On September 10th, just after the 2024 Presidential Debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, American singer Taylor Swift made a post on Instagram that shook the American political world.
Swift, for the first time in this election year, announced which candidate she plans to vote for. She endorsed Kamala Harris, penning a lengthy paragraph about her support, accompanied by a photo of the singer and her pet cat, jabbing at Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, who claimed the country was being overrun by ‘Childless Cat Ladies.’
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” announced Swift to her 284 million followers. “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because the fights for 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.”
Immediately the post garnered attention, gathering over a million likes in mere minutes. A global celebrity like Swift’s impact on this election cannot be understated. Her large fanbase that continuously sells out stadiums across the country was called to action, with Vote.gov receiving 400,000 website viewers just within the 24 hours the post was made.
This endorsement was perhaps the most riveted possibility between the two candidates. Both parties knew that whoever Swift supported would automatically receive support from a lot of her super fans in the country, and waited in anticipation for her announcement.
In fact, just a day after the post, the Harris-Walz campaign website began to sell friendship bracelets, which are commonly worn and exchanged between fans at the artist’s concerts.
This is also a breath of relief to the Vice President’s campaign, as AI-generated photos of Swift supporting Trump for the election were circulating on the former president’s social media platform, Truth Social.
However, Swift debunked these photos as fake and expressed her discomfort with them. This hurt the Trump-Vance campaign, as Trump reposted the pictures. This makes him seem disingenuous and untruthful and puts Harris in a more favorable light.
Not only does Swift’s endorsement for Harris and Walz send a bunch of voters their way, but it also has the ability to inspire other celebrities to announce their intentions for the election.
Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac band member and singer, made an Instagram post shortly after Swift’s announcement.
“As my friend Taylor Swift so eloquently stated, now is the time to research and choose the candidate who speaks to your beliefs,” wrote the rock icon. While she didn’t explicitly state who she intended to vote for, Nicks did sign off on the post as a “Childless Dog Lady,” alluding to her support for Harris and Walz.
This is a dream come true for the Harris and Walz campaign, as Swift pulls in mainly younger and new voters, while Nicks pulls in the older voters. Combined, their endorsements reach across multiple generations.
Gabriella Comer, former Editor in Chief of the Viper Times and new Gen-Z voter, acknowledges the effect Swift’s endorsement would’ve had on her. “Personally it didn’t change my vote for the 2024 election, as my mind was already solidly made up. But I definitely think that her endorsement would’ve had an influence on me if it was the other way around,” explains Comer. “Like I was already going to vote for Kamala, so her endorsement doesn’t really do much to sway my vote, but if it was reversed and she had decided to endorse Trump, I definitely would’ve questioned who I was voting for.”
Arial Bolich, also a new Gen-Z voter, shared her perspective:
“Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris and Tim Walz was something many fans were expecting and hoping for,” analyzes Bolich. “Taylor’s influence on elections and major things regarding politics is incredible and it has shown many times before. By simply posting a story she was able to get hundreds of thousands of young adults to register to vote. This post was incredibly impactful, by sharing her views it’s very influential and informative.”
Swift’s post can also leave a lasting impact on the new voters within her following. When they see their idol supporting a specific candidate or political party, this can influence them to support the same. This could be beneficial to Harris and Walz’s reelection campaign if they do get elected into office.
The more support from celebrities with large fan bases the better, and Swift has just about the largest fanbase in the country. Swift’s endorsement overall and the reaction that followed it could be enough of an advantage to allow Harris to win the popular vote in November.
