The Democrats, in their wildest dreams, could not have hoped for a better endorsement on the night of the first — and possibly only — presidential debate between Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump. It was the one by Ms. Taylor Swift – a multiple Grammy award-winning artist, global megastar, NFL enthusiast. Oh, and one who boasts nearly 300 million fans on social media. (Piece of cake, that is.)
Kamala Harris had barely walked off the stage after a debate in which she was widely seen to have outperformed Trump, when Taylor Swift announced her support in an Instagram post. She signed off the post with ‘Childless Cat Lady’ and a photo of herself with her cat — a not-so-subtle dig at Trump’s running mate JD Vance. Typical Tuesday.
How did a 34-year-old global pop sensation’s endorsement of the Democratic presidential nominee end up making headlines when the spotlight was all about the presidential debate between Harris and Trump and the November 5 election?
And more to the point — will Taylor Swift’s endorsement of the Democratic candidate have any impact on Trump’s 2024 campaign?
‘And now we’ve got bad blood’
It was way, way back in 2018 when Taylor Swift and Donald Trump had their first (sort of) political confrontation.
In an Instagram post on October 7, 2018, Taylor Swift endorsed Democratic candidates in Tennessee for the 2018 midterm elections. She criticised Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn and voiced her support for LGBTQ+ rights and the fight against systemic racism.
Then US President Donald Trump dismissed Swift’s political stance, saying, “Let’s say that I like Taylor’s music about 25% less now.”
A serious confrontation came two years later when Swift criticised President Trump for his response to the unrest following the murder of George Floyd by a police officer. She took exception to Trump’s remark, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” and declared, “We will vote you out in November.”
There is no real way to calculate how much sway Swift had over the voters, but in the November 2020 elections, Trump was indeed voted out.
Four years later, Swift is once again opposing Trump.
When Trump tried to turn Taylor Red
Trump, for his part, has seemingly tried to get Swift’s endorsement.
In a post on Truth Social in February 2024, Trump claimed credit for his role in the Music Modernization Act, a piece of legislation that aimed to update copyright and streaming rights laws for the digital age.
In a typical Trump manner, he said, “I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other Musical Artists… Joe Biden didn’t do anything for Taylor and never will. There’s no way she could endorse crooked Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money.”
He did not forget to mention her boyfriend Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs star, saying, “Besides that, I like her boyfriend, Travis, even though he may be a liberal and probably can’t stand me!”
When the indirect appeal did not work, Trump tried another route — an AI, deepfaked version.
In August, Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of Swift dressed in red, white, and blue with a caption that said, “Taylor Swift Wants You To Vote For Donald Trump.” “I accept!” Trump proclaimed.
Wishful thinking it was, as barely 20 days later, Swift announced her support. And surprise, surprise: it was NOT for Donald Trump.
Safe to say, Trump did not like it.
“…she’s [Swift] a very liberal person; she seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace,” Trump said in response to the popstar’s endorsement of Kamala Harris.
Will Swift’s endorsement end the Democrats’ cruel summer?
Kamala Harris wasn’t Trump’s original opponent. The initial Democratic nominee for the 2024 race was current President Joe Biden. However, the June Biden-Trump debate was a debacle for the incumbent throwing the Democratic Party into disarray. Biden eventually bowed out as age, rhetoric, and perhaps illness weighed against him.
But Harris’s nomination calmed the turbulent waters for Democrats. And now, Swift’s endorsement has added fresh winds to the sail.
The influence of Taylor Swift cannot be easily calculated, but it can also not be easily dismissed. Case in point: In 2023, a single social media post from her led to the registration of 35,000 new voters.
Another more relevant and recent example is the impact Tuesday’s post had. The link shared by Swift on Instagram for the voter registration led over 3.3 lakh people to the curated website. Just to repeat: 3.3 lakh people tapped on the link Taylor Swift mentioned in her post.
With less than two months to go, the question now remains: Can Kamala Harris write her name in the blank space that is the first woman US President? And will Donald Trump be able to shake it off — the influence of the real Taylor Swift who came on Instagram and not the AI version?