Pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential candidacy on Tuesday night after the high-stakes debate with former President Donald Trump, calling the Democratic nominee a "steady-handed, gifted leader."
"I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election," Swift said in a post on Instagram to her more than 283 million followers. "I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she 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."
Swift went on to say that she was "heartened and impressed" by Harris' selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, praising him as a champion of "LGBTQ+ rights, IVF and a woman's right to own her body for decades."
"I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice," the Grammy-winning artist added. "Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story."
Swift, 34, signed her post "Childless Cat Lady" — a reference to language used by Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, to describe women who do not have kids. Swift included a photo of herself holding her cat, Benjamin Button, who has graced the cover of Time magazine with the singer.
Swift's endorsement came as a surprise to the Harris campaign, two campaign officials told NBC News. The campaign views the singer's backing as part of a "decisive victory" for the vice president on the debate stage and speaks to her ability to attract support, one of the officials said.
Walz appeared to learn about the endorsement during a live post-debate interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. Walz patted his chest and smiled as Maddow read Swift's endorsement message.
"That was eloquent and it was clear," Walz said, "and that's the kind of courage we need in America to stand up."
The endorsement had been widely anticipated. Swift, who has an enormous worldwide fan base, threw her support behind President Joe Biden and Harris during the 2020 presidential election. Swift allowed the Biden-Harris campaign to use her song “Only the Young” in an advertisement during the 2020 cycle.
Swift once shied away from weighing in on American politics. But with the release of her documentary "Miss Americana" in 2020, she became more vocal. The movie chronicled her behind-the-scenes fight to publicly denounce Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., then a member of the House. She endorsed Blackburn's Senate opponent, Phil Bredesen.
Blackburn ultimately won the race, but Swift's post on Instagram encouraging her followers to register to vote activated waves of young people, Vote.org said at the time.
In November, a national NBC News poll found 40% of registered voters had positive views of Swift, while 16% had negative views. A majority of Democrats (53%) viewed her positively, while 28% of Republicans said the same.
In the Instagram post, Swift also criticized social media users who have circulated images generated by artificial intelligence falsely stating that she had endorsed the Trump-Vance ticket. Trump shared a series of those images on his Truth Social platform.
"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," she said. "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."
Swifties for Kamala, a group of fans who have no official affiliation with either woman, said they were "thrilled."
"We’ve had no doubt that Taylor would endorse at the right time and are excited about the momentum she will bring to this campaign," Irene Kim, the group's co-founder, said in a statement.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday morning, Trump said he was not a fan of Swift. "She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace," he said.
