Former FBI Director James Comey released a five-minute video on his Substack on 17 August declaring himself a longtime “Swiftie” and calling Taylor Swift a model for resisting “bullies.” Comey, 64, said Swift’s music has been the soundtrack to his family’s life and named “All Too Well” and “Exile” as personal favourites. He recalled attending his first Swift concert 15 years ago and a second one a year later. Using Swift’s advice to treat personal energy as “expensive,” Comey argued that her outlook offers a guide to confronting what he called the “coarseness” of U.S. politics. He accused President Donald Trump of “humiliating” the country, likened the current administration to a “bad dream,” and urged viewers not to adopt the behaviour of Trump and his supporters. The video, posted amid an ongoing Secret Service review of Comey’s May Instagram photo of seashells arranged as “86 47,” drew swift criticism from conservative commentators but no immediate response from the White House. Comey did not address the investigation, saying only that he wanted to focus on “a truly inspirational public figure named Taylor Swift.”