Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president after debate ends
Sep 10, 2024, 8:24 PM | Updated: 8:56 pm
Taylor Swift enters Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, before the start of an NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 31, 2023. (File photo: Ed Zurga, AP)
(File photo: Ed Zurga, AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly聽聽on Tuesday night.
鈥淚 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,鈥� Swift wrote in聽, which included a link to a voter registration website.
Swift has a dedicated following among young women, a key demographic in the November election, and her latest tour has generated聽聽in ticket sales. In a half hour, the post received more than 2.3 million likes.
She included a picture of herself holding her cat Benjamin Button, and she signed the message 鈥淐hildless Cat Lady.鈥� The remark is a reference to three-year-old聽, Donald Trump’s running mate, about women without children not having an equal stake in the country’s future.
Swift wrote that her endorsement was partially prompted by聽聽suggesting that she had endorsed him. One showed Swift dressed as Uncle Sam, and the text said 鈥淭aylor wants YOU to VOTE for DONALD TRUMP.鈥�
Trump’s posts 鈥渂rought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter,鈥� Swift wrote. She added that “I鈥檝e done my research, and I鈥檝e made my choice.”
The Trump campaign dismissed Swift’s endorsement.
鈥淭his is further evidence that the Democrat Party has unfortunately become a party of the wealthy elites,鈥� said spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.
鈥淭here鈥檚 many Swifties for Trump out there in America,鈥� she said, herself included.
Swift’s endorsement was not exactly a surprise. In 2020, she聽, and she cheered for Harris in her debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence. She also was openly critical of Trump, saying he had stoked 鈥渢he fires of white supremacy and racism.鈥�
Swift is a popular figure nationwide, but especially among Democrats. An October 2023 Fox News poll found that 55% of voters overall, including 68% of Democrats, said they had a favorable view of Swift. Republicans were divided, with 43% having a favorable opinion and 45% an unfavorable one.
AP VoteCast suggests that a partisan divide on Swift was apparent as early as 2018. That鈥檚 the year Swift made her first political endorsement, supporting Tennessee Democrat Phil Bredesen for Senate over Republican Marsha Blackburn.
VoteCast found that among Tennessee voters that year, 55% of Democrats and just 19% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Swift. Blackburn won by a comfortable margin in the deep red state.
