SAN ANTONIO – Minutes after Tuesday’s 2024 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, one of the most well-known names in music made an endorsement that immediately began trending on social media platforms.
Pop star Taylor Swift told her nearly 300 million followers on Instagram that she intended to vote for Kamala Harris for President of the United States.
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“I’m voting for (Kamala Harris) because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” she wrote. “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.”
In her post, Swift mentioned an AI post that falsely depicted her endorsing Trump. She also encouraged voters to do their research about which candidate they wanted to support and advocated for people to register to vote.
In Texas, the deadline to register to vote is Oct. 7.
Since her endorsement, many political observers have discussed what kind of impact Swift’s support could have on the presidential race.
KSAT reached out to MOVE Texas, a grassroots, nonprofit organization that advocates to increase youth voter participation, for insight into this question.
MOVE Texas political director Stephanie Gómez said that a person with the number of super fans like Taylor Swift could certainly have an impact on the race.
“You have to understand that Taylor Swift is not just a musical force, she’s an economic, political, and social force,” Gómez said. “When a person is able to kind of have the range that she does and I think when she has that type of meaning in society -- her making a statement about young people and the need for them to research issues, clear up general misinformation, and vote is always going to be super significant.”
Gómez said her group has seen young people “excited” all over social media after the debate and announcement.
KSAT asked whether past celebrity endorsements or voting-related posts were beneficial for voter turnout.
Gómez said anyone with a large platform helps, adding they see more traction in people engaging with links that they share, but building communities for voters to become informed was more important.
“Ultimately, though, the best messenger for a young person when it comes to politics is going to be through their peers. That’s why our mission is so important. We’re a lot more about than getting out, it’s about getting out about issues, candidates, voters, and about what their communities can do,” Gómez said.
Lastly, we asked Gómez if she thought the announcement could sway votes to either candidate.
Gómez said she has “no doubt” that Swift will energize people to the ballot box.
