Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris adds to Trump’s women problem
The value of celebrity endorsements has long been debated, with most experts concluding American voters largely do not care what Hollywood thinks about politics.
While election results suggest this is true – as Hillary Clinton’s 2016 star-backed campaign can attest – there are some interventions that cannot be dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders.
Taylor Swift is not merely a celebrity but a pop culture juggernaut who has become an engine of economic growth in her own right.
Her Eras tour generated total consumer spending of dollars 5 billion across six months in the US last year, according to Nomura, a global financial services group.
Importantly, Swift’s vast bipartisan fanbase includes tens of millions of women who adore her. In an election that may be decided by tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states, her endorsement of Kamala Harris has the potential to make a crucial difference.
Donald Trump, polls suggest, has a problem attracting female voters. Swift endorsing his rival will surely only exacerbate the problem.
It was telling that the singer, 34, signed off her announcement as “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady” – a reference to comments made about Democrat-voting women by JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running-mate.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election,” Swift, who has three pet cats, said.
“I’m voting for Kamala Harris 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.”
Swift, who is in a high-profile relationship with the NFL player Travis Kelce, praised Harris’s running-mate Tim Walz, whom she said had stood up for LGBT rights and access to abortion.
The singer said she was prompted to announce her support after AI-generated images on social media falsely suggested she was backing Trump.
“It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” Swift wrote. “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.”
Swift had long been silent on political matters, leading some to speculate that the former country music star was a Republican.
That changed in 2018 however, when Swift endorsed Democrats in Tennessee. Her chosen candidate for the Senate lost, showing the limits of celebrity intervention.
In her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana, Swift wept on camera and said she felt compelled to come out against Republicans. “I need to be on the right side of history,” she said while discussing the issue with her family.
Speculation over whether Swift would endorse Harris swelled in recent days.
Some fans criticised her for hugging Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs teammate, at the US Open. Mahomes has been reported to have signalled support for Trump on social media, while the former president later thanked her.
Swift has now ended any speculation over where her political loyalties lie.
While urging her followers to do their own research and vote, she wrote: “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice.”
Trump appeared caught off guard when asked about the announcement in the spin room immediately after the debate. “I have no idea,” he said.
The following morning, however, Trump dismissed the endorsement and suggested he was expecting it. “She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it … in the marketplace,” he told the Fox & Friends show.
He added of Mahomes, who has not explicitly endorsed him: “But, no, I like Brittany. That’s the one I like, much better than Taylor Swift … I think she’s terrific. Not Taylor Swift.”
Elon Musk, meanwhile, has been criticised for his response to the endorsement.
“Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” he wrote on X.
Musk, 53, has at least 12 children and has spoken frequently about the dangers a collapsing birthrate poses to western civilisation. His response to Swift was called “creepy” by her fans.
Megyn Kelly, the conservative podcast host, called the endorsement “disgusting” and said it would cost Swift support from Republicans.
“You can kiss your sales to the Republican audience goodbye, Taylor,” she said on her podcast. “Hope you enjoyed them while you had them.”
Democrats, of course, were delighted. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, warned that Trump should dismiss the endorsement “at your own peril”.
“She is a cultural icon,” he told reporters after the debate.
The fan group “Swifties for Kamala” said it expected the endorsement to add momentum to the Harris campaign. They said in a statement: “We never doubted Taylor would endorse at the right time because we know that her values align with Harris and our community.”
Walz reacted to the news live during an MSNBC interview after the debate. With a laugh, he mouthed: “Oh wow.”
“I am incredibly grateful to Taylor Swift and I say that as a cat owner,” the VP hopeful said. “That was eloquent and it was clear and that’s the type of courage we need in America to stand up.”
Harris has yet to publicly respond to the endorsement. She did, however, walk off stage at a post-debate party to the tune of Swift’s The Man.
The Times
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