Getty Images For dcp via ABC/Emma McIntyre/AMA2018.jpgWhile Taylor Swift remained silent during the 2016 election, she has no such qualms about speaking her mind about politics now. In fact, in an interview with the British paper The Guardian, she expresses her dismay over President Donald Trump and declares herself to be pro-choice.
In the interview, Taylor says she’s dismayed that the current political atmosphere in the U.S. involves “gaslighting the American public into being, like, ‘If you hate the president, you hate America.’”
Speaking about Trump, she adds, “We’re a democracy – at least, we’re supposed to be – where you’re allowed to disagree, dissent, debate. I really think that he thinks this is an autocracy.”
Taylor recently explained to Vogue magazine that she stayed silent during the 2016 election because — given her negative public perception at the time — she felt she would be “a hindrance.” But she also tells The Guardian that she felt she simply couldn’t handle getting involved, because she was dealing with the emotional repercussions stemming from the reoccurence of her mother’s cancer, and her feud with Kim Kardashian.
“I was just trying to protect my mental health – not read the news very much, go cast my vote, tell people to vote. I just knew what I could handle and I knew what I couldn’t,” she explains. “I was literally about to break.”
Now, she tells The Guardian that she feels “really remorseful for not saying anything,” and promises to “do everything I can for 2020.” She also says she would have endorsed Hillary Clinton.
The Guardian notes that its interview took place as Tennessee lawmakers were voting on a near-total abortion ban — which is why Taylor stated to the publication, “Obviously, I’m pro-choice. I just can’t believe this is happening.”
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
