Pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential candidacy on Tuesday night following the high-profile debate with former President Donald Trump.
“I will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election,” Swift said in a post on Instagram. She continued:
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes that I believe need a fighter to represent them. I think she is a calm, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country when we are led by calm, not chaos. I was so encouraged and impressed by her choice of her running mate @timwalz, who has been fighting for decades for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body.”
“I did my research and made my choice,” the Grammy winner added. “Your research is up to you, and the choice is yours. I also want to say, especially to first-time voters: remember you have to be registered to vote! I also find it much easier to vote early. I’ll post links on my story to where to register and early voting dates and information.”
Swift, 34, captioned her post, “Childless cat lady” – a reference to the phrase used by Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio), to describe childless women.
Swift’s endorsement came as a surprise to Harris’ campaign, two campaign officials told NBC News. The campaign team views the singer’s support as part of a “decisive victory” for the vice president and speaks to her ability to win support, one of the officials said.
The endorsement was widely expected. Swift supported President Joe Biden and Harris in the 2020 presidential election.
Swift once shied away from getting involved in American politics, but she became more vocal with the release of her 2020 documentary Miss Americana, which documented her behind-the-scenes struggle to publicly denounce Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), then a member of the House of Representatives, who supported Blackburn’s Senate opponent Phil Bredesen.
Blackburn ultimately won, but Swift’s Instagram post urging people to register to vote sparked waves of young people, Vote.org said at the time.
A national NBC News poll in November found that 40 percent of registered voters viewed Swift favorably and 16 percent unfavorably. A majority of Democrats (53 percent) viewed Swift favorably, while 28 percent of Republicans said so.
This is a developing story, please check back later for updates.
Kalhan Rosenblatt, Hallie Jackson And Monika Alba contributed.
