Taylor Swift’s choice stemmed from the belief that Kamala Harris is a ‘steady-handed, gifted leader’ who will accomplish more with ‘calm and not chaos’
Article content
Singer Taylor Swift publicly endorsed U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night, after the Democratic presidential candidate shared the stage with former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump for a debate.
It sparked a response from Trump on Wednesday morning — and billionaire Elon Musk even added himself to the conversation.
Why did Taylor Swift speak out?
Advertisement 2
Article content
On Instagram, the singer wrote about her reason for publicly supporting Harris. The message to her 283 million followers comes after Trump posted an AI-generated Swift on his social media platform Truth Social on Aug. 18, which insinuated he had her endorsement.
“Recently I 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,” Swift wrote Tuesday.
“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.”
Advertisement 3
Article content
She confirmed that her vote would be going toward Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz. Her choice stemmed from the belief that Harris is a “steady-handed, gifted leader” who will accomplish more with “calm and not chaos.” She was pleased with Walz as well, saying he has been “standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
She ended her post by urging others to do their own research, pick the candidate they want, and register to vote.
Swift’s posted the endorsement a day after rumours online insisted she would come out in support of Trump.
An article in The Guardian noted that Swift did not immediately distance herself after an image of her likeness was used by Trump. However, the claims were all proven false after Swift’s post on Tuesday night.
Swift will ‘pay the price’ for Harris endorsement: Trump
In an interview over the phone with Fox News on Wednesday, Trump responded to Swift’s endorsement of Harris, The Guardian reported.
“She’s a very liberal person,” said Trump.
“She always seems to endorse a Democrat and she will probably pay the price for that in the market.”
NP Posted
Article content
Advertisement 4
Article content
He also said he was not a “Taylor Swift fan,” Forbes reported. He added that he liked Brittany Mahomes, the wife of NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The football star is teammates and good friends with Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce. The foursome has been spotted out since Swift started dating Kelce last year.
“Well, I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better, if you want to know the truth,” he said, per Forbes.
Trump also said on Truth Social that he liked Kelce, “even though he may be a Liberal, and probably can’t stand me,” according to Bloomberg News.
This isn’t the first time Trump has spoken about Swift. In February, he posted on Truth Social about how he “made (Swift) so much money” by signing the Music Modernization Act. He said that was the reason why Swift could never endorse U.S. President Joe Biden, who has since pulled out of the running in the 2024 presidential race.
“Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor, and never will,” he said in the same post.
Trump’s running mate Senator J.D. Vance came under fire after a video resurfaced of him referring to “childless cat ladies.”
Advertisement 5
Article content
Swift, a self-proclaimed cat lady, posed with one of her cats in her post endorsing Harris.
Musk offers to ‘give (Swift) a child’
Elon Musk, billionaire owner of X, also responded to Swift’s endorsement of Harris.
“Fine Taylor … you win …I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life,” he wrote on X.
The comment was likely a reference to his concerns about “population collapse,” which he spoke about in 2022. He also appeared to poke fun at the fact that she was a cat lady, by mentioning her pets.
Advertisement 6
Article content
In March 2023, Musk responded to a post on X about Swift, showing that he was a fan.
“Her limbic resonance skill is exceptional,” he said.
Limbic resonance is a state of deep emotional and physiological connection between people, as described by psychology publication PsycheMechanics.
Friendship bracelets for Harris-Walz campaign for sale
Swift’s endorsement didn’t go unnoticed by Harris’ team. In a nod to Swift, whose fans are known to swap friendship bracelets at her concerts, the Harris-Walz campaign announced late Tuesday night that they would be available to purchase.
“Are you ready for it? Harris-Walz friendship bracelets have hit the store!” the campaign’s X account said in a post.
The vice president’s campaign manager Quentin Fulks said Swift’s support “means a lot to us,” Bloomberg reported.
“It’s Taylor Swift. We respect her endorsement, and she was obviously watching and paying attention tonight,” he said.
Swift hasn’t always voiced her political opinion
Although Swift publicly showed her support for Biden, posting a photo on social media of her holding a tray of “Biden 2020” cookies, she wasn’t always vocal about politics.
Advertisement 7
Article content
Advertisement 8
Article content
She first broke her long-standing refusal to discuss politics in 2018 by throwing her support behind Tennessee’s Democratic Senate candidate at the time, Phil Bredesen, who was running against Republican Marsha Blackburn.
It was her criticism of Blackburn that stood out in her endorsement, where Swift — who is registered to vote in Tennessee — slammed the Republican’s opposition to certain LGBTQ+ rights and her vote against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013.
“In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” Swift wrote on Instagram at the time.
Blackburn eventually won the election in conservative Tennessee, but the endorsement nevertheless solidified Swift as an influential political force.
With additional reporting by the Associated Press
Recommended from Editorial
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.
Article content
