Pop star Taylor Swift's song, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived," saw a dramatic boost in popularity on the day that President Donald Trump was inaugurated.
Swift has publicly criticized Trump in the past, particularly during the onetime real estate mogul's first term in office. After much speculation, singer-songwriter Swift endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in September.
Less than a week after Swift's endorsement was made public, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to share the all-caps message: "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!"
When Trump was officially sworn into office on Monday, January 20, Swift's song, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived," surged in popularity on Spotify, where it earned 635,873 streams—its best day in nearly five months. The figure represents a 129.30 percent increase in plays on the very day that Trump became president.
"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" by Taylor Swift SURGED 129.30% on Spotify following Donald Trump's inauguration yesterday.
—The song earned 635,873 streams, its best day in nearly five months. pic.twitter.com/lioPsPjpDb
The stats were shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Swift fan account @SpotifySwiftie. As of press time, the post has garnered more than 700,000 views.
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Trump and Swift via email for comment.
Whether or not the timing of the song's surge in popularity was coincidental, it was never believed to be about Trump. Fans and media publications alike have long speculated that The 1975 singer Matty Healy, with whom Swift was briefly romantically linked in early 2023, was the subject of the song, which is featured on the 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department.
In April 2024, Healy was asked what he thought about the "Taylor diss track," to which he responded: "My diss track? Oh, I haven't really listened to that much of it, but I'm sure it's good."
The song was also among a number of Swift's works—including the track "I Hate It Here"—that saw increased listenership following Trump's victory over Harris in November.
The person who runs the @SpotifySwiftie X account told Newsweek via email at the time: "I've been collecting Taylor's Spotify data for a few years now, using Spotify's stream counts, so I'm able to map out trends in her music over time.
"I'm always amazed to see how people use her music in response to what's happening in the world, and with the election, you can very clearly see how Swifties were feeling through the songs that they listened to. As always, Taylor's music is the soundtrack to our lives, no matter what we're going through."
'The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived'—Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Was any of it true?
Gazing at me starry-eyed
In your Jehovah's Witness suit
Who the f*** was that guy?
You tried to buy some pills
From a friend of friends of mine
They just ghosted you
Now you know what it feels like
[Chorus]
And I don't even want you back, I just want to know
If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal
And I don't miss what we had, but could someone give
A message to the smallest man who ever lived?
[Verse 2]
You hung me on your wall
Stabbed me with your push pins
In public, showed me off
Then sank in stoned oblivion
'Cause once your queen had come
You'd treat her likе an also-ran
You didn't measure up
In any measurе of a man
[Chorus]
And I don't even want you back, I just want to know
If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal
And I don't miss what we had, but could someone give
A message to the smallest man who ever lived?
[Bridge]
Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead?
Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?
Were you writin' a book? Were you a sleeper cell spy?
In 50 years, will all this be declassified?
And you'll confess why you did it and I'll say, "Good riddance"
'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden
I would've died for your sins, instead, I just died inside
And you deserve prison, but you won't get time
You'll slide into inboxes and slip through the bars
You crashed my party and your rental car
You said normal girls were boring
But you were gone by the morning
You kicked out the stage lights, but you're still performing
[Outro]
And in plain sight you hid
But you are what you did
And I'll forget you, but I'll never forgive
The smallest man who ever lived
English (US) ·