure to publicly endorse a candidate, and Trump appeared outwardly confident he had her vote at one stage, when he used AI-generated photos promoting a ‘Swifties for Trump’ campaign.

Swift herself said: ‘Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.’

But the tables turned after the debate, when Swift made a three-pronged public statement in favor of Harris.

First, she let Harris walk out of the debate to her hit The Man, a song specifically about being a successful woman in a world which favors men.

Second, she made her vote known to her 283 million followers.

Finally, she allowed the Democrats to capitalise on her ‘friendship bracelet’ trend, with the Harris Walz campaign announcing immediately after her endorsement they would be selling bracelets inspired by the Swifties.

Trump initially shrugged off the blow, but on Sunday aggravated the fan base with his social media comments.

One noted the timing of the shooting, adding ‘the swifties move fast.’

‘Waiting for TSwift to tweet #karma,’ he said.

Another said: ‘I fear Trump and his cult made the grave mistake of antagonizing Swifties.’

The tables were turned earlier in the day, with Swift fans concerned that Trump’s statement could put the popstar directly in harms way.

Trump has an equally passionate fanbase, and Swifties said Trump’s post could be seen as a message directly to his followers to target Swift.

Accused shooter Routh does not have any known links to Swift or her fans.

His X feed shows a man who went from Trump voter to Trump hater in the span of eight years.

He wrote a tweet to Trump in June 2020 saying: ‘While you were my choice in 2106 [sic], I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone’.

FEC filings show him donating 19 times to everyone from Gabbard to Andrew Yang to Elizabeth Warren to Tom Steyer in the 2020 Democrat primary and he was registered as a Democrat, according to publicly available records.