/ CBS News
Taylor Swift endorses Harris for president
Taylor Swift said she plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris in a post to Instagram shortly after the first presidential debate Tuesday between Harris and former President Donald Trump.
"I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election," Swift said in the post, adding that she's voting for Harris "because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them."
Swift said Harris "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," noting that she was "so heartened and impressed by