“Taking a petty dig at a young woman for having an opinion?” — Internet critiques Donald Trump for selling knock-off ‘Eras Tour’ campaign T-shirts

Former President Donald Trump released a knockoff Taylor Swift Eras Tour T-shirt, sparking swift reactions. On Thursday, September 12, 2024, the Republican nominee's official campaign account on X shared a post advertising the new merch with a post that read:

"Calling all Swifties for Trump."

It also featured a photograph of the T-shirt's design along with a link to purchase the "Trump Era White T-shirt." The design of the tee closely resembles that of Swift's Eras Tour.

As the news spread, fans were quick to express their disappointment, with one calling the move a "petty dig" on the former POTUS's part.

A comment reacting to the news (image via X/@ratedpaulie)

Swifties hoped that the Delicate hitmaker would sue the Republican nominee's campaign for spreading misinformation using Taylor's likeness. This included the knock-off T-shirt and using an AI-generated image (in August 2024) to claim she endorsed the former president.

"she better sue him as quickly as her team did those fan etsy shops," one fan wrote.

"if there is EVER a time for her to be suing somebody it is now," cara added.

"she should sue him not only for using ai of her to spread misinformation but also for taking her design/brand (idk I'm not a lawyer but she should sue him anyways)," another remarked.

Others slammed the Republican nominee, calling him a "narcissist" and a "third grader."

"It takes a certain level of dumb narcissism to knock off the merch of someone who just formally announced she was against you," a user commented.

"he’s that obsessed with her," @whoslizzyanyway stated.

"this is the man some people want to rule a country… literally a third grader," another wrote.

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Trump's knock-off t-shirts come just days after Taylor Swift endorsed his rival, Kamala Harris

The Taylor Swift-inspired knockoff merchandise came just days after the singer endorsed Trump's opponent, Kamala Harris. On September 10, following the presidential debate, Swift took to Instagram to announce her support for Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz.

Additionally, Swift pointed out that a fake AI-generated image of her endorsing the Republican nominee circulating online forced her to speak out about her actual political stance. She explained that she would be voting for Harris because she (Harris) supported the right.

Taylor Swift added that she felt "heartened and impressed" at the VP's choice of running mate. The singer also praised Walz for supporting "LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman's right to her own body for decades."

The Look What You Made Me Do singer signed off her post with the phrase, "childless cat lady." It referenced Trump's running mate, JD Vance's mocking remark made against Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a 2021 interview with Fox News.

In response, Donald Trump commented during an interview with Fox News on September 11:

"It was just a question of time... But she’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace."

Taylor Swift has not publicly reacted to the development.