Taylor Swift calls out Trump for threatening to shoot Minneapolis protesters
Protests erupted this week in response to the death of George Floyd
Taylor Swift has some words for President Donald Trump.
After Trump took to Twitter to threaten a harsh crackdown on protesters in Minneapolis, the ‘Bad Blood’ singer on Friday called out the president’s comments.
“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,” she tweeted.
Protests erupted this week in response to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. On Thursday, as some protesters in Minneapolis turned to looting, Trump threatened severe consequences if they continued.
“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen,” he wrote on Twitter. “Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
Twitter flagged the tweet shortly after as a violation of its rules “about glorifying violence.” Despite the warning label, Twitter said it kept the post “in the public’s interest” but blocked users from responding to it.
Earlier this month, Swift also commented on Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was fatally shot by in February by a white son and father in Georgia.
“I’m absolutely devastated and horrified by the senseless, cold blooded, racially motivated killing of Ahmaud Arbery,” she tweeted. “#JusticeForAhmaud.”