After Tuesday night’s presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift took to Instagram to officially endorse Harris for the 2024 election. In the following 24 hours, nearly half a million people visited Vote.gov, the official government website where United States citizens can register to vote (learn more on how to register here).
As reported by Elizabeth Wagmeister (a CNN entertainment correspondent) and Betsy Klein (CNN’s Senior White House Producer), 405,999 people were referred to Vote.gov directly from Swift’s Instagram page. Such a number dwarfs the website’s usual traffic, which averages about 30,000 visitors per day.
“I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” Swift explained in her post. “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. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate Tom Walz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades… I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice.”
The impressive numbers follow Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance’s assertions that Swift’s endorsement wouldn’t make an impact. Trump went as far as saying that not only would Taylor Swift fail to move the needle, but that she would “pay a price” for voicing her opinion.
“I was not a Taylor Swift fan. It was only a matter of time. You couldn’t possibly endorse Biden. But she’s a very liberal person,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News on Wednesday morning. “She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”
Just last year, however, Trump questioned whether Swift was actually liberal in an interview with Variety editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh for his book, Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass.
Vance, meanwhile, was kinder with his words, but echoed a similar sentiment. “We admire Taylor Swift’s music, but I don’t think most Americans, whether they like her music, are fans of her or not, are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity who I think is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and the problems of most Americans,” he said on the Fox News program The Story with Martha MacCallum, seemingly failing to grasp the irony of attacking Swift’s wealth and celebrity status.
Notably, Swift directly referenced Vance’s rhetoric in her endorsement, referring to herself as a “Childless Cat Lady.” In response, Elon Musk appeared to publicly offer to get her pregnant, tweeting, “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
Prior to Swift’s statement, Trump had posted fake AI-generated images suggesting she had endorsed his presidential run. “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” she wrote. “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.”
In 2020, Swift endorsed Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Whether Swift’s actions will affect her bottom line remains to be seen, but given the number of people her post motivated to register to vote and the wild success of her ongoing “Eras Tour,” something tells us she’ll be just fine.
Swift will embark on the final run of her “Eras Tour” beginning in October, with concerts in Miami, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Toronto, and Vancouver. Get last-minute tickets here.
