In a surprising turn of events, former President Donald J. Trump took to social media to share misleading posts suggesting that pop music megastar Taylor Swift had endorsed him for the upcoming November election. The move set the internet ablaze and sparked swift backlash from Democrats.

Mr. Trump shared a series of images on his social media platform, Truth Social, which were created using artificial intelligence. One image depicted Ms. Swift dressed up as Uncle Sam with the headline, "Taylor Wants You to Vote for Donald Trump." Other images showed a crowd of young women wearing "Swifties for Trump" T-shirts.

Despite the fact that at least one of the images was labeled as "satire," Mr. Trump wrote in a post, "I accept," seemingly implying that he had received Ms. Swift's endorsement. However, it is important to note that Ms. Swift has not made any endorsements during this election cycle, after publicly backing Joseph R. Biden Jr. in the 2020 election.

The response from Democrats was immediate and scathing. Representative Eric Swalwell of California appeared on CNN, declaring that this tactic would backfire on Mr. Trump. He stated, "This genius, over the weekend, decided to poke the eyes of Swifties and suggest that Taylor Swift is endorsing him... They are going to have a marvelous time ruining everything for Donald Trump over the next 78 days."

A.J. Delgado, a former campaign communications adviser for Mr. Trump in 2016 who later sued him for wrongful termination, called for a publicist for Ms. Swift to address the misinformation. She emphatically questioned, "You're going to let this go uncorrected?"

This incident marks another chapter in Mr. Trump's long-standing preoccupation with Taylor Swift. Earlier this year, there was a right-wing meltdown over Ms. Swift's political preferences, with conspiracy theories circulating that she was a secret agent of the Pentagon and was preparing to endorse President Biden for re-election. Mr. Trump reportedly expressed disappointment that she did not endorse him in 2020, citing his support for legislation benefiting artists' royalty collection.

While Ms. Swift's representative has not yet responded to the latest claims made by Mr. Trump, it is evident that his tactics have only served to further fuel the fire against him. As the election draws nearer, it remains to be seen how these misguided efforts will impact the political landscape and the perception of both Mr. Trump and Ms. Swift.