Taylor Swift endorses Harris: ‘This will rock the entire electoral axis in the States’
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After months of speculation Swift has officially endorsed Kamala Harris. But what does this mean for the race?
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In brief:
- Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris on Instagram following the presidential debate, citing Harris as a "steady-handed, gifted leader".
- Swift's endorsement is considered highly significant, potentially impacting voting intentions and turnout, especially among women voters.
- The timing of Swift's post may overshadow coverage of Harris's debate performance, though the endorsement is likely seen as a major positive for the Harris campaign.
Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris after TV debate. But what does it mean?
What’s the story?
There’s much analysis to be had of the 90 minute clash between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris - the first time the two had even met, let alone debated.
But arguably the biggest story of the night came moments after the debate ended, when global superstar Taylor Swift posted an endorsement for Kamala Harris to her Instagram page.
Accompanied by a photograph of herself with her cat, and wittingly signed off ‘Childless Cat Lady’ - a reference to JD Vance’s a reference to JD Vance’s disturbing comments, Swift explained her choice.
“I think [Kamala Harris] 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,” Taylor wrote, noting that fake AI images of her endorsing Trump pushed her to go public with her voting intention.
“It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” she continued. “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.”
Why does it matter?
“Be in no doubt, this will rock the entire electoral axis in the States” Emily says.
A pop star endorsement sounds like a minor news story compared to policies on abortion, immigration and the economy that were discussed last night - and of course, in one sense, it is.
But there’s no doubt that Taylor’s endorsement will have significant repercussions on voting intentions and therefore, potentially, the election outcome.
We already know that women vote in higher numbers than men, and Jon thinks “this endorsement from Taylor Swift is going to exaggerate that gap.”
“You just have to wonder how many people will have registered to vote for her and vote in this election as a result of that intervention.”
What’s The News Agents Take?
Emily describes the Instagram post shared by Taylor as “a grown up endorsement”, noting that she doesn’t “rant and rave” and “call Trump names”, she tells her followers to do their research and work out what matters to them.
But Jon questions whether the Harris camp could be disappointed at the Swift news outshining Kamala’s performance in the debate.
“I wonder about the timing of it,” Jon says. “If you're Kamala Harris, you want the headlines that Americans are going to wake up to today to be about the debate and whether or not she did well, and Kamala Harris did do well, instead this is going to blow the debate out of the water.”
But Emily’s not convinced that anyone on team Harris could have complaints about this outcome.
“I don’t think she cares!”
“I think if you were Kamala Harris and tomorrow morning's headlines say that you've been endorsed by the most famous woman in the world. Pretty much, you take that.”
