The Paw Print

By Isabella Sun, Associate News & Features Editor

On Sept. 10, Taylor Swift posted on her public Instagram account to share that she is supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election. She also addressed issues with the Trump campaign using an AI image of her to falsely give the impression that she endorses Donald Trump and encouraged new voters to register to vote in this critical election. Swift’s endorsement may have an effect on young, undecided voters.

“Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most. As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country,” Swift said in her post shortly after the Harris-Trump debate.

“Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site…It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter…I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.” 

Swift’s endorsement is reflective of her increased political involvement in recent years. Throughout her 20-year career, she remained politically silent until the 2018 midterms, when she endorsed two Democratic candidates. She posted on Instagram saying that she planned to vote for former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen for U.S. Senate and Rep. Jim Cooper for his re-election bid to the Fifth Congressional District. Since then, she has been vocally supportive of Democratic policies and candidates, voicing support for women’s, LGBTQ+ and abortion rights.

In her 2020 documentary “Miss Americana,” Swift expressed regret for not speaking up earlier. Speaking to her father, Scott Swift, she said that she felt like she needed “to be on the right side of history.” 

Swift was also highly critical of Trump preceding the 2020 elections showdown with Biden. In May 2020, Swift posted on Twitter, criticizing Trump’s posts about Black Lives Matter protests in Minnesota following the death of George Floyd. Trump said, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Swift pushed back, writing, “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump.”

A faction of her supporters, known as the Swifties, have formed a ‘Swifties for Kamala’ community immediately after Harris’ endorsement. The group, which Swift is not a part of, raised more than $122,000 during its two-hour kickoff call in August. “We believe Harris-Walz will fight for our rights and the rights of our loved ones and help make this country safer for everyone,” Irene Kim, communications director of Swifties for Harris, said.

Swift continued her post, saying, “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. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”

Finally, she addressed younger voters in her message, telling them the importance of voting and posting a link to register. Swift signed off the post with “Childless Cat Lady,” alluding to the words that Trump’s vice president, Vance, used to criticize Democrats. Cat lady is a derogatory term used towards women who choose not to bear children. Vance used this centuries-old trope in a 2021 interview and it resurfaced recently on social media. He has received much backlash for the comment.

It is true that Swift holds an incredible influence over her fans. Less than a day after the post, Swift’s endorsement gained more than 9.7 million Instagram likes and over 1.5 million shares. The Swift-inspired friendship bracelets supporting the Harris-Walz campaign sold out in less than 24 hours. There were also a total of 405,999 visits to Vote.gov in the first 24 hours after Swift’s posts as a result of the link’s inclusion in her story, in contrast to the daily average of 30,000 in early September.

However, that number itself doesn’t mean anything, as it doesn’t show whether the voters were new voters and whether or not those visits actually translated into votes. The actual effects of celebrity endorsements are hard to pinpoint, but researchers have accumulated data from previous ones to determine a trend.

In primary elections, when voters must choose between relatively similar candidates, celebrity endorsements influence decisions more. However, in the presidential election, political attitudes generally form early on and are unlikely to be changed by endorsements. In 2016, Hillary Clinton was endorsed by dozens of celebrities, including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, LeBron James, Kendall Jenner and George Clooney, but she still lost.

In a survey conducted by YouGov, 66% of voters said that a celebrity endorsement would make no difference in how they’d vote in the 2024 presidential election.

However, the Democratic Party’s current situation is hardly typical. Many of Harris’s policies remain unknown to the American public. In a New York Times poll, 28% of voters said that they still needed to learn more about her. With this in mind, it is possible that celebrity endorsement might be useful for Harris, as she remains relatively unknown.

“Young voters don’t trust a lot of institutions. They don’t trust a lot of traditional leaders. They do trust the people that they idolize,” said E. Michele Ramsay, an associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State Berks. If Swift’s endorsement persuades even a small portion of voters to register to vote and cast a ballot, it could make a difference in the 2024 presidential election.