Weirdly, she says, she encountered Mr. Trump when they were young. Mr. Mapplethorpe took her to a dinner, when they were together and she was still working at Scribner’s, where a young Mr. Trump pitched Trump Tower.

“I didn’t know who this guy was, he was with his wife, Ivana, except he was the most obnoxious person I have ever experienced in my life,” she says. “All he talked about was how it was going to be the greatest thing ever in New York City and anyone who bought into this was going to be part of the most important thing. Me and Robert left and I thought, ‘I wouldn’t live in his tower for free.’ I can’t believe that fate would let that guy. …” She shudders.

I tell her what Mr. Iovine said about his disillusionment with young musicians for not being more political. Indeed, the night before, at the Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift, whose critics have dinged her for staying mostly mum in this era of political outrage, offered some mild, oblique criticism of the president.

“She’s a pop star who’s under tremendous scrutiny all the time, and one can’t imagine what that’s like,” Ms. Smith says sympathetically. “It’s unbelievable to not be able to go anywhere, do anything, have messy hair. And I’m sure that she’s trying to do something good. She’s not trying to do something bad. And if it influences some of her avid fans to open up their thoughts, what does it matter? Are we going to start measuring who’s more authentic than who?

“I don’t agree that artists and musicians have more responsibility to speak out than anyone else. I think everybody has to be more active. Art is inspiring and art can really bring people together. A song can rally people, but it’s not going to make change.”

She says she got punished for speaking out against the Iraq invasion: “All of a sudden, no radio play, couldn’t get into festivals. People, even cool people — I’m sorry to say that, but some people that I really loved and respected and still love and respect — they were so frightened by this infusion of patriotism that they weren’t able to see the whole picture. To me, patriotism is just a few steps away from nationalism if you’re not careful.”