IIt was the hug that generated a thousand tweets: On Sunday, Taylor Swift embraced Brittany Mahomes — the wife of NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes — at the US Open. A photo of the embrace immediately set tongues wagging.

Unless you’re Extremely Online, the only thing you’ll notice about the innocent-looking smooch photo is that Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce (also pictured), has terrible taste in hats. The larger context, though, is Mahomes’ connection to Donald Trump. Last week, the former president thanked Mahomes for “fiercely defending me” after she liked one of his Instagram posts in August. That post, titled “The 2024 GOP Platform,” outlined what a second Trump term would entail — things like “the largest deportation operation in American history.” Mahomes didn’t appreciate people criticizing her for liking the post (which she apparently later un-liked), calling them “haters” with “deep-seated issues…from my childhood.”

This drama is important because Swift is one of the most influential people on the planet. There has been much speculation as to whether the pop star will endorse a presidential candidate this election cycle. In the absence of such an endorsement, people have been examining her actions for clues about her political leanings. Hugging Mahomes after her Trump controversy? Well, that’s been taken by some as a sign that Taylor is Team Trump.

The Mahomes hug isn’t the only evidence people have been citing to suggest that Swift, who supported Democratic candidates in 2018 and Joe Biden in 2020, is now leaning right. There’s also the fact that she remained tight-lipped when Trump recently shared a series of AI-generated images on his Truth Social platform, implying that Swift and her fans were supporting him. “The Swifties for Trump movement is real!” read the post, which was originally created by a shadowy right-wing nonprofit. “I accept!” Trump wrote above the fake images.

A presidential candidate using your likeness without your permission to claim that you support his racist and regressive views is a big deal. If you think his views are abhorrent, wouldn’t you want to publicly distance yourself from him? There are dozens of famous musicians, from Céline Dion to Beyoncé, who have been very vocal about not wanting Trump to use their music at rallies. “Don’t even think about using my music, you fascists,” Jack White said last month after a Trump aide used a White Stripes song in an online video. White added that he would sue the Trump campaign. If you’re angry that a man like Trump would associate himself with you, then that is how you act. Meanwhile, multiple media outlets reported that Swift’s “spokesperson did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment” after Trump posted the fake endorsement photos.

To be clear, I don’t think Swift is a secret Trump supporter. After all, she’s been critical of him in the past. But it can’t be stressed enough that Swift isn’t a billionaire because she sings catchy songs. She’s a billionaire because she’s a brilliant businesswoman who meticulously controls her personal brand. Everything she does is intentional, done with the knowledge that her fan base will scrutinize and attempt to decipher even the most banal action as if it were the Rosetta Stone. As you can imagine, the reason her spokesperson didn’t comment on the fake Trump photos wasn’t because they were too busy, it was because they decided silence was the smartest option.

Swift may have backed Biden-Harris in 2020, but those were very different times. In the wake of the George Floyd protests, “brands that have often been silent on social justice issues began to speak out,” according to a 2021 AdAge article. They did it because they knew it was good for their business to stay in tune with the zeitgeist. Now, companies are being targeted by the right, with boycotts and intimidation for aligning themselves with progressive causes. The harassment has worked: Industry experts have warned of a troubling trend of brands taking significant steps back from diversity and sustainability initiatives. Swift is one of the biggest brands around; it makes sense that it would steer clear of politics.

That said, I hope Swift proves me wrong and speaks out during this election cycle. We live in a world where everything is political. Swift doesn’t avoid politics by staying silent; her silence speaks louder than words.