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| Taylor Swift |
Does Donald Trump really think Taylor Swift is going to pay a price for her endorsement of Kamala Harris for president?
Dream on, Donald.
There’s no way mega-star Swift is going to suffer the same fate as the Dixie Chicks. That group faced a boycott in country music land in 2003, after lead singer Natalie Maines criticized George W. Bush for his invasion of Iraq.
Though she was right, the Dixie Chicks paid a big price.
As one of the top bands on the country & western circuit, the Dixie Chicks were devastated when country stations across the land denied them airplay.
They dropped “Dixie” from the band’s name in 2020.
Swift has no such limitations. Her fans span all musical genres and walks of life.
A 2023 Morning Consult poll found that more than half of US adults (53 percent) are Swift fans.
Though Swifties skew female (52 percent), 48 percent of them are men. About three-quarters are White, 13 percent are Black and nine percent are Asian.
More than half (55 percent) of Swift fans live in suburbs, which will be a key battleground in the November election. The split between urban and rural fans is 26 percent and 21 percent.
Though most Swift fans identify as Democrats (55 percent), the remainder are equally split between Republicans and independents.
Trump, who now says he really was never a fan of Swift—though he had accepted her phony AI endorsement—has jumped on the Brittany Mahomes bandwagon. She’s the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Since they hang out together at Chiefs games, the former president apparently thinks that Taylor and Brittany are two peas in the same PR pod.
He also prefers Mahomes because she’s a big MAGA fan. “I like her much better than Taylor Swift,” Trump said on Fox & Friends on September 11.
Trump’s brain must have become really fried during his debate with Kamala Harris.
Out of the blue and off the wall….Who is advising Melania Trump? What PR ace thought it was a good idea for the former First Lady Melania Trump to emerge from the shadows on Sept. 10 to spread a conspiracy theory about the assassination attempt on her hubby.
“The attempt to end my husband’s life was a horrible, distressing experience,” said Melania in a creepy 34-second video. “Now the silence around it feels heavy. I can’t help but wonder, why didn’t law enforcement officials arrest the shooter before the speech. There is definitely more to this story, and we need to uncover the truth.”
Melania spoke nearly two months after the shooting in Butler, PA, and on the same day that hubby was set to debate Kamala Harris. Talk about hogging a guy’s spotlight.
The video ended with an image of the book “Melania,” a 256-page memoir set for release during the second week of October.
The book is pitched as a “powerful and inspiring story of a woman who has defined personal excellence, overcome adversity and carved her own path.” Give us a break.
The video has a link to buy Melania’s vanity project. You can cough up $250 for a “collector’s edition,” $75 for a signed copy and $40 for an off-the-shelf copy.
Melania obviously has learned from the master. She is a shameless and first-class grifter.
During Trump’s administration, Melania came up with the BeBest anti-bullying campaign. The best she can now do is to exit the national stage.
Not so fast, Lachlan. Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch told the Goldman Sachs media conference on Sept. 10 that he is ready to hit the acquisition trial.
It’s his bid to emerge from the long shadow of his 93-year-old father, Rupert. He also wants some breathing room from his bickering brother and sisters.
Lachlan really needs to buckle down and clear up Fox’s complicated ownership structure before looking for deals.
Activist shareholder Starboard Value plans to introduce a resolution at Fox’s annual meeting to break up the dual-class ownership structure of the media company.
That structure gives the Murdoch family 41 percent control of Fox. The company says it has "thrived under the current structure and guidance of the Board and senior leadership despite major changes in consumer behavior amidst the digital revolution of the last decade.”
Jeffrey Smith, Starboard’s managing member, is circulating a letter to shareholders, charging that a legal battle for control of the Murdoch Family Trust clouds the further direction of Fox.
The squabble pits conservatives Rupert and Lachlan on one side and liberal James, Elizabeth and Prudence on the other.
The New York Times haS reported that Rupe is concerned about the lack of family consensus. He wants to consolidate power in the hands of Lachlan.
The differing worldviews of the Murdoch children “could be paralyzing to the strategic direction of the company, more importantly, we are not are why their perspectives should carry greater weight than the view of other shareholders,” wrote Smith.
Before launching an acquisition blitz, Lachlan needs to get Fox’s house in order. While dad is still around, Lachlan should make peace with Elizabeth, Prudence and James.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt needs a pair of glasses... Messaging about need to restore foreign aid stars on Broadway... Trump resists temptation of comparing himself to Jesus Christ at White House Faith Office lunch.
Bored with being just the president of the US, Trump expands role to Emperor of the Americas... Funded by the One Big Beautiful Bonkers Bill, ICE will become the largest paramilitary in the US. Will it become the Emperor's militia?
WPP pushes panic button after it names new CEO right after cutting profit, revenue guidance. Is the ship sinking?... PR play of the week goes to Benjamin Netanyahu for nominating Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for doing Israel's bidding....WK Kellogg is the latest US corporate icon to be gobbled up by a foreign company. Will Tony the Tiger be recast at Antonio the Tiger?....When will somebody in Trump's Cabinet do the right thing and resign?
Hill & Knowlton wraps up a glorious 43-year run of representing some of the world's most infamous characters as it closes the books on its FARA representation... Americans want no more military adventures in the Middle East, unless the US is directly threatened... There may soon be opportunities in North Korea for adventurous PR firms. 
Look for a bruising election fight between embattled New York mayor Eric Adams and Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, who is exactly what his party needs to regain its mojo... Donald Trump’s brain is more obliterated than the Iranian nuclear site in Fordo that was struck by a series of big, beautiful, bunker-buster bombs... Speaker Mike Johnson becomes Trump's lapdog more and more each day.
