Taylor Swift, seen here performing in Madrid, Spain, last month, has not endorsed anyone in the presidential election. But her fans are already organizing for presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Bryan West
The Tennessean / USA TODAY Network
Taylor Swift has not endorsed anyone in this year’s presidential race. But her army of fans isn’t waiting for her. Swifties know which way she leans.
Swift, currently traveling in Europe with her mammoth Eras Tour, endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020.
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@marcynaismith This video from the Miss America documentary shows Taylor speaking out about politics & I really hope she will use her power and following to encourage new voters to register & educate themselves. She could be vital in us electing our first female president! Watch the Miss Americana documentary on Netflix. @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation @Tree Paine #taylorswift #taylorsversion #taylornation #swifttok #swiftie #kamala #kamalaharris #kamalaforpresident #harrisforpresident #election #2024 #2024president #missamericana #treepaine #womansrights #womensupportingwomen #gayrights ♬ original sound – Marcy Naismith
Since Sunday, when Biden stepped down from his reelection campaign and Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee, Swifties have flooded social media supporting Harris, enchanted by the prospect of the first female president.
If the mammoth success of Swift’s tour has demonstrated anything, it’s this: When millions of Swifties mobilize, get out of their way.
And by millions we mean her 283 million Instagram followers, 32.8 million TikTok followers and 95 million followers on X.
@sweetestnic Swifties Unite #swifties #swiftiesoftiktok #swiftiesforharris #kamalaharris #femalerage #femalepower #reputation #togetherwerise #taylorsversion #election2024 ♬ LWYMMD X KAMALA – naya
They spend money, lots of it; the international tour is projected to generate close to $5 billion in consumer spending in the United States alone.
They are TikTok savants. Memes, fan edits and AI-generated images of Harris are flooding the social media platform.
Swifties will stand in line for hours to buy Swift merchandise. (Stand in line at the polls? Piece of cake.)
They are fiercely loyal. Dare to say anything negative about Swift and be ready for payback, something Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance is finding out.
Make fun of Harris’ laugh? Swifties like it.
@merjudd i cant stop listening to this sound #kamala #kamalaharris #kamalaharris2024 #biden #taylorswift #taylorsversion #lookwhatyoumademedo #reputation #reputationtaylorsversion #reputationtv ♬ original sound – Evan
They are very aware of their collective power and what it could mean if Swifties join forces with the just-as-passionate BeyHive, Beyonce’s fans, to campaign for Harris. Beyonce’s “Freedom” is the soundtrack for Harris’ first campaign ad that debuted earlier this week.
“Swifties started organizing the minute Biden endorsed Harris. @Swifties4Kamala But they should continue to underestimate us, that will be fun,” one fan warned on X this week.
@getinwerehealing IT IS TIME! @kamalahq #kamala2024 #dctiktok ♬ LWYMMD X KAMALA – naya
The X account Swifties4Kamala sprang up within hours of Biden’s announcement and had more than 45,000 followers as of Friday. It is not affiliated with Swift.
“Kamala already has the Swifties’ vote,” says the headline on a New York magazine story about Swift fan Emerald Medrano, a college student in Texas who started the account.
On Sunday he put out a tweet urging U.S. Swifties to “mass organize” for Harris. Since then, Swifties have started a group chat that has attracted hundreds of followers, formed committees — one specifically for beaded friendship bracelets, no surprise — and laid plans to educate voters and get them registered.
@swiftiesforkamalaharris Day 2 of becoming educated Swifties and changing the world! Here’s a high level overview of Harris’ past exprrience.How do we think Harris’ experience will help her win this election answer below and tag a friend ️ #swifties4harris #swifties4Kamala #taylorswiftkalama #taylorswift #tstheerastour ♬ Taylor Swift Mega Mashup – Swiftie ★
@jonathanmillermusic And we will thank black women who most likely once again show up to help us win this election. #swiftiesforharris #kamalaharris #coconuttree #harris2024 #voteblue #taylorswift #swifties #swifttok #swiftok @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation @Kamala HQ ♬ original sound – jonathanmillermusic
The first Swifties to reach out were in their 50s. Medrano has heard from fans around the world.
Fans have turned three of Swift’s songs into theme music.
“Look What You Made Me Do.”
“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
@ladylibertywantsrevenge #kamalaharris #whosafraidoflittleoldme #taylorswift #harris2024 #fypシ゚viral #women ♬ Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? – Taylor Swift
@functioncgn #taylorswift #swifties #kamalaharris #kamala #amessagetothesmallestman #endorse #femalepresident ♬ The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived – Taylor Swift
On Thursday, an online Harris fundraising event called “White Women: Answer the Call” became the first Zoom in history with more than 100,000 participants. The livestream crashed at one point — yup, it broke Zoom — but raised more than $1 million.
