Taylor Swift performs onstage during her The Eras Tour at Veltins Arena on July 17, 2024, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Photo / Getty Images
Taylor Swift has publicly endorsed US Vice-President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris for President in the upcoming election.
Shortly after the first presidential debate between Harris and Donald Trump concluded, Swift shared an Instagram post telling fans that she would be voting for Harris and Tim Walz after watching the two candidates live and comparing “their proposed policies and plans for this country”.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift wrote on Instagram.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.
“I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Swift explained she had seen fake AI images circulating of her “falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run”, which Trump had reposted on Truth Social.
“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,” she said.
“The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”
Swift urged voters to do their “research on the issues at hand” and the “stances these candidates take” on topics important to them, saying she tries her best to do so herself.
“I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.”
Swift’s post endorsing Harris received over a million likes in 13 minutes, reported Popbase.
She signed off the message with her name followed by “Childless Cat Lady”, making light of comments made by Trump’s running mate JD Vance that earned their campaign considerable backlash.
Shortly after Vance was picked as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, footage from 2021 resurfaced showing Vance criticising Harris and other Democratic politicians as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives”.
Rachel Maddow broke the news live to Tim Walz of the Taylor Swift endorsement. pic.twitter.com/rXP7VPLnd2
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) September 11, 2024
“This was the endorsement the Harris campaign was hoping for more than anything else,” said a CNN commentator after the debate.
Fans have been wondering whether Swift would endorse a candidate in this year’s race, given the singer announced she would “proudly vote” for Joe Biden a month before the presidential election in 2020.
Refraining from speaking on the upcoming election until now, the popstar was recently photographed hugging a prominent Trump supporter, leading some to question whether she had backtracked on her support for the Democratic Party.
if you’re one of the most influential people in the world then it’s very much a big deal who and what you embrace and normalise. you can’t be on the “right side of history” by playing nice, especially not with ideologies you claim to oppose; actions speak louder than words,… https://t.co/l87591VA7x
— music struggles & wins (@musicstruggles1) September 8, 2024
Her Miss Americana documentary from 2020 included a scene showing the singer crying because she regretted not speaking out against Trump in the 2016 election.
“5 years ago taylor was crying in a documentary [because she] wanted to actively go against trump which she did and branded herself as miss americana. now she’s cuddling with trumpies,” one X user wrote on September 9. Their post gained nearly 64,000 likes.
“I don’t expect a billionaire to lead the revolution or anything I’m just confused as to why one would make a movie about standing up for what’s right at any cost only to literally never stand for anything again,” another said.