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It’s only been about six weeks since President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down and endorsing VP Kamala Harris. That’s crazy! Somehow it feels like it’s simultaneously been a lifetime and yet gone by in a flash. There’s been so much enthusiasm for Kamala, which has thankfully helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars in record time. A good chunk of those funds have come from the wildly successful Zooms for Kamala. Black Women for Kamala set the bar, and soon Black Men, South Asian Women, South Asian Men, LGBTQ, White Women, and White Dude iterations followed. So the next logical demographic to organize their own Zoom was… Swifties for Kamala! The call raised over $140,000 and featured Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand, and singer-songwriter Carole King — she sang “Shake It Off!”
Left-leaning Taylor Swift fans joined artists like Carole King and politicians, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for a Zoom call organized by the group “Swifties for Kamala” in an effort to mobilize fans of the pop superstar to vote for Kamala Harris.
Swift herself has no affiliation with the group and was not involved in the call on Tuesday. CNN has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment on the event.
“Swifties for Kamala” has amassed roughly a quarter of a million followers across multiple social media platforms since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term and endorsed Vice President Harris.
More than 26,000 participants registered to join the Tuesday evening call, which raised more than $138,000 for the campaign and featured remarks by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) and chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Anderson Clayton.
Irene Kim, the co-founder of “Swifties for Kamala,” had previously told CNN the group was hopeful Harris or her running mate, Tim Walz, might join the call, though neither were present.
“Hello Swifties!” is how Warren, the first speaker of the night, greeted the group as heart, thumbs up and party emojis flowed through the Zoom stream.
“You are resilient, and you know how to take on bullies and you know how to be your most authentic, most joyful selves,” Warren said. “You come together hand-in-hand, friendship bracelets on your wrist, and you overcome pretty much anything that life throws at you. And that is what the Kamala Harris campaign is all about. It’s about standing up for what is right in the face of bullies, like Donald Trump.”
King sang her favorite Swift song, “Shake It Off,” on the call, telling those gathered not to be afraid of standing up and using their voice in the lead-up to the election.
“I’ve been a political activist for years, I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been a doorknocker, even as a famous person,” King said.
“I am a Swiftie, and Taylor and I are actually friends,” the music legend also said. “We’ve had conversations backstage, and I see her as sort of my musical and songwriting granddaughter, and we have a lovely relationship and I’m so proud of her.” King added, “I’m so excited about Kamala because so many people are excited about Kamala.”
Gillibrand told a few Swiftie jokes … and also referenced the now-infamous cat lady remarks made by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.
“I think it’s important that we, as single cat ladies, as independent women, as women who know every lyric that Taylor Swift has ever written, that we are part of this campaign and part of this election,” Gillibrand said. “I think she can be a voice for this generation that is really profound, as someone who values women’s words, who values women, who values our independence.”
Gosh I love Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She’s so earnest! I thought she did a great job making the pitch of the shared themes between Taylor’s songs and the ethos of Kamala’s campaign. And then Sen. Gillibrand waltzes in and nails her “As single cat ladies,” intro. But of course the big, billionaire, sold-out-global-tour elephant in the room is… where is Taylor herself? Politically speaking. Other outlets even noted how strange it was that Taylor couldn’t be bothered. I could understand Taylor waiting until after the European leg of the Eras Tour, then again until she was cleared to speak about the terrorist threat that was thwarted in Vienna (and caused her shows there to be canceled). And I also thought it was appropriate to show respect for the tragedy that occurred in Southport, England. But at this point, isn’t it more and more conspicuous the longer she stays mum? While hosting a pro-MAGA white nationalist at her home? The Swifties showed up for Kamala, now it’s time for Taylor’s version.
Photos credit Getty and via YouTube/Access Hollywood and Billboard News
Is Senator Warren…a Swiftie? What is even happening?! Love that these “for Kamala” Zooms are still going strong.
I heard Bailey is!
I saw one with Padma Lakshmi, Joel McHale Hosting Thursday’s Cooking for Kamala Video Call Featuring Celebrity Chefs. I think Chef Jose Andre was going to be on the call.
https://x.com/ericswalwell/status/1829292115987501489
It’s great these groups are keeping the enthusiasm going, It’s actually better if Taylor doesn’t five an endorsement yet. You want to space them out to keep up the energy.
