Taylor Swift endorses Harris following presidential debate

WASHINGTON (TND) — After months of speculation and anticipation, pop megastar Taylor Swift formally endorsed Kamala Harris for president in an Instagram post shared following her debate with Donald Trump.

"I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election," Swift wrote. "I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. 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." She also praised Walz, a noted Swiftie, for his record of "standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades."

While Swift was expected to endorse Harris following her endorsement of President Joe Biden in the 2020 election and her public opposition to then-Rep. Marsha Blackburn's, R-Tenn., senatorial campaign in 2018, Democratic operatives transformed the anticipation over it into a modern social media spectacle -- including the rumors that she or Beyonce would be the "special surprise guest" at night four of the Democratic National Convention. Her followers and critics online had been questioning the absence of Swift's endorsement in recent weeks too as the race evolved from Biden versus Trump to Harris versus Trump and acutely due to the spread of AI-generated fake images of her endorsement of Trump. The former president accepted the fake Swift's endorsement.

She addressed this specifically in her endorsement post as well, writing that it stirred up her fears about the potential use of AI and misinformation.

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 newly-minted billionaire also has a history of reticence in the political sphere, as documented in the 2020 film "Miss Americana," which chronicled Swift's life during the end of her "Reputation" stadium tour in 2018 and through the recording of her album "Lover" in 2019. In the documentary, she explains to her team she regrets not taking a stand against Trump in 2016 but felt like she was unable to due to the wave of media backlash following the re-ignition of her feud with rapper Ye (then Kanye West) and his then-wife Kim Kardashian. Her parents also expressed concerns over the potentially physically violent backlash she could face for opposing Trump -- something Republican officials in Congress are also reportedly experiencing.

Swift also appeared to direct specific backlash at the Trump campaign over a now-infamous comment made by the former president's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, regarding the nature of Democratic voters, that the country is run by "a bunch of childless cat ladies." Swift, who accompanied her endorsement with a picture of her and her cat Benjamin, signed her statement "With love and hope, Taylor Swift Childless Cat Lady."