Global pop superstar Taylor Swift announced late Tuesday night that she would be voting for Kamala Harris in the upcoming November presidential elections. Harris, along with running mate Tim Walz, have had a recent wave of successes against their opponents in the election, Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance. The endorsement by Swift came after a resounding victory for Harris in her first, and likely only, debate against Trump on Tuesday night. Throughout the debate, Harris was able to effectively get under Trump’s skin by criticizing multiple aspects of both his character and campaign-from his past racism against black homeowners in NYC to his campaign rallies boring attendees to the point where they often leave his rallies early.

Former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris while debating on Tuesday night. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

After the closing remarks of the debate, Swift announced her endorsement for the Harris-Walz ticket, pointing out several grievances against the Trump-Vance campaign, most notably an AI-generated deepfake of Swift’s fanbase (known as ‘Swifties’) wearing shirts supporting the Trump-Vance campaign which was posted on Donald Trump’s “Truth Social” website. Swift also concluded her endorsement with “Childless Cat Lady”, a callback to JD Vance’s repeated insults against women who own cats and women who do not have any children, which has led to mass scrutiny of Vance by the general public.

Swift, having tossed her vote in for the Harris-Walz campaign, will likely give the campaign a massive boost in public engagement and support from young women, who make up the majority of Swift’s large International fanbase. Even at home, Swift has tens of millions of young American women who listen to and consume her music regularly, and is considered one of the most influential women in the modern world. Swift also has a short history of endorsing candidates during contentious elections, along with fellow female artists like Beyoncé, who both have endorsed politicians running for office in the past (Swift, for example, endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 a month before the elections that year). 

With Harris’ victory in Tuesday’s debate, she has also managed to energize her already energetic supporters, who have started showing up in massive rallies across the country, following Trump’s iconic playbook. Trump is known for his own large public political rallies, his most infamous being the one which occurred on January 6th, 2021, and led to the rallies attendees storming and attacking the US Capitol complex. The Harris-Walz ticket has seized on the opportunity presented by her victory, and has scheduled several rallies in the Carolinas this week and also launched a nationwide bus tour program on abortion rights.