Minutes after the first — and likely only — presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, global superstar Taylor Swift endorsed Harris in a post to her 284 million Instagram followers.
Sharing a photo of herself and her cat, the pop star announced her intention to vote for Harris, encouraged her fans to do their own research and register to vote and directed her followers to Vote.gov. Swift concluded her endorsement by signing her name and calling herself a “childless cat lady,” a direct reference to previous comments by Senator JD Vance, Trump’s vice-presidential running mate.
Post-debate news analysis quickly highlighted Swift’s endorsement, and a social media frenzy ensued. Fans, like the Swifties for Kamala, happily reposted Swift’s announcement on X, formerly known as Twitter, with the caption “#SwiftiesforHarris.”
However, critics criticized her saying she should keep her political beliefs to herself. Former President Trump raged in response on his social media platform, Truth Social, by writing, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT.” If anything, his strong reaction underscores how incredibly close this race is and how even one celebrity’s endorsement could change the results on election day.
While Swift’s endorsement might make a difference in the election, the better question is: Should celebrity endorsements, even one from the most famous woman in the world, matter in elections?
The answer is that they don’t determine the outcome, but they can mobilize and energize voters.
Emotional connections with their fans partially explain the power of celebrity endorsements. Over the decades, Swift has built a dedicated and robust fanbase that listens to her music, buys her merchandise, attends her concerts, often sells out any clothing she wears in public and dissects her social posts for meaning. With hundreds of millions of devoted fans, Swift’s popularity spans across different generations and political divides. Celebrities like Swift can connect with young voters in a way that many politicians cannot.
According to a YouGov poll, the youngest respondents identified themselves as “big Swift fans,” and approximately a third of respondents who didn’t support either presidential candidate said “they liked Swift.” Since young people are often less likely to register to vote and many are still undecided, Swift’s endorsement can mobilize and energize them to engage in the election.
According to Vote.gov, the site registered over 405,999 visits in just 24 hours, a massive response compared to its daily average of 30,000 visits. Although this number does not indicate how many visits were first-time voters or if they then registered to vote, Swift’s post represents how she can mobilize and energize her followers to take action.
Celebrity endorsements on either side of the political aisle shouldn’t matter, but Taylor is unique.
Her fans believe they know her and that she is sincere due to her public life and honest music. With a large young audience, Swift’s fans also organize well online and want to bring change in the United States and worldwide.
For example, a group of Swifties in Argentina formed a group to resist Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian candidate, in the 2023 presidential campaign. Known as Swifties Against Freedom Advances, the group of fans issued a news release on social media calling on other Argentine fans to vote against Mr. Milei and said they were inspired by “Ms. Swift’s past efforts to confront right-wing politicians in the United States.” Although Milei won the election, Swift’s influence can organize people and motivate her fans to create change in elections.
If there’s one takeaway from Swift’s endorsement, it’s that registering to vote and researching the candidates’ policy plans is key. Young people must show up in November for themselves and make their vote count in this critical election.