Were there any pictures of Brittany Mahomes at TS’s house? Not doubting she was there, just wondering. Normally that obnoxious famewhore would be jumping all over Taylor and running around in view of the press and public for attention and to make sure everyone knows she was invited and is a bestie. I’ve seen it reported but haven’t seen pictures, so maybe she was shamed enough to keep a low profile. I’m not going to ding Taylor on having her there because I think the timing was so tight with that first “like” that TS would have had to kick BM out after she got there with her husband and kids.
Anyway, Taylor has made her endorsements two and four years ago in October so there’s lots of time.
Yay Swifties!
I don’t think BM is stupid enough to go running to the press, she knows full well her access to Swift will be cut if she does and she is not willing to sacrifice that.
I wonder if Taylor will ever come out in support Harris/waltz. I am glad that her fans did. It’s amazing that these organizations keep going anybody see the crowd that they had in Savannah Georgia yesterday? It was phenomenal
They had cooking for Kamala last night with some famous chefs
Do we think Travis is a Trump-supporter? because that might be of some influence on her. But really I don’t think any boyfriend or friendgroup will suddenly make her keep her mouth shut on where she stands. She is a mature, independent woman. I’m sure she knows who she is by now.
Travis would have been kicked out of the MAGA cult for openly supporting vaccines. From everything I know, the ladies in his family (mom, SIL) would drag his ass for supporting Trump, and he’s been open and early supporting things like kneeling during the anthem with his black teammates. I have not seen or heard anything ever that would indicate Travis or anyone in his immediate family are Trumpers.
Nope. The Kelces are old-school working class Democrats. Travis is always talking about the diversity he experienced growing up in Cleveland Heights and it’s a running joke among Black football commentators and his teammates that’s “he’s Black” and “the only white people he knows are Jason Kelce and Taylor Swift” (Pivot Podcast). He was one of the first white players to kneel, spoke out in support of vaccines (not just appearing in an ad) – and the MAGAts HATE him with a passion.
People need to understand how football teams work. The owners are all right-wing billionaires. The majority of players are Black, but there is a huge Southern influence from the big college teams coming out of Mississippi, Alabama etc. One of the first people to publicly support Harrison Butker was Chris Jones, my favourite Chiefs’ player (which broke my heart). He’s a Black dude from Mississippi, but is also a gung-ho Christian.
My point is – NFL teams are a melting pot of people from all over the country who HAVE to find a way to play together and get along. A good proportion of players are flat-earthers, for pity’s sake. To say they don’t know or care about politics is putting it mildly.
That said, we all knew Brittany Mahomes was an a-hole. I get why Taylor feels she needs to get along with her. But if we ever get confirmation that Pat Mahomes is a Trump supporter like his mother and wife, I will lose my mind.
These women are all doing an amazing job at hyping Kamala, but as far as Taylor is concerned I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her. She only casts her lot in when she sees which way the wind is blowing.
I understand the commentors stating that Swift has had security issues and she may be hesitant, but many have come out to support Kamala and not nearly with the same bankroll she has to fund her security.
Early voting is 09/20 and endorsing in October is too late. The young voters who aren’t registered need to register. Kudos to this call and the people organizing it. Now the bigger question remains: WHERE IS SWIFT?
The news reported yesterday that the CIA thwarted a terrorist attack that was very far in its planning, included Vienna locals who had managed to work in backstage roles, and their intent was to kill TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HER FANS AT HER CONCERT. She still has concerts in November and December. Of course, she is not going to stay something. Her fans would still be in danger at future shows. We all know Taylor is a democrat. She has literally explicitly stated so in Miss Americana, and she endorsed Biden/Harris in the last election cycle. This criticism I’ve seen of her not endorsing right now is ridiculous.
she has endorsed in October for the last two elections.
Yeah, she has all those dollars to protect herself: she has shows left on the tour. She DOES NOT have enough $$ to protect all the fans in attendance. Please. There are plenty of better places to spend that energy.
