Donald Trump Claims He Helped Taylor Swift Make Money, Urges Singer Not To Be 'Disloyal'
Donald Trump believes that should Taylor Swift endorse a presidential candidate, it should be him.
The former U.S. president took to social media Sunday to seemingly call out the pop icon. In his post, the ex-POTUS claimed that he contributed to Swift's wealth by signing the Music Modernization Act (MMA).
"I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists. Joe Biden didn't do anything for Taylor, and never will," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"There's no way she could endorse Crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt President in the History of our Country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money. Besides that, I like her boyfriend, Travis, even though he may be a Liberal, and probably can't stand me!"
However, Dina LaPolt, a key attorney behind the MMA, disputed Trump's claims. LaPolt released a statement to Variety Sunday, saying she found Trump's words "funny" as he allegedly had nothing to do with it.
"This [claim] is funny to me," she wrote. "Trump did nothing on our legislation except sign it and doesn't even know what the Music Modernization Act does. Someone should ask him what the bill actually accomplished."
MMA was created to update the rights of songwriters and creators in the digital era. A summary is available in a 2020 post on the Library of Congress website.
"Basically, the MMA changes the way songwriters and music publishers are paid statutory mechanical royalties [permission to reproduce and distribute recordings] when their work is streamed on interactive streaming services like Apple Music or Spotify, or sold on downloading services like Amazon Music," the summary reads.
"Beginning in 2021, a nonprofit entity designated by the Copyright Office, called the Mechanical Licensing Collective, or MLC, will collect and distribute these royalty payments to copyright owners of musical works matched to sound recordings in its database. And down the line, but no earlier than 2023, any unclaimed royalties can start being paid to copyright owners and songwriters of matched works according to each work's market share. But to get paid, you will need to register your songs with the MLC."
Swift's rep did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment. The "Anti-Hero" singer is already back in the United States after wrapping up her "The Eras Tour" concert in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday.
She was reportedly not allowed to see her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, during her arrival due to an alleged NFL ruling preventing the athletes from seeing their wives or girlfriends before the big game.
However, the Grammy winner was spotted at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday with her mom, Andrea Swift, Blake Lively, Ice Spice and Ashley Avignone, to cheer on the Kansas City Chiefs.
