Democrats cheer – and Republicans dismiss – Taylor Swift’s Harris endorsement

Democrats are embracing Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris for president, calling the megastar’s backing “huge” for her campaign — while some Republicans were quick to dismiss it and others warned her against alienating Donald Trump voters.

The pop star — one of the most famous celebrities in the world — waded into the contentious 2024 election with a message to her 283 million Instagram followers shortly after the debate between Vice President Harris and former president Trump ended Tuesday night, saying she “fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.” Her decision to speak out came after Trump embraced AI-generated images of Swift appearing to endorse him, saying this “really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.”

Tim Walz, Harris’s vice-presidential candidate, as he learned the news live on MSNBC, said “that’s the type of courage we need in America.” Patting his heart and grinning, Walz said he was “incredibly grateful” to Swift for her “eloquent” and “clear” message. Walz called on Swifties — as fans of the pop star are known — to “give us a hand, get things going.”

Swift’s endorsement post racked up nearly 2.5 million likes within a half-hour as reactions poured in. It was shared over 1 million times within six hours.

Swift’s fans could become a force in the presidential election. The singer and performer has surged in popularity and is viewed increasingly favorably by most American men, women and Democrats, and her favorability improved since the last election cycle among independents and Republicans. In a May poll, 1 in 10 women, Americans under 35 and independents said that a Swift endorsement might influence their vote at least a little — and as The Washington Post’s Philip Bump previously wrote in a column, “this is probably overstated, but a Swiftian nudge would not do nothing.”

“She is a cultural icon,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told reporters about Swift after the debate, warning Trump to disparage Swift’s endorsement “at your own peril.”

“Her speaking out is a big darn deal,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D). “That’s a huge endorsement.”

Trump said little when asked by reporters about Swift’s endorsement of his rival. “I have no idea,” he said.

Brian Hughes, Trump campaign’s spokesman, declined to comment, saying, “I’m not a teeny-bopper.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said he liked Swift’s music but wanted “to live in a world where liberals make my art and conservatives make my laws.”

Conservative media personality Megyn Kelly called Swift’s endorsement “disgusting” and said it would cost the pop star support among Republicans. “You can kiss your sales to the Republican audience goodbye, Taylor. Hope you enjoyed them while you had them,” she said on “The Megyn Kelly Show.”

Former Dallas County GOP chair Jennifer Stoddard-Hajdu questioned how many of Swift’s fans vote and said on local ABC affiliate television station WFAA, “I don’t think a pop star or Hollywood is going to be a big factor in this election.”

In 2020, Swift had endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket, and many fans of Swift had been waiting breathlessly to see if the pop star would back Harris in this election. Swifties have already been lining up behind Harris even before the endorsement. More than 34,000 joined the “Swifties for Kamala” call in August and raised more than $122,000.

The account Swifties for Kamala, which has over 77,000 followers on X, said it was “thrilled” about Swift’s endorsement and added, “we never doubted Taylor would endorse at the right time because we know that her values align with Harris and our community.”

Alongside her endorsement, Swift posted a photo of herself with her pet cat Benjamin Button, and signed off as a “childless cat lady” — embracing the phrase that Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), has used to criticize people without kids.

Democrats hailed the timing of the announcement, coming at the back of what they described as a strong debate performance from Harris. MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell called it “the most important celebrity endorsement” he had ever seen given the tight race. “The timing on it is absolutely exquisite, the wording of it is flawless,” he said on air.

Praising Harris’s debate performance, late-night show host Stephen Colbert said that nothing could have made tonight any better for the vice president. But after playing a clip of Swift’s endorsement news, he added: “I stand corrected.”