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Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president after debate ends

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FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour, June 21, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

WASHINGTON ā€“ Taylor Swift, one of the music industry's biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the presidential debate ended.

ā€œI 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,ā€ Swift wrote late Tuesday in an Instagram post, which included a link to a voter registration website.

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Swift has a dedicated following among young women, a key demographic in the November election, and her latest tour has generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales. In a half hour, the post received more than 2.3 million likes.

She included a picture of herself holding her cat Benjamin Button, and she signed the message ā€œChildless Cat Lady.ā€ The remark is a reference to three-year-old comments made by JD Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, about women without children not having an equal stake in the country's future.

A Harris senior campaign official said the endorsement was not coordinated with the campaign. Tim Walz, Harrisā€™ running mate, appeared to learn about the endorsement in the middle of a live interview on MSNBC. As Rachel Maddow read the text, Walz broke into a smile and patted his chest.

ā€œThat was eloquent. And it was clear," Walz said. "And thatā€™s the kind of courage we need in America to stand up.ā€

Swift wrote that her endorsement was partially prompted by Trumpā€™s decision to post artificial intelligence-generated pictures suggesting that she had endorsed him. One showed Swift dressed as Uncle Sam, and the text said ā€œTaylor wants YOU to VOTE for DONALD TRUMP.ā€

Trump's posts ā€œbrought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter,ā€ Swift wrote. She added that "Iā€™ve done my research, and Iā€™ve made my choice."

Trump said Wednesday that Swift's move ā€œwas just a question of time.ā€ He told ā€œFox & Friendsā€ that Swift is ā€œa very liberal personā€ who ā€œseems to always endorse a Democrat and she'll probably pay a price in the marketplace.ā€

In 2020, she supported Democrat Joe Biden, and she cheered for Harris in her debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence. She also was openly critical of Trump, saying he had stoked ā€œthe fires of white supremacy and racism.ā€

Swift is a popular figure nationwide, but especially among Democrats. An October 2023 Fox News poll found that 55% of voters overall, including 68% of Democrats, said they had a favorable view of Swift. Republicans were divided, with 43% having a favorable opinion and 45% an unfavorable one.

AP VoteCast suggests that a partisan divide on Swift was apparent as early as 2018. Thatā€™s the year Swift made her first political endorsement, supporting Tennessee Democrat Phil Bredesen for Senate over Republican Marsha Blackburn.

VoteCast found that among Tennessee voters that year, 55% of Democrats and just 19% of Republicans said they had a favorable opinion of Swift. Blackburn won by a comfortable margin in the deep red state.

Swift is the leading nominee at Wednesdayā€™s MTV Video Music Awards. While itā€™s unclear whether Swift will attend the show in New York, she could use any acceptance speeches to elaborate on her support of Harris.

The event was shifted a day later to accommodate Tuesdayā€™s debate. MTV has a long history of encouraging voter participation.

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Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Philadelphia, Linley Sanders in Washington and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles contributed to this report.


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