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MAGA Senate candidate falls for fake Taylor Swift 2024 endorsement

This is far from the first controversy for Royce White – the former NBA player who is running to unseat Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota

Lilith Foster-Collins
Wednesday 10 July 2024 16:35 BST
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Related video: Royce White, MAGA Senate candidate says ‘radical feminists are getting out of control’

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

MAGA candidate Royce White fell for a fake Taylor Swift endorsement of President Joe Biden on X – in an embarrassing moment which marks the latest gaffe for the controversial senate hopeful.

The post shared on X included a doctored image of Swift alongside the Biden-Harris 2024 logo, with a quote reading: “Under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs.”

The Republican senate candidate reshared the post on Monday and added: “Are people really that gullible? Wow! The healing process of sex transitions? #Godspeed.”

But the post wasn’t real.

Swift has not endorsed Biden or anyone else this election cycle; the quote is from an interview with V Magazine in 2020 and the image was edited to feature the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign banner to suggest the pop star has endorsed him this cycle.

This is not the first time White – a former NBA player who is running to unseat Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota– has shared misleading information on X.

He previously shared a map of water fountains in Minneapolis that he falsely claimed mapped out crime in the city, branding it “out of control.”

Minnesota US Senate candidate Royce White, a Republican, appears on The David Pakman Show on 7 June for an interview
Minnesota US Senate candidate Royce White, a Republican, appears on The David Pakman Show on 7 June for an interview (The Independent)

Last week, during a rally at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, the controversial figure also promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories claiming that “Jewish elites” control the Federal Reserve.

This came after sexist comments during an interview with Steve Bannon last year.

“Women have become too mouthy. As the Black man in the room, I’ll say that,” he said, adding that women working was a scam to double tax working class Americans.

Back in 2022, White also infamously wrote “Alex Jones Was Right” and “deep state” in Sharpie on his head during a BIG3 basketball game – a reference to the far-right conspiracy theorist and Sandy Hook denier Alex Jones.

That same year, he came under fire for allegedly spending campaign cash at the Gold Rush Cabaret strip club in Miami.

Swift meanwhile has unwittingly been dragged into the 2024 election numerous times.

Last week, two Democratic party insiders proposed a “blitz primary” to replace President Joe Biden on the party’s ticket with a little help from Swift. This came after The New York Times reported in January that Biden was seeking Swift’s endorsement in the race.

Donald Trump meanwhile has also mentioned Swift on a number of occasions. Virginia Republican Representative Ben Cline told The Hill that the former president had said during a closed-door meeting with House Republicans that he was “surprised” that Swift hadn’t supported him.

The Independent has contacted White’s campaign for comment.

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