Not only is former FBI Director James B. Comey a big fan of Taylor Swift, but he says the pop phenom known for her autobiographical songs has the right idea when it comes to the Trump administration.
Mr. Comey posted a video Sunday praising Ms. Swift as a “truly inspirational public figure,” saying her music has helped him and his family navigate hard times. He held her up as a model for how Americans should conduct themselves during the “bad dream” of the Trump presidency.
“I know all her music and I listen to it on my headphones when I cut the grass,” Mr. Comey said in the Substack post.
The 64-year-old attorney may not be typical of the Swift fandom’s demographic, but he insisted that “Taylor Swift and I go way back.” He has attended two of her concerts and participates in a “family Swiftie group chat,” he said.
What does Mr. Comey’s Taylor Swift fandom have to do with President Trump? In the video, he said that “I struggle with how to stand up to bullies without letting their meanness infect me and change me,” but that she has shown him how to deal with the “jerks” and “stunning coarseness and ugliness in the Republican Party.”
“Of course, we need to stand up to jerks and defend what matters, but I think we have to try to do that without becoming like them, which is what makes me think about Taylor Swift,” he said. “She’s made clear that she sees Donald Trump for what he is. Last year, she urged Americans not to make the serious mistake of electing him.”
Mr. Comey quoted lyrics from her 2010 song “Mean,” saying he heard her perform it 14 years ago at a concert in Hartford, Connecticut.
“She sang a song about this topic, asking: ’Why you gotta be so mean?’ And she spoke directly to the nasty people: ’I bet you got pushed around. Somebody made you cold. But the cycle ends right now, because you can’t lead me down that road,’” Mr. Comey said.
He concluded: “That’s right, because down that road of unhappiness, nobody should have that power over us. Thank you, Taylor Swift. Keep the faith.”
Mr. Comey may have been trying to appear more relatable as he comes under federal investigation for potentially making false statements to Congress, but conservative commentators pilloried the post, calling it “weird,” “painful to watch” and “may be the creepiest video in the history of social media.”
“It’s so bizarre and cringeworthy, you might mistake it for AI-generated. Unfortunately, it isn’t,” said the conservative blog Legal Insurrection. “The video is so outrageous that one viewer wondered if Comey is laying the groundwork for an ’insanity’ defense in the event he is indicted for his role in weaponizing the FBI against President Donald Trump.”
Others described the video as another example of his lack of social-media acumen, comparing the video to his infamous seashell photo.
In May, Mr. Comey posted a picture on Instagram of shells on the beach spelling out the numbers “8647.” He deleted the post, saying he didn’t know that “86” meant “get rid of” or “kill,” but he nonetheless came under investigation by the Secret Service.
A new James Comey hostage video just dropped.
This time he calls himself a “Swiftie” and says Taylor Swift helps him cope with Donald Trump.
You really can’t make this up.
pic.twitter.com/4113j1Fe2n
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 17, 2025
The ex-FBI director’s decision to point to Ms. Swift as a model of civility and wisdom raised another question: Has he ever paid attention to the lyrics of her “revenge songs?”
The world’s biggest pop star isn’t exactly a forgive-and-forget kind of gal. She’s known for dressing down her perceived enemies in songs such as “Picture to Burn,” “Better than Revenge,” and “Dear John,” and stereotyping those she disagrees with, as in her pro-LBGTQ song, “You Need to Calm Down.”
“Those who have wronged her await a fate even worse than death by garbage fire: public humiliation and musical defamation,” said Harvard Crimson columnist Connor Dowd in a 2019 article. “Her list of victims includes ex-boyfriends, the girlfriends of her love interests, and even one notable rapper.”