It followed Zoom meetings this week of Black women, Black men, South Asian and LGBTQ supporters.
According to social media posts, Swifties are donating to the campaign $13 at a time.
Thirteen is Swift’s favorite number.
Now they’re waiting for their Zoom call.
@genxzone #republican #maga #fypシ゚viral #kamala #kamalaharris2024 #vote #vote #fjb #culturewars #politics #liberal #nomaga ♬ Taylor Swift Ready for it – reeltemplates.pro
‘Childless cat ladies’
If there’s a mascot for these efforts, it’s feline.
Vance’s comments to then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a 2021 interview have resurfaced, and Swifties have claimed them as a rallying cry.
“We are effectively run in this country … by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too,” Vance told Carlson.
“It’s just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”
Harris has spoken of her close relationship with her two stepchildren through husband Douglas Emhoff, and stepparents around the country this week rose up in her defense.
Swift, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, does not have children. She does, though, have three cats named after TV and movie characters — Benjamin Button, Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson.
Vance didn’t name-check Swift, who wore one of her cats draped around her shoulder in a photo shoot last year when she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. But fans are insulted on her behalf.
“He has secured his own demise,” one wrote on Instagram.
@bearthings7 Tell me 5 reasons make you love the cats #childlesscatlady #catlady #catperson #taylorswift #swiftie #swifttok #swifties #kamala #kamalaharris #kamala2024 #harris2024 #kamalaforpresident #usapresident #voteblue2024 #forthepeople #election2024 #catlover #taylorscats #againstfasicm ♬ LWYMMD X KAMALA – naya
Former “Friends” actress Jennifer Aniston didn’t like the comment either. “The Morning Show” star normally shuns social media but reposted the Vance comment to her Instagram Stories with a rebuke.
“I truly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States,” Aniston wrote. “All I can say is … Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day.
“I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too.”
‘Look What You Made Me Do’
Vance isn’t the only one sideways with Swifties at the moment. They’re angry with conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro for this hot take, which has been seen millions of times on X this week.
“What exactly do her qualifications look like, other than, again, this sort of intersectional magic of Kamala Harris and the fact that Democrats have to manufacture enthusiasm for …” Shapiro told Fox host Jesse Waters on Tuesday. “I’ve never seen this much manufactured enthusiasm for anyone outside of maybe Taylor Swift’s last album. It’s amazing.”
Waters laughed. “Me neither. It’s so obvious. You cringe when you see it,” he said.
Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album sat atop the Billboard 200 albums chart for 12 straight weeks, only recently dethroned by Eminem’s new album.
In the 48 hours after Biden stepped away from the campaign, nearly 40,000 people, mostly 34 and younger, registered to vote at the nonpartisan voter registration site Vote. org.
It matched the energy Swift created in September when she encouraged her Instagram followers to register to vote, leading to more than 35,000 new registrations.
Swifties are planning what to wear to the polls. Fashion is serious for fans, who wear elaborate outfits and armloads of friendship bracelets to Eras Tour shows. They’re learning about what can and can’t be worn to polling places on election days.
Harris T-shirts with Swift themes are being cranked out; cats are a popular icon. Fans are buying Converse Chuck Taylors because Harris wears them.
@charmgaze05 It’s a need! #swifties #taylor #taylorswift #kamalaharris #kamalaharris2024 #womanforpresident #vote #forthepeople #uspresident #kamala #viral #trendylooks ♬ MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman
@chanareadshorror Lets go!!! We are not going back @kamalaheadquarters @Swifties For Kamala #taylorswift #taylornation #swiftie #swiftiesforkamala #swiftie #kamala #kamalaharris #election2024 ♬ original sound – Evan
After Swift began dating Kelce, Swifties spent hours online figuring out how her concert schedule and his game days would mesh.
They’re using that same energy now to calculate when a Harris endorsement might happen or when Harris and Swift — Beyonce too? — might appear together on a stage.
@yourptapres Taylor Swifts tour dates #swifties4kamala #swifties4harris #taylorswift #erastour #kamalaharris ♬ original sound – Audrey Walkup
Swift begins a two-month break on Aug. 21, coincidentally during the week of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
She has a concert in Indianapolis on Nov. 3.
That’s just two days before Election Day.
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Lisa Gutierrez has been a reporter for The Kansas City Star since 2000. She learned journalism at the University of Kansas, her alma mater. She writes about pop culture, local celebrities, trends and life in the metro through its people. Oh, and dogs. You can reach her at lgutierrez@kcstar.com or follow her on Twitter – @LisaGinKC.
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Publish date : 2024-07-26 16:29:04
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