In what came as no surprise, Swift declared her choice to fans over social media after Tuesday’s debate.
At the conclusion of the first presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Harris campaign got the nod from the biggest name in entertainment: Taylor Swift.
In what came as no surprise, Swift declared her choice to fans over social media, noting in a lengthy Instagram post that fears over misinformation — specifically, an AI-generated image of her endorsing Trump — caused her to want to be “transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter.”
“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift wrote.
She signed off as “A Childless Cat Lady,” a reference to comments made by Ohio Sen. and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance.
Could Swift’s enormous celebrity actually move the needle for Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz?
Peter Mancusi, an attorney, crisis manager and associate teaching professor of journalism at Northeastern University, says Swift’s endorsement may nudge undecided voters toward Harris, bucking traditional wisdom that says celebrities don’t have an impact.
“There are two schools of thought: one says it doesn’t matter what celebrities think, who cares what they think,” Mancusi says. “That camp says nobody is so big as to move an election.”
But this election, he says, will come down to razor-thin margins.
“I come down in the camp that says: this is such a tight race, you hear it every day,” Mancusi says, “and tractionally or at the margins, you would think that Taylor Swift, with a multigenerational fan base, would help Kamala.”
As Swift’s fan base has grown to include people of all political persuasions, Mancusi admits that her decision to endorse Harris may have been trickier this time around given her very public relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce.
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She even received some blowback for hugging Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kelce’s teammate, Patrick Mahomes, at this year’s U.S. Open — this after Brittany “liked” a Trump social media post, which sparked some online criticism. Mahomes dismissed the online backlash as “haters.”
But when it comes to celebrity endorsements more broadly, there’s often strength in numbers, Mancusi says. Plus, Swift had previously gone public with her politics in a 2020 documentary in which she says she regrets staying on the sidelines during the 2016 election.
@northeasternglobalnews Does Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris influence your vote? A journalism professor explains the impact Swift may have on the close presidential race. #TaylorSwift #PresidentialRace #Politics #KamalaHarris #DonaldTrump #Debate #Election2024 #Democrats #Republicans #TaylorSwiftEndorsement #Swifties #SwiftiesForHarris #Harris ♬ Look What You Made Me Do Instrumental – Dan Swift Del Rey
Does Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris influence your vote? A journalism professor explains the impact Swift may have on the close presidential race. #TaylorSwift #PresidentialRace #Politics #KamalaHarris #DonaldTrump #Debate #Election2024 #Democrats #Republicans #TaylorSwiftEndorsement #Swifties #SwiftiesForHarris #Harris
Rich Zou is a Northeastern University undergraduate student and self-proclaimed “Swiftie.” The data science and business administration major sees Swift’s endorsement as a “huge victory for Harris,” but one that won’t necessarily change any minds.
“I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan, but I care more about the candidates’ policies,” says Zou, 19, who will be voting in his first presidential election. “While I know a lot of my friends will go out and vote because of her, I don’t think her endorsement will play a huge role.”
Zou says his friends living or going to school in swing states — Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, etc. — are far more engaged than their counterparts in states that are solidly red or blue.
All in all, he wishes that more candidates would visit college campuses to give his peers added motivation to vote.
“I believe this election is one of the most important elections and whoever we elect,” Zou says. “We have to make sure that we elect them based on their policies and what they will do.”
On the other hand, Sam Iannone, a second-year Northeastern student majoring in entrepreneurship, says Swift’s endorsement will sway voters.
Iannone, 19, is also a Swiftie.
“It marks a turning point in the election,” he says.
“Especially after what I thought was a strong debate performance by Harris,” Iannone says. “A lot of people were expecting and hoping for an endorsement. Like her lyrics say, ‘It’s been a long time coming.’”
Speaking as a member of Gen Z, Iannone says his peers are deeply engaged and recognize, in the wake of President Joe Biden’s exit from the race, that debates matter. He says he doesn’t know “a single person who wasn’t watching” Tuesday’s debate.
“We should use our voice,” he says.
As for the role of celebrities in elections, Iannone says they all have a responsibility to use their platform. For someone with a reach like Swift’s, the ripple effects can be hugely significant, he says.
“I think most of my generation would agree that she should be taking a stand,” Iannone says. “Silence is almost worse. Celebrities at least should be encouraging people to get out to vote.”