There once was a time when Taylor Swift was famously silent on political issues. That time is no more. “Racial injustice has been ingrained deeply into local and state governments, and changes MUST be made there,” Taylor, 30, tweeted on June 9. With this tweet, Taylor added her voice to those celebs calling for systemic change following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and more Black Americans by the hands of the police. “In order for policies to change, we need to elect people who will fight against police brutality and racism of any kind. #BlackLivesMatter.”
Taylor also linked to an article written by Barack Obama’s, “How to Make this Moment the Turning Point For Real Change,” before sharing a link to Vote.org with all her followers. “We need to fight for mail-in voting for the 2020 election,” tweeted Taylor. “No one should have to choose between their health and having their voice heard.”
Racial injustice has been ingrained deeply into local and state governments, and changes MUST be made there. In order for policies to change, we need to elect people who will fight against police brutality and racism of any kind. #BlackLivesMatter
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 9, 2020
We need to fight for mail-in voting for the 2020 election. No one should have to choose between their health and having their voice heard. https://t.co/4ImsKW1fQN
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 9, 2020
With the COVID-19 outbreak, there have been calls to conduct the upcoming presidential election by mail. President Donald Trump has opposed mail-in voting, calling it “substantially fraudulent” that will lead to a “rigged election.” These concerns are unfounded, as CBS News reports that the conservative Heritage Foundation’s database reports that only 1,285 cases of voter fraud (with 1,100 resulting in criminal convictions) took place over the past two decades.
On top of that, a Gallup poll showing 64% of Americans supporting vote-by-mail, per CBS News (the support runs down party lines, with 83% of Democrats supporting it, compared to 40% of Republicans.) Taylor is clearly for mail-in voting. Twitter even had to “fact-check” Trump’s tweet on fraud (“Mail boxes will be robbed, ballots will be forged & even illegally printed out & fraudulently signed,” he wildly claimed.)
This is not the first time in recent weeks that Taylor has spoken her mind about the current political climate – or clashed with Trump. After Trump threatened to send in the National Guard to combat protesters in Minneapolis (“Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts”), Taylor blasted the president for using such rhetoric. “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November.”