President Donald Trump had a surprising reaction to the news of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement.
After the couple made the happy announcement on Tuesday, Aug. 26, reporters asked Trump for his response during a livestreamed Cabinet meeting.
"Well, I wish them a lot of luck," the president, 79, said. "I think he's a great player and a great guy, and I think she's a terrific person, so I wish them a lot of luck."
The warm response was unexpected, given that Trump has repeatedly been critical of Swift, posting all-caps rants about her on his Truth Social page, seemingly in response to the singer publicly backing Democratic candidates in the last two presidential elections.
Shortly after the pop star endorsed Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 presidential election, Trump posted, "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!" (Trump's daughter Ivanka and granddaughter Arabella went to Swift's tour the next month anyway.)
In May, he followed up on his post, saying, "Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she's no longer 'HOT?' "
Earlier this month, Trump returned to the "HOT" critique when it was revealed that Euphoria star and controversial American Eagle model Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican.
"Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the 'HOTTEST' ad out there. It's for American Eagle, and the jeans are 'flying off the shelves.' Go get 'em Sydney!" Trump wrote on Aug. 4.
After slamming ads from other companies like Bud Light and Jaguar -- which Trump described as "woke" -- the president then shifted the conversation to Swift.
"Just look at Woke singer Taylor Swift," he wrote in the post. "Ever since I alerted the world as to what she was by saying on TRUTH that I can't stand her (HATE!). She was booed out of the Super Bowl and became, NO LONGER HOT."
He continued: "The tide has seriously turned -- Being WOKE is for losers, being Republican is what you want to be. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Swift and Kelce, both 35, announced their engagement in an Instagram post on Tuesday, sharing photos from the football star's romantic proposal and the unique ring he helped design.
"Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married 🧨," Swift captioned the post.
The couple opened up about their relationship earlier this month on Kelce's New Heights podcast, with Swift sharing how Kelce's initial "wild, romantic gesture" -- trying to meet her on her Eras Tour and then telling the world about how "butt hurt" he was when it didn't happen -- ultimately won her over.
"I was like, 'If this guy's not crazy, which is a big if, but if he's not crazy, then this is basically every song I've ever written since I was a teenager come to life,'" Swift said.
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The Super Bowl champ joked that he used the Eras Tour setlist as a blueprint to win Swift’s heart: “I was sitting there at the Eras Tour listening to every single one of those songs being like, ‘I know exactly what she wants me to do’...I’m the luckiest man in the world.”
Swift agreed, noting: “It was wild, but it worked. I’m glad it worked.”