It’s not about bankrolling her own security, the terrorist group that was planning to blow up the Vienna concert venue was large and well coordinated – can you imagine the death toll if it had actually happened???? Of course she’s not going to place her fans in that kind of jeopardy by openly dissing MAGA republicans. Furthermore, she endorsed the Dems in October in the last 2 elections. “Where is Swift???” She’s on a concert tour FFS.
Where is Swift? Dealing with the fall out of an international terrorist plot from only a couple of weeks ago. She has been back on US soil for – what? – 8 days? It’s not about “bankrolling her security”, but about getting her ducks in a row to ensure the safety of millions of fans. And Austria doesn’t have a gun problem like the US.
She is likely thinking, if she endorses on x date, all it would take is one lone shooter at a show… or targeting people outside the venue before any security is involved.
That said, knowing that Swift MUST be wrestling with this (and likely issuing Trump with ‘cease and desist’ notices for that AI crap) – Brittany Mahomes is utter trash.
TS may decide to sit this one out, and that understandable; if you’ve already been the focus of a foiled terrorist plot, you may not want to call more attention to yourself. I understand why everyone wants her to endorse Harris, but the risk and reward ratio are not in her favor. If she supports Trump, she’ll disappoint a huge section of her fanbase, which will cost her sales for the rest of her life. If she supports Harris, there may be some but less sales impact but she’ll also activate the crazy right-wing nut jobs, who we know are capable of real damage and have long memories. Endorsing anyone comes with a significant risk of harm to herself, her career and/or everyone she loves. We want her to do it, but the personal cost to her would be huge and greatly outlast this election cycle. My guess is she won’t endorse anyone, but might be publicly friendly with Harris after the election.
It is most certainly NOT understandable. It’s all hands on deck now, especially for (alleged) feminists.
Stop making excuses.
She already endorsed Biden before and MAGA already shitted on her. Don’t think they will be that surprised if she supports Harris.
She will disappoint a much langer section of her fanbase if she says nothing.
Also, not a good look if she promoted Biden, but not a black woman at the top of the ticket.
She’s between a rock and a hard place and I fully understand why she’s waiting to endorse because she’s on a fricking world tour. She’s already had to deal with a massive terrorist plot to blow up the Vienna concert venue. The MAGA morons came after her after she endorsed Biden. She doesn’t want to put herself, her band or especially her concert attendees at risk from some other terrorist plot, simple as that. We all saw how easy it was for that demented kid to almost take out Trump. Furthermore, to accuse her of being an *alleged* feminist is a cheap shot and totally unnecessary, and we are not making excuses.
These endorsements need to be staggered. If everyone came out the first month of her campaign no one would have anything to talk about. She needs big endorsements later in Sept or Oct to keep the excitement going. Hopefully Taylor will come out with a get out the vote soon.
And yet ms swift wasn’t on the call herself. Interesting.
Her fans are doing more for Kamala than she is. She can hide behind that, I suppose.
I dont think she’s gonna endorse at all and I dont think it is because of security
💯 agree.
I think what might be even more terrifying to the MAGAs who fear a Taylor endorsement is that so many of her fans feel empowered to just organize for Kamala on their own – they are not waiting around for Taylor to say something, they are banding together, raising money, and making their voices heard. That is the stuff of nightmares for the MAGAs – their own supporters certainly don’t do that, they wait for their dear orange leader to guide them.
One of the swifties for kamala said it best- we are not affiliated with Taylor, we do not expect anything from her, We Do Not Speak For Taylor- we are harnessing our power as a community. (paraphrasing)
I don’t think the maga terrorists are any less dangerous than the isis terrorists.
It was pre-maga- but its the same people- anybody remember the Oklahoma City bombing?
White supremacists will kill people- luckily a lot of them seem stupid and not that well organized.
No one has to make a statement.
But Taylor has directly rebuked trump on social media and came out against tenn bigot senator blackburn (who, please note, won reelection, despite taylor’s endorsement of her opponent in 2018).
Taylor can’t swing the election.
She has driven so much youth voter registration- which is a huge win for dems.
She endorsed biden in 2020.
She has probably given money, but like most things with donations, she does not put out pr about it. Every city she’s been to on tour has gotten a major foodbank donation.
I think she will endorse VP Harris, i hope she does.
But she does not owe any of us anything in this regard.
And i wish people would stop showing their a**es DEMANDING she speak out.
