It’s the endorsement that everyone’s been waiting for, and while not surprising, it means a lot. Several celebrities have reacted - including a strange comment from Elon Musk which has gone viral. What weight can Swift's support have on the November elections?
ADVERTISEMENTWithin minutes of the end of Tuesday night’s presidential debate, Taylor Swift announced her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris in the race against Donald Trump.
Swift posted a strong message to her Instagram Story, saying that the vice president “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.”
She also mentioned the Trump campaign’s sharing of AI-generated image of her that falsely suggested that Swift had endorsed a felon for president. Swift wrote that she was “made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site.”
“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. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”
She even ended her post with a dig at Trump’s running mate JD Vance: “With love and hope, Taylor Swift… Childless Cat Lady” - referencing Vance’s insulting comment about what he considers to be the primary demographic of the Democratic party.
A nice touch, especially since Swift is known for her love of cats.
No ordinary endorsement
While celebrity endorsements don’t usually have a huge impact on campaigns, Swift is no ordinary celebrity, and her statement feels crucial in a presidential race that is expected to be a tight one.
Swift commands a huge fan following, has 283 million followers, and more than 1 million people have already liked her Instagram endorsement post. When Taylor speaks, her fans listen - and a single media post proves how she can influence even the world of politics.
The pop superstar could very well boost enthusiasm from younger voters, and her past statements have led thousands of people to register to vote.
In 2018, for example, the nonpartisan nonprofit voter group Vote.org reported 65,000 new voter registrations in the space of 24 hours. This came after Swift endorsed two Democratic congressional candidates.
In September last year, the singer posted a short message on Instagram encouraging her followers to register to vote. Afterwards, Vote.org reported a 1,226% jump in participation in the hour after the post. The number of 18-year-olds registered was more than double 2022's figures.
And it’s not just the US – this year, Brussels asked Swift to mobilise young voters ahead of the elections to the European Parliament.
In May of this year, Newsweek quoted a poll indicating that a third of voters under 25 said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate Swift has endorsed.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has previously made public appeals for Swift to promote the Democrats, saying that Swift’s influence will have “a profoundly powerful impact on the 2024 US presidential election.”
ADVERTISEMENT“What she was able to accomplish just in getting young people activated to consider that they have a voice and that they should have a choice in the next election, I think, is profoundly powerful,” he told TMZ.
Celebs react and Musk goes off the rails
Reactions from celebrities, politicians, and fans quickly followed her statement.
Among the stars liking Swift’s statement were Blake Lively, Mindy Kaling, Lupita Nyong’o, Jennifer Aniston, Selena Gomez, Jennifer Garner and Oprah.
Harris running mate Tim Walz responded to Swift’s endorsement, which was read to him by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.
ADVERTISEMENT“I’m incredibly grateful, first of all, to Taylor Swift. I say that also as a cat owner...That was eloquent and it was clear and that’s the type of courage we need in America to stand up.”
He added: “We’ve seen it out of those Republicans who were at the DNC. We’ve seen it out of women who would like to have their personal lives kept personal but are forced to go out there because they nearly died because they can’t get abortion services in a pregnancy. And now you have somebody like Taylor Swift coming out making that very clear. This would be the opportunity, Swifties: KamalaHarris.com, get on over there, get things going.”
Michael Tyler, the spokesman for the Harris campaign, said: “We’re incredibly grateful for her lending her hand toward this campaign. Obviously, she’s incredibly influential. Millions of followers across social media. And what I also think she represents is the growing diversity of the Harris-Walz coalition.”
When asked about the endorsement, David Bossie, a surrogate for the Trump campaign, said: “Don’t care.”
ADVERTISEMENTHe added: “The American people are very smart, and sure it’s interesting that celebrities endorse one person of another, but it doesn’t have an impact on people’s votes. So we’ll see if this will be the first time in American history that it does.”
“This is further evidence that the Democrat Party has unfortunately become a party of the wealthy elites,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in response.
To no one’s surprise, Elon Musk also chipped in, with the comment, "Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
His comment quickly went viral and garnered much criticism.
ADVERTISEMENTAs you can imagine, many online are now calling it and declaring the election to be over.
Naturally, Andrew Tate, the controversial media personality awaiting trial on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, had his word on the matter:
Goes to show that the world’s current most popular musician has got the MAGA crowd riled up, and despite them protesting otherwise, Swift’s endorsement could not only prove to be instrumental, but also stands as an important cultural milestone in the 2024 elections. Are you ready for it?
