Following the first debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift released a statement on Instagram giving her endorsement to Harris. “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift wrote. “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,” she added. Read the full statement below.
Swift’s endorsement comes after months of speculation about whether the star would publicly throw her support behind a candidate in the 2024 US presidential race. In her statement, Swift also addressed fake AI posts of her endorsing Trump. “Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site,” she said. “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. 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.”
Swift signed her post on Instagram – where she has over 283 million followers – as “Taylor Swift” and “Childless Cat Lady,” a reference to viral comments made by Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, about women without children.
Tim Walz told MSNBC on that he was “incredibly grateful” for Swift’s endorsement, adding, “I say that also as a cat owner, a fellow cat owner. That was eloquent and it was clear, and that’s the type of courage we need in America, to stand up.”
He continued: “We’ve seen it out of those Republicans who were at the DNC, we’ve seen it out of women who would like to have their own personal lives kept personal, but are forced to go out there cause they nearly died because they can’t get abortion services in a pregnancy. And now you have somebody like Taylor Swift, coming out and making that very clear.”
Walz then gave shoutout to Swift’s fans: “This will be the opportunity, Swifties — KamalaHarris.com — get on over there, give us a hand, get things going.”
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