She has concerns, including the safety of 80,000 a night at her shows, along with her team, her dancers/singers/band, her family and herself.
She does not owe you a damn thing.
And the fact that people are still like- she’s probably a secret trump supporter- after she 4 years ago- on clips you can see on you youtube anytime- made a clear anti trump, anti bigot declaration- just shows me how people will find a reasons to be ugly and nasty to another woman. Still internalized misogyny, and it still sucks.
Internalized misogyny also involves expecting poorer women and nonwhite women to pick up the bulk of the slack of activism or at least speaking out when rich white women choose to stay low for whatever reason. It is very wrong to excuse someone like TS who has always claimed to be a feminist because you think she doesn’t have the power to protect herself. The only legitimate excuse is not endangering her fans at a concert while still on tour.
Swift is one of the most powerful women in the world who could do a lot of good and is choosing to hang with racists etc and is staying silent (I don’t know what the point of a Swifties for Kamala thing is if Swift is completely unaffiliated and quite possibly not even on their side, although the donations are impressive).
And, that’s her right if she wants, but she doesn’t get to put on the performative feminism facade if she wants to play both fields.
Also, don’t think there aren’t plenty of MAGA people taking notes about her silence towards Trump using her music, etc.
If *Jennifer Aniston* can say something about Trump or Vance, Taylor can.
I don’t think it is making excuses to acknowledge that she is a real person with real feelings, whose actions have real consequences she has to live with long after the election is over. I also have sympathy for the female Arlington employee who refused to press charges against Trump’s team for assault, for roughly the same reasons, minus the celebrity.
Also, think about it: TS endorses Harris. Then what? A media circus would immediately explode; she’s one of the most famous people in the world and this would be so polarizing. It could conceivably ignite a culture war that would likely persist for the rest of her life.
But personal consequences for her aside, by staying out of it, she’s avoiding making herself a distraction and potentially swamping the efforts of the Harris campaign — everything would likely then all be about Taylor Swift, and not Kamala Harris. (Which I suspect is the real reason Beyoncé did not perform at the DNC; you don’t want the supporting act to outshine the star). That has the potential to be a loss for the campaign, not a gain. It could also actually activate undecided people who don’t like Taylor Swift to vote for Trump. It’s a hugely complicated equation with so many variables. Staying out of it might actually be the most supportive option, or at least the least chaotic option.
Sorry but this is really silly that Swift didn’t show up or still refuses to endorse either side. That being said, good on the swifties to have work on the initiative, even if your leader isn’t taking part and prefers to spend her weekend with the brand-new MAGA princess.
Why does she have to show up? The event was done by Swift fans on their own steam. They didn’t need her there to raise money. They sang her song and I’m sure she is fine with that. She might be back in the US now, but she is still in the middle a huge tour and has to think about how to make that run smoothly (hopefully with no more terrorists threats or other danger to attendants) until it’s over.
Yes Swift has left-leaning fans, but she also has quite a few right-leaning RACIST fans. President Joe Biden is a WHITE man.
???? Joe Biden defeated Trump and protected Democracy from an insurgent mob who wanted to erase the election. He may not be perfect but he is a Democrat of life time service that included being vp to a Black president and possibly passing the torch to the first woman president.
Clarence Thomas is a black man on the Supreme Court who will eradicate all democratic rights put before him. Maybe I don’t understand your comment.
At any rate Taylor imo needs to say something because at this moment the magas are loving it that she’s not
@NORMADES What I meant was that MVP Harris is not a white woman, she is a South-Asian & Black American; And that Taylor Swift has a lot of racist fans so Swift might not want to say anything or endorse anyone in this election cycle. (Just my own opinion.)
President Biden did a lot for American & the democracy of the World in the past 3 1/2 years. I’m not forgetting or forgiving all those back-stabbers from his party.
Well said, NORMADES.
I wanted to say something, but you said it better than me.
Carole King is AMAZING! Love this.
AWW, this is shaping up to be the feel-good season of the year, which is saying a lot considering that only a few weeks ago i was tying to figure out how I could get to November without reading or listening to any corporate news.
Shout in this race to my Governor, Gavin Newsom, who announced that he was from the Great State of Nancy Pelosi as he delivered all of our votes to Kamala Harris.