Taylor Swift has endorsed Democrat candidate Kamala Harris over Donald Trump as the US President, and if Taylor’s current popularity amongst the masses is anything to go by then Harris has secured a definite edge over Trump. Swift’s endorsement for Harris came after the debate between Harris and Trump that took place on Tuesday at National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Minutes after the debate the global icon threw her support behind Harris saying “I am voting for (Harris) because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is steadyhanded, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are lead by calm and not chaos.”
She also told the reason for her support after weeks of speculation on her political leanings: Trump trying to fool people into believing he had her support on the basis of AI generated image. “Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site. 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.
But could Swift’s support really make a difference and make her win.? In the caption of her Instagram post on Tuesday, the superstar pop- star began by saying she watched the debate urging her 284 million plus followers to do their research on key issues and debate before the November 5 election. She said that she was heartened by Harris’s choice of Walz as her Vice Presidential candidate because of his advocacy for IVF and a women’s right to her body. She signed off as “Childless Cat Lady”, a wry nod to Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, who had previously used the phrase to describe emerging leaders within the Democratic party including Ms Harris.
While mostly people are not influenced by celebrity endorsements but it is a fact that voter participation does increase after a nudge from a well known celebrity.
Last year in September 2023 Swift had urged her followers to to get themselves registered as voters and it did have a positive impact. Vote.org reported more than 1000 percent increase in participation in hour after Swift’s post.
In a close election such as this if Taylor Swift can manage to shift a small percentage of undecided voters then Harris stands a very good chance to become the first woman president of the United States of America
