President Donald Trump was called out after he made a petty dig at pop star Taylor Swift during his speech for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles' visit to the White House.
In a brief speech, Trump acknowledged the Eagles' 40–22 win over the Kansas City Chiefs was “a little surprising,” a remark that appeared to reference the Chiefs' consecutive Super Bowl victories in 2023 and 2024. He then shifted focus to Swift, getting in a petty swipe drawing attention to Swift's presence at the game to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, play tight end for the losing team.
He said:
“It was an incredible game. I was there along with Taylor Swift, how did that work out? How did that one work out?”
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Before last year's Super Bowl, conservative conspiracists suggested that the NFL rigged the season for Swift to attend, allegedly orchestrated by then-President Joe Biden and the CIA to boost ratings and promote a liberal political agenda. Swift has been in a relationship with Kelce since September 2023 and is a regular presence at his games.
The conspiracies surrounding Swift gained further attention after Trump claimed he made her "so much money" by signing the Music Modernization Act in 2018, which updates copyright law "to make statutory licensing more fair for creators and more efficient for digital music providers," according to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Trump targeted Swift and speculated about her potential endorsement of Biden in the early days of the 2024 election cycle. In characteristically self-promoting fashion, Trump claimed credit for Swift's financial success, citing his involvement in passing the legislation.
Trump argued that Swift should acknowledge his contribution and labeled supporting Biden as "disloyal." He said there is "no way" Swift could endorse Biden "...and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money."
Trump also made headlines during his 2024 presidential campaign after declaring "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT" in a Truth Social post mere days after Swift endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris—a major development because Swift has used her massive profile to encourage young voters to participate in the electoral process.
Trump's pettiness was not lost on anyone.
Trump's comments came as prominent Republicans asserted that the Eagles' visit is a sign that many approve of the president's agenda despite the fact that sports teams have been invited to the White House during past administrations.
Earlier this week, Fox News host Brian Kilmeade had people raising eyebrows after he claimed Trump's presidency is a "normal" one because of the various championship-winning sports teams who have visited the White House as of late.
One day before the Eagles were scheduled to visit the White House—and shortly after Trump hosted the World Series champion Dodgers—Kilmeade argued that because the Dodgers had been welcomed there and Trump recently interacted with basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, everything was "normal," in his words.
Oddly, Kilmeade asserted that the country has returned a time "where you’re critical of policies you don’t like and supportive of the ones you do like," conveniently ignoring the Trump administration's many scandals and the outrage from constituents amid attacks on civil liberties that have alarmed many about the rise of authoritarianism in the U.S.
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