Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris, calls herself 'childless cat lady' (2024)

Taylor Swift has finally endorsed a candidate in the 2024 presidential race, and let's just say that Donald Trump might be feeling a little bit of karma (not featuring Ice Spice) after previously sharing AI-generated images of the pop star.

The 34-year-old singer-songwriter shared an impassioned Instagram post Tuesday night, calling for her fans to register to vote and throwing her support to Vice President Kamala Harris in the minutes after the conclusion of the highly anticipated debate between Trump and Harris in Philadelphia.

"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. As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country," Swift wrote in the post, which also included a photo of herself with her cat, Benjamin Button. "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 simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."

Swift continued, telling her followers, "I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election," because "she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them." She also called Harris, the current VP and a former senator, "a steady-handed, gifted leader" who can lead "by calm and not chaos," as opposed to Trump.

"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. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered! I also find it’s much easier to vote early. I’ll link where to register and find early voting dates and info in my story."

Swift closed the post by signing it with the title "Childless Cat Lady" under her full name, referencing a controversial comment by Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, who, in a widely maligned 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson, referred to single women in the Democratic party as "childless cat ladies."

Walz reacted to Swift's endorsem*nt during a live interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, shortly after the news broke. Maddow read Swift's full statement to Walz, who responded with excitement on the air.

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"I am incredibly grateful, first of all, to Taylor Swift. I say that also as a cat owner, a fellow cat owner," Walz said with smile. "That was eloquent, and it was clear. And that's the type of courage we need in America to stand up. We've seen it out of those Roe victims from the DNC. We've seen it out of women who would live to have their own personal lives kept personal but are forced to go out there because they nearly died because they can't get abortion services in a pregnancy. And now you have somebody like Taylor Swift coming out and making that very clear. This would be the opportunity Swifties:kamalaharris.com. Get on over there, give us a hand, get things going."

Other famous figures celebrated Swift's post, with likes from Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Olivia Wilde, John Legend, Kerry Washington, Viola Davis, Demi Lovato, Blake Lively, Selena Gomez, Justin Theroux, and many more.

The View star, CNN contributor, and former Trump White House communications associate Alyssa Farah Griffin, praised Swift live during the network's post-debate broadcast.

"Can I give a quick shout-out to J.D. Vance, who introduced into the bloodstream this 'childless cat lady,' that now one of the most powerful celebrities on the planet is using to endorse against Trump and Vance?" Griffin said.

In August, Griffin speculated that Harris could sneak ahead in the race if Swift endorsed her, posting on X: "If Taylor Swift endorses Kamala — which I think she will — the best way for the campaign to deploy her: have her do one-night-only shows in battleground states targeting 1st time voters, where the price to attend is registering to vote."

Many have reported on Swift’s impact not only on pop culture, but also the economy and society at large. Her Eras tour was cited as a key economic booster in cities around the world, while one of Swift’s September 2023 social media posts urging her fans to register to vote led to over 35,000 immediate registrations, per NPR.

Swift's announcement marked a rare overtly political statement from the pop star, who also previously endorsed two Democratic candidates running in the 2018 midterm elections in Tennessee, but has largely stayed out of major political discussions surrounding specific candidates.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to Trump's team for a response to Swift's endorsem*nt, as well as her reference to the AI-generated imagery Trump previously posted to social media.