Bette Midler has not taken kindly to former President Donald Trump’s expression of hatred toward Taylor Swift, and rightfully so. The EGOT-nominated singer, actress, comedian, and author was swift in her condemnation of Trump and his inability to engage with the democratic process in a meaningful, or apparently safe, way.
Trump took to his failing social media platform, Truth Social, to let the world know, via the petulant power of all-caps crying, that he hates Taylor Swift. The move comes after Taylor very publicly endorsed Kamala Harris after the Vice President pummeled him in a recent debate. Harris’ performance was lauded as she gave Trump enough rope to hang himself with ridiculous outbursts about people eating cats, and the endorsement from Swift, one of the most popular entertainers in the world, must have felt like salt in the wound afterward.
Always one to hold a grudge, the 45th President of the United States took to the same social media platform the stable genius and his best people are swiftly running into the ground to embarrass himself by once again failing to understand how democracy works.
Trump, it seems, has yet to figure out that even a flawed two-party system means there is always the option to vote for the other person, and expressing hatred for anyone who doesn’t want to vote for you or your policies is, perhaps, not the best way to go about securing future votes or implying solid leadership in the second term he longs for so much.
Midler called out Trump for his dangerous message, especially in a political climate where potentially violent incidents appear to be becoming more commonplace. According to Midler, the former President is clearly looking for other people to do his dirty work for him so that he can deny any involvement or knowledge should any harm come to someone he very clearly has issues with. This is straight from the playbook that Trump has been accused of using during the Jan. 6 riots.
Someone in his own camp obviously agreed with Midler, and Trump has since removed the message, although it’s a bit late now, and the embarrassing outburst has already been widely reported.
Trump also has much bigger things to worry about, as a second potential attempt on the Presidential candidate’s life has been reported. That is twice in three months that someone has apparently tried to take the life of the former President, and all signs point to this being an unprecedented time in American politics.
The most recent attempt at Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach, Florida, led to the arrest of suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old from Hawaii. The suspect claims to have voted for Trump in 2016 but has grown disillusioned with him and has had numerous run-ins with law enforcement.
It should be noted that all Swift had to do to invoke the very public ire of a very powerful person was speak well about a political rival of his. It is entirely possible that Trump’s style of political theater has attracted a range of people who might not be the most stable and reasonable, which could easily lead to threats toward Swift, if not worse.
We can hope that recent events will encourage everyone to stow the pointless rhetoric and do their best to control their emotional outbursts as America moves toward voting day in November.