The Taylor Swift Way to Defuse a Troll

It was highly anticipated and tautly executed: “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.” She signed off with a dig at Donald Trump’s running mate, J. D. Vance: “With love and hope, Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”

Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris on Tuesday night was not a surprise; the pop star has for years backed Democratic candidates and used social media to encourage her followers to vote. Also perhaps unsurprising was that Elon Musk, supporter and platformer of Trump, took to X shortly after Swift’s announcement to post a juvenile response. “Fine Taylor … you win,” he wrote. “I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”The statement could be parsed in multiple ways. Musk, a known fertility obsessive, might have been joking about gifting Swift a child (perhaps by lending her one of his own 12?). Or he might have been implying a more sexualized threat: I will make you pregnant. Either way, it was a bid to assert dominance over a woman whom it’s not hard to believe that Musk might see as encroaching on his turf—a billionaire in her own right, entering the political sphere, rallying an enormous (and devoted) fan base against his preferred candidate. Musk’s move was also a familiar one: the kind of sexist attack long used by men trying to put women in their place.The reaction was immediate. Men and women, Swifties and casual observers alike, called for vengeance. And it all might have been heartening if not for one style of response—which, instead of highlighting Swift’s power, invoked that of her famous boyfriend, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. “I’m not into violence per se, but Travis should get complete and total immunity for beating the shit out of Elon,” one post read. The actor Billy Baldwin wrote: “Elon … You should apologize cuz… Travis gonna knock you into next week.”