Ben Madilynn
Taylor Swift has endorsed Kamala Harris for president of the United States. After much speculation over whether the biggest pop star on the planet would lend her massive influence in support of the vice president’s campaign, Swift, named by Forbes as the fifth-most-powerful woman in the world last year to Harris’s third, posted on social media moments after the conclusion of this Tuesday’s presidential debate that she plans to vote for Harris in November.
“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site,” read the caption, in part, on a photo (from her Time Person of the Year shoot) of her holding her cat Benjamin Button. “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth. I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.”
She went on to call Harris “a steady-handed, gifted leader” and hailed running mate Walz for “standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
“I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice,” she continued. “Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story.”
The kicker? Her sign-off: “With love and hope, Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”
It’s a statement many have waited for as tensions rise in the 2024 election, and with Swift’s silence growing all the more conspicuous as pal Brittany Mahomes comes under fire for her apparent support of former president Donald Trump.
Though Swift was tight-lipped about her political beliefs early in her career for fear of alienating potential fans, in 2018 she endorsed two Democratic nominees in midterm races in her home state of Tennessee. “I need to be on the right side of history,” she said of the decision in her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana.
After that, Swift endorsed Joe Biden in his 2020 race against Trump and spoke out against Trump on social media, accusing him of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency” and declaring, “We will vote you out in November.”
Trump, too, has pondered Swift, reportedly calling her “unusually beautiful” in an interview, though he noted that she “probably doesn’t like Trump.” He also asked, “But she is liberal, or is that just an act?” Earlier this year, polling showed that nearly 20% of Americans surveyed said that they believed Swift was part of a “covert government effort” to reelect Biden—despite there being no evidence for the claim.
Ahead of Swift’s endorsement, and even ahead of Biden’s exit from the 2024 race, Democratic strategists circulated a memo recommending that “cultural icons,” Swift included, sit down with replacement candidates to get voters excited should Biden step down.
Within a day of Harris taking center stage in the 2024 presidential election as a replacement for Biden, Swift’s fans activated. A Swifties for Kamala group rapidly coalesced, even getting support from the Harris campaign to help with its organizing initiatives.
The group, which is not officially affiliated with Swift, said that it didn’t need an official Swift endorsement of Harris to unite under her banner. “We are not waiting,” founder Emerald Medrano said. “Our movement is about the power that we have as a community and what we as Swifties wanna see in the White House—the issues we care about, what we want to see represented.”
Harris has also gotten nods from several other popular artists, with Beyoncé reportedly blessing Harris’s use of her song “Freedom” as a signature campaign track and Charli XCX declaring on X that “kamala IS brat.”
