Editor, Times-Union:
Taylor Swift, pop star and beloved icon to millions of fans of all ages, is hated (maybe even feared) and being “canceled” by MAGA Republicans because she successfully encouraged thousands of fans to register to vote. (Her ability to continually pack arenas with adoring fans all over the world — hundreds of times larger than Donald Trump’s crowds ever were or ever will be — probably does not help her popularity with the MAGA minions either.)
Donald Trump is beginning to be canceled by the rest of the country — including some of his minions — because he: told over 33,000 proven lies while in office; was found guilty of sexual assault of one woman (but accused by dozens of others); was found guilty of multiple business frauds — past and present — (including fake Trump University as well as Trump Foundation); was impeached twice; was indicted four times on 91 federal and state charges; failed to pay contractors and attorneys who worked for him; made fun of a handicapped reporter; referred to fallen soldiers as “suckers and losers”; continues to verbally incite violence against Latinos, Jews, attorneys and judges he doesn’t like, as well as the current DOJ; grifted and still grifts off hard-working people by begging for money and hawking his “super hero” trading cards and even pieces of his clothing in order to pay his mounting legal fees (which he does not always pay anyway) - even though he claims to be “very rich”; enticed and incited a mob of armed, hateful, revenge-seeking thugs (including Proud Boys and Oath Keepers) to the Capitol and then sat back and watched while police were beaten and people died; conspired to put fake electors in place to stop the electoral count of a vote he lost; stole, hid, lied about, and refused to return top secret classified U.S. documents to which he had no right; praises, sucks up to, and aspires to emulate fascist dictators around the world; made the deadly pandemic and vaccine political and bungled the desperately needed response which led to the deaths of over 1,000,000 people; pardoned several convicted criminals — many his cronies— on his way out of office; continues to brainwash his followers by using divisive, untrue words over and over and over; is running for president as a true dictator this time; has unleashed hate, division, and fear in our country and given his encouragement and his blessing to both.
See the difference? But, yeah, let’s hate Taylor.
Jeanne Schutz
Winona Lake, via email