'Spineless' Travis Kelce Faces Swiftie Backlash for Saying It’s an ‘Honor’ That Donald Trump Will Be at the Super Bowl
Swifties are turning against Travis Kelce ahead of the Super Bowl. Here's what he said to anger Taylor Swift's fans.
Celebrity
Swifties have generally praised Travis Kelce since he began dating Taylor Swift. He began to face backlash from them just ahead of the Super Bowl.
by Emma McKee
Published on February 7, 2025
Travis Kelce has long basked in Swiftie praise, but he’s now facing backlash following comments he made about the Super Bowl. Donald Trump plans to attend the game, which Kelce described as “pretty cool.” Given the fact that Trump explicitly said he hates Taylor Swift, her fans are not happy with the football player’s response.
As Trump plans to attend Super Bowl LIX, many players on the Chiefs and the Eagles have been asked for their opinions. Kelce said he views it as an honor to have a sitting president in attendance.
Travis Kelce | Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images
“That’s awesome. It’s a great honor,” he told reporters, per USA Today. “I think, you know, no matter who the president is, I know I’m excited because it’s the biggest game of my life, you know, and having the president there, you know, it’s the best country in the world. So, that’d be pretty cool.”
In 2024, Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president, prompting an angry reaction from Trump. He said he’d never been a fan of the singer (despite previously posting “I accept!” to AI-generated images that suggested she and her fans supported him). He took it further in a post on Truth Social, in which he wrote, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
Because of this, Kelce’s apparent excitement at Trump’s attendance has not gone over well with Swift’s fans.
“He literally talked s*** about his girlfriend and he’s honored?????” one person wrote in a response on X (formerly Twitter).
“Weird to say this about a man who openly bullied your girlfriend,” wrote another.
Some fans defended him, calling the response diplomatic. Others responded by saying he shouldn’t have been polite about a person who disrespected his girlfriend.
“Why am I seeing swifties trying to downplay Travis Kelce glazing Trump?” one fan wrote. “President or not the dude said he hates your girlfriend and you’re saying it’s an honor for him to be in attendance? Spineless behavior, PR training or not.”
Others pointed to the response of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. When asked about Trump’s presence at the game, he bluntly said, “He’s welcome to do whatever he wants.”
“Now THIS is how you correctly answer this question,” a fan wrote. “Travis ‘it’s a great honor’ Kelce should take notes.”
Amid the backlash from fans, a source said they didn’t need to be angry on Swift’s behalf. She is reportedly not upset with Kelce’s response.
“Taylor is not angry at Travis for what he said,” a source told DailyMail.com. “Although Travis’s quote was taken as he supports Trump, this is not what Travis said at all.”
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift | Patrick Smith/Getty Images
They added that Kelce said he would be happy to have any president in attendance, not Trump specifically.
“He never actually even said the word Trump,” they continued. “Travis was speaking on behalf of his entire team and all of his fans when he said it is an honor to have the President of the United States at the game and he would have said the same thing regardless of who the president was.”
Swift, who plans to attend the game, is still excited to cheer on her boyfriend.
“So no, there is no fight, no argument, and no blowout over this,” they said. “Taylor is just so proud of Travis and cannot wait to be there to support him. Cheering him on has become so exciting for her. Taylor is Travis’s biggest cheerleader.”