Taylor Swift, a self-proclaimed “childless cat lady,” has endorsed Kamala Harris for president of … [+]
AFP via Getty ImagesThere’s been a major twist in the 2024 race for the White House — and not just because of former President Donald Trump’s less-than-stellar performance during Tuesday afternoon’s debate. Although political pundits spent late Tuesday and much of Wednesday morning debating statements made by Trump and Vice President rival Kamala Harris during the first — and possibly only — presidential debate of this year’s election cycle, pop singer Taylor Swift it also made headlines.
The singer, who is taking a short break from her world tour, endorsed Harris via an Instagram postwriting, “I will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election.”
The pop superstar said she “will be sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country,” adding that she was recently informed that AI was being used to “falsely” support the former president.
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to stand up for. I think she is a solid, talented leader and I think we can accomplish so much more in this country if they are led by calmness and not by the mess,” Swift added in her Instagram post and invited her followers to vote — but she didn’t invite them to vote for Harris.
“Your research is yours and the choice is yours,” he suggested. “I also want to say, especially to those voting for the first time: Remember that in order to vote, you must be registered!”
In a call to “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morningTrump responded that he wasn’t surprised by Swift’s decision to endorse Harris, calling her a “very liberal person” and suggesting, “She’s probably going to pay a price for that […] in the market”.
Superstar support
Swift’s endorsement of Harris shouldn’t come as a surprise, as she’s endorsed both Joe Biden and Harris in 2020, but the superstar’s status has only grown over the past four years. So the impact it could have on the election should not be overlooked, especially as it could entice younger voters to head to the polls.
“This is a real case study in terms of a celebrity influencing an election,” explained Scott Talan, a senior professor of public communications at American University. “She laid out in several paragraphs what led to her endorsement. The fact that it was on Instagram is remarkable as it’s the medium that young people use. It was an A+ job on impact and potential success.”
Swift’s post also allowed her to directly respond to last month’s false claims that she had endorsed Trump. Her post set the record straight to her fans while highlighting the danger of not believing everything you read on the platforms.
“Social media are marketing platforms now and not necessarily based on personal thoughts or opinions. The volume of misinformation spreads like wildfire because of the sheer size of these communities. They don’t encourage impact, but actually the opposite, and Gen Z is cognizant of that. authenticity It was powerful for Taylor to publicly announce her intentions, as she said, to be very transparent and fight misinformation with the truth,” said Claire Wright, CEO and co-founder. BUDDY social media helper app.
“Taylor has turned off her comments, likely to prevent everyone, including herself, from experiencing toxic comments — unfortunately what the culture of social media use has become,” Wright suggested.
Pop The Vote 2024
In many ways, Swift’s Instagram support could be crucial for Harris simply because of her massive following. Even if not all “Swifties” are liberals, her message was still about the importance of voting — and serves as a reminder of MTV’s Rock the Vote campaign from the 1990s.
“The key to the 2024 presidential election is getting new voters to the polls,” said Linda Bloss-Baum, a professor in the Department of Management at American University’s Kogod School of Business.
“The biggest harvest of ‘new’ votes may come from the younger electorate that has not actively participated in previous elections,” added Bloss-Baum, who also said many students are asking how to register to vote and get involved in a campaign. “These voters are proud ‘Swifties’.”
The power of celebrity can’t be overlooked, as Bloss-Baum further noted that Swift sold 4.35 million tickets last year for the first US leg of her Eras tour.
“The way she relates to her fans through her music, social media and personal anecdotes creates a sense of familiarity and understanding,” Bloss-Baum said. “Taylor Swift’s deep connection with an entire generation surpasses that of any artist in my lifetime. The millions of likes Taylor Swift’s Instagram post received within minutes of the presidential debate shows how quickly her fans are ready to support her and by extension Kamala Harris, if even a fraction of those ‘likes’ turn into ‘votes’ for Kamala Harris, it could seriously affect the outcome of the November election.”
However, we must also remember that Trump is also more of a celebrity than a politician.
“If he wasn’t a reality star, he wouldn’t be president,” Talan added.
The difference is that Trump’s celebrity might have helped him win the White House in 2016, but it’s taken a nosedive in 2020 and may not put him over the top in 2024. By comparison, Swift is at the top of her game.
“She has one of the biggest fan bases and you connect that with more and more young voters who are politically motivated, and her fans are mostly female fans with abortion being a central issue in the campaign,” Talan said. “There is no other celebrity on the other side of the political spectrum who has Swift’s reach.”
