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Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris after debate and jabs at Vance as she calls herself ‘childless cat lady’

In an apparent jab at Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance, the pop megastar signed off her post as: ‘Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady’

Mike Bedigan
New York
Wednesday 11 September 2024 07:43 BST
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Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris following debate

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Taylor Swift has officially endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

The pop megastar, who carries enormous sway with younger voters, broke her silence moments after Harris finished her debate with Donald Trump.

In a lengthy post on Instagram, she said that, having watched Tuesday night’s presidential debate, Harris “fights for the rights and causes I believe.”

“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,” she wrote. “As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country.

Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris soon after the end of the debate between the vice president and Donald Trump. Swift wrote: Harris ‘fights for the rights and causes I believe’
Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris soon after the end of the debate between the vice president and Donald Trump. Swift wrote: Harris ‘fights for the rights and causes I believe’ (AFP via Getty Images)

“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.

“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.”

She added: “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.”

In an apparent jab at Trump’s running mate JD Vance, the singer signed off her post as: “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.” The picture showed Swift holding her cat – Benjamin Button.

The singer is known for her love of felines, owning two others named Olivia and Meredith. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she once named over 20 different breeds of cat in under one minute.

Cats were also brought up during Tuesday night’s debate, as Donald Trump attempted to peddle debunked claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting local pets and eating them.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country,” he said. Springfield police have previously denied that any such reports have been made.

In her post, Swift also made reference to recent AI-generated images of herself “falsely endorsing” Trump for president – which the former president had reposted to his social media platform, Truth Social – which had made her afraid of “the dangers of misinformation.”

“It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter,” she said. “The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”

The pop megastar, who carries enormous sway with younger voters, had not publicly announced who she would be voting for in November
The pop megastar, who carries enormous sway with younger voters, had not publicly announced who she would be voting for in November (Getty Images)

The post had included an AI image of Swift, dressed as Uncle Sam, encouraging voters to endorse Trump. Other pictures showed young women with T-Shirts reading “Swifties for Trump.”

Swift officially endorsed Joe Biden for president in 2020 and was known to be a supporter of Harris. When the vice president tweeted that she was “honored” to join Biden on the Democratic ticket, Swift replied with one word: “YES.”

The official Harris-Walz campaign website has already added friendship bracelets to its store. Swift fans are known to make, and trade, friendship bracelets at her concerts.

Harris has already gained the unofficial endorsement of another of the world’s biggest pop stars – Beyonce, who gave her blessing for her hit song “Freedom” to become the Democratic campaign anthem.

Rumors that Swift or Beyonce could possibly turn up at last month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago caused a frenzy on social media, though, sadly, neither appeared.

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