Swift has a long track record of good ideas and power moves—her Harris endorsement will likely prove to be one more.
Ordinarily, celebrity endorsements don’t matter much in a presidential race. But Taylor Swift is no ordinary celebrity.
When the pop icon announced on Instagram last week, in a post that has since accrued more than 11 million likes and incurred the wrath of Donald Trump, that she is supporting the Democratic ticket, it was the proverbial cherry on top of Kamala Harris’ recent debate victory.
With more than half of American adults identifying as Taylor Swift fans, her support might just tip the scales in a close election.
Swift signed off as “Childless Cat Lady,” a swipe at the now-infamous snide remarks by Trump running mate JD Vance about single women. Fellow celebrities from Whoopi Goldberg, to Jennifer Aniston, to Gloria Steinem, have likewise rushed to reclaim the Cat Lady label. But few stars in the Hollywood orbit have Swift’s cultural cache and influence with young voters.
Since crowd sizes have also become a flash point, it seems worth pointing out that nobody has crowd sizes like Taylor Swift’s. And the fans selling out arenas on her tours follow not just her melodies but her message.
Across all her “eras,” Swift’s message has been the same: We shouldn’t let other people define us. We should make our own choices. So her endorsement message was unsurprisingly right on brand: She refused to let others define her, or manipulate her image to their advantage, and she encouraged people to make their own choices.
Swift is a powerhouse, and she knows it. MAGA world seems to know it, too. She’s even inspired political action groups like Swifties for Kamala. These days, it would be both foolish and misogynistic to dismiss her fans as giddy preteen girls. In reality, Swift’s fanbase is split pretty evenly between genders, and most Swifties are voting-age adults.
Despite her relatively diverse fanbase, there is one thing you can say for sure about Swifties: They’re comfortable with having a woman in a position of power. And they stan strong men who are happy to play second fiddle.
Swift may have made some memorable mistakes in her choices of romantic partners over the years, but she almost never makes mistakes in her career choices. She’s got a long track record of good ideas and power moves. I suspect this endorsement will prove to be one more.
Among Swifties, the Eras Tour is known for its strong emphasis on finding the unity in a diverse community. That’s basically the same message that Kamala Harris was offering over and over in the debate, and continues to push in campaign ads. It’s like Harris is saying: “We’re in our ‘we won’t go back’ era.”
Will Taylor Swift help propel Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House? It’s too soon to say, but never underestimate Swifties.
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