After the presidential debate on Sept. 10, Taylor Swift took to Instagram to share an important message with her followers. She posted a picture with one of her cats followed by a lengthy caption announcing her endorsement of Democrats Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
In her statement, Swift mentioned that AI-generated images of her endorsing Donald Trump were posted on his website. Because of this and her fear of spreading misinformation, she said it was important for her “to be very transparent” about her upcoming vote.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift wrote. “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.”
She applauded Harris’s pick of Walz as a running mate, and brought up his support of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.
Swift then encouraged her listeners to do their own research about the candidates.
“Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make,” Swift said. She ended the statement with reminders on registering to vote before signing her endorsement with, “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.” The ending was a reference to a comment that Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D Vance made earlier.
Swift’s endorsement with a custom URL for people to register to vote had more than 337,000 visits within the first 24 hours. The link explains how to register and teaches individuals about the election process and what their voting rights are.
The Harris-Walz campaign was quick to capitalize on Swift’s endorsement. On their site, they are selling Harris-Walz friendship bracelets and the first words in the description are “Are you ready for it?” The singer’s Era’s Tour has become notorious for fans trading friendship bracelets with each other.
Donald Trump’s response came in social media posts and an interview, where he said he prefers Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, over Swift. Trump also said that Swift “seems to always endorse a Democrat and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”
Then on his website, he released his own “Trump Era” shirts in the style of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour apparel. He also posted on his Truth Social account: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
In response, the Harris-Walz campaign sent out a press release that referenced several of Swift’s songs in the context of Trump’s week after the debate. They included how he brought 9/11 conspiracist Laura Loomer to a memorial ceremony, and said, “Call It What You Want, but It’s Nothing New for the Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”
