Called it. When Taylor Swift broke with her standard silence yesterday and publicly endorsed Tennessee’s Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen and Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper, we knew Fox & Friends would have something to say about it. This morning, they didn’t let us down.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was a guest on the program to talk about Swift’s remarks. He took a number of shots at the pop star, even going so far as to suggest she couldn’t have possibly written the statement herself. “It’s rather evident and clear that — I don’t want to accuse her of this, but I don’t think she was the only one that wrote that post on Instagram,” he said, while accusing her of just that. “She probably got some very bad information.”
Kirk also said, “Maybe [Swift] should actually learn about [GOP Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn’s] record in congress,” which is something Swift clearly did. She called out Blackburn’s history of voting against protections for women and LGBTQ citizens, values Swift herself stands against. But apparently Kirk thinks those aspects of Blackburn’s beliefs aren’t really important.
Instead, Kirk said Swift should’ve looked at Bredesen’s record while serving as Tennessee Governor — specifically, he mentioned the “huge allegations of covering up sexual misconduct in his administration.” That’s a reference to instances where investigators apparently shredded notes concerning allegations against top administration officials back in 2005. Bredesen claims that shredding was to protect the victims, however, and punishments were still handed down in a number of incidents.
Perhaps most ironically, Bredesen’s support of Brett Kavanaugh was brought up. The strange implication there is that someone who supported Kavanaugh’s nomination shouldn’t be appealing to a “liberal Hollywood shill” like Swift, which of course calls into question the entirety of the Republican party.
After feebly attacking Swift’s political stance, Kirk went after her pop star status. “So look Taylor Swift, I love your music. Personally, Kanye West, I’m a bigger fan of him. I wish you would’ve not done this. Stay away from politics.” Somehow his support of West surprises no one.
Watch the groan-worthy clip below.