On Feb. 4, 2024, X (formerly Twitter) user @DonaldTNews posted, "BREAKING: Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus say they will leave the United States if Donald Trump becomes President in 2024. What's your reaction?"
This rumor was false. There was no "breaking" news about this subject. The posts resembled engagement bait — an attempt to bring in responses, shares and likes, based on something true or false about a relatable or hot-button subject. For example, the post from February received 55,000 replies, 7,100 reposts and 64,000 likes. The April repost racked up 18,000 replies, 2,500 reposts and 19,000 likes.
Had celebrities with the status of Grammy Award-winning recording artists like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus truly said something like this, stories about it would have been published across many reputable websites hosting entertainment and political news.
USA Today previously reported on this claim in February 2024. The article said that although Swift and Cyrus had expressed public support for Democrats in the past, the rumor about either of them saying they would leave the country if Trump won in 2024 was false. The article also noted Cyrus truly did say before the 2016 election she would leave the U.S. if Trump won. Cyrus told NME in 2017 her choice to say she'd leave the country was "ignorant" and "dumb."
For further reading, Snopes previously reported about a separate rumor saying Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, would be leaving the U.S. if Trump wins in 2024. We also published similar rumors about Oscar-winning actors Jane Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg and Tom Hanks.
Sources
Ginsberg, Gab. "'PARTY IN THE USA': Miley Cyrus Had the Best Reaction to Joe Biden Defeating Donald Trump." Billboard, 7 Nov. 2020, https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/miley-cyrus-reacts-joe-biden-election-win-president-9480093/.
Henderson, Cydney. "'The Change We Need': Taylor Swift Endorses Joe Biden, Kamala Harris with Some Custom Cookies." USA TODAY, 7 Oct. 2020, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/10/07/taylor-swift-endorses-joe-biden-kamala-harris-november-election/5916744002/.
Ibrahim, Nur. "Did Jane Fonda Say She Would Move to Canada If Trump Wins 2024 Election?" Snopes, 2 Jan. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/jane-fonda-trump-election-canada/.
Izzo, Jack. "Did Tom Hanks Say He Would Leave US If Trump Wins 2024 Election?" Snopes, 27 Dec. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/tom-hanks-leaving-usa-trump/.
---. "Did Whoopi Goldberg Say She's Ready to Leave the US If Trump Is Reelected?" Snopes, 2 Nov. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/whoopi-goldberg-leaving-trump/.
---. "Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Said They'll Leave US If Trump Wins 2024 Election?" Snopes, 13 Feb. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/swift-kelce-leaving-trump-wins/.
"Miley Cyrus." Grammy Awards, https://www.grammy.com/artists/miley-cyrus/18384.
Settles, Gabrielle. "False Claim Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus Vowed to Leave US If Trump Wins in 2024 | Fact Check." USA Today, 29 Feb. 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2024/02/29/trump-win-taylor-swift-miley-cyrus-didnt-vow-to-leave-us/72794080007/.
Stubbs, Dan. "Miley Cyrus on Her New Country Album, Dolly Parton and 'Wrecking Ball's Legacy." NME, 29 Sept. 2017, https://www.nme.com/features/miley-cyrus-younger-now-interview-2145135.
"Taylor Swift." Grammy Awards, https://www.grammy.com/artists/taylor-swift/15450.
