Taylor Swift backs Kamala Harris for president — see her endorsement from ‘Childless Cat Lady’
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Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president Tuesday night shortly after watching Harris and former President Donald Trump face off in their first presidential debate ahead of the election.
On Instagram, Swift shared a photo of herself with her cat Benjamin — from her 2023 Time magazine Person of the Year cover — along with a written endorsement for Harris that she signed “Childless Cat Lady.”
“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 began.
Swift wrote that she was recently made aware of an AI version of herself “falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run” that was posted to his website.
“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,” she wrote.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” the “Karma” singer explained. “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.”
Swift wrote that she is backing Harris after doing research and encouraged her followers to do the same.
“Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story,” she continued, before signing off, “With love and hope, Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”
The phrase “childless cat lady” was used by Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, when he said that the U.S. was run by “childless cat ladies” who “force their misery on the rest of the country.” He added that they have no direct stake in the future of the country because they don’t have kids.
Since then, Harris’ family, including her stepchildren, have defended her.
Harris has not directly responded to the pop star’s endorsement, but she did walk off stage to Swift’s feminist anthem “The Man” at her watch party in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, according to a video posted on Instagram.
Trump reacted to the news of Swift’s endorsement while calling in to “Fox and Friends” on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 11, according to Variety.
“It was only a question of time. She couldn’t possibly endorse Biden … but she’s a very liberal person,” Trump said. “She seems to always endorse a Democrat and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”
The former president added he likes Swift’s friend Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, “much more.”
“Well I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better. If you want to know the truth. She’s a big Trump fan,” he said. “I was not a Taylor Swift fan.”
He continued: “Brittany is great. She’s the one I like much better than Taylor Swift. Wife of the great quarterback. I think she’s terrific.”
Following the debate on Sept. 10, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow asked Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, about Swift’s endorsement. Walz responded, “I am incredibly grateful, first of all to Taylor Swift, I say that also as a cat owner.”
“Swifites, you heard it. You know that it’s there. That was eloquent and it was clear, and that’s the type of courage we need in America to stand up,” he said. “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 because they nearly died because they can’t get abortion services in a pregnancy,” he continued. “And now you have somebody like Taylor Swift coming out and making that very clear.”
Swift has largely stayed out of politics until 2018, when she endorsed former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, in the state Senate race against Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn. Though Blackburn was elected, Swift has generally stayed vocal about her political opinions since.
In August 2020, Swift endorsed Joe Biden for president.
“Donald Trump’s ineffective leadership gravely worsened the crisis that we are in and he is now taking advantage of it to subvert and destroy our right to vote and vote safely,” Swift said in an Aug. 15, 2020 tweet. “Request a ballot early. Vote early.”
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