Pop celebrity Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy on Tuesday night time after the high-stakes debate with former President Donald Trump, calling the Democratic nominee a “steady-handed, gifted chief.”
“I shall be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz within the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift mentioned in a put up on Instagram to her greater than 283 million followers. “I’m voting for @kamalaharris as a result of she fights for the rights and causes I imagine want a warrior to champion them. I believe she is a steady-handed, gifted chief and I imagine we are able to accomplish a lot extra on this nation if we’re led by calm and never chaos. I used to be so heartened and impressed by her choice of operating mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a lady’s proper to her personal physique for many years.”
“I’ve carried out my analysis, and I’ve made my selection,” the Grammy-winning artist added. “Your analysis is all yours to do, and the selection is yours to make. I additionally wish to say, particularly to first time voters: Keep in mind that so as to vote, it’s a must to be registered! I additionally discover it’s a lot simpler to vote early. I’ll hyperlink the place to register and discover early voting dates and information in my story.”
Swift, 34, signed her put up “Childless Cat Woman” — a reference to language used by Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, to explain ladies who would not have children. Swift included a photograph of herself holding her cat, Benjamin Button, who has graced the duvet of Time journal with the singer.
Swift’s endorsement got here as a shock to the Harris marketing campaign, two marketing campaign officers instructed NBC Information. The marketing campaign views the singer’s backing as a part of a “decisive victory” for the vice chairman and speaks to her skill to draw help, one of many officers mentioned.
The endorsement had been extensively anticipated. Swift threw her help behind President Joe Biden and Harris throughout the 2020 presidential election.
Swift as soon as shied away from weighing in on American politics. However with the discharge of her documentary “Miss Americana” in 2020, she turned extra vocal. The film chronicled her behind-the-scenes combat to publicly denounce Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., then a member of the Home. She endorsed Blackburn’s Senate opponent, Phil Bredesen.
Blackburn finally received the race, however Swift’s put up on Instagram encouraging folks to register to vote activated waves of younger folks, Vote.org said at the time.
A national NBC News poll in November discovered 40% of registered voters had constructive views of Swift, whereas 16% had destructive views. A majority of Democrats (53%) seen her positively, whereas 28% of Republicans mentioned the identical.
Within the Instagram put up, Swift additionally criticized social media customers who’ve circulated images generated by artificial intelligence falsely stating that she had endorsed the Trump-Vance ticket. Trump shared a sequence of these pictures on his Reality Social platform.
“Lately I used to be made conscious that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his web site. It actually conjured up my fears round AI, and the hazards of spreading misinformation,” she mentioned. “It introduced me to the conclusion that I must be very clear about my precise plans for this election as a voter. The best method to fight misinformation is with the reality.”
Swifties for Kamala, a bunch of followers who don’t have any official affiliation with both girl, mentioned they had been “thrilled” by the information of her endorsement.
“We’ve had little doubt that Taylor would endorse on the proper time and are excited concerning the momentum she is going to carry to this marketing campaign,” Irene Kim, the group’s co-founder, mentioned in a press release.
This can be a growing story. Please verify again for updates.
Kalhan Rosenblatt, Hallie Jackson, Monica Alba, Raquel Coronell Uribe and Doha Madani contributed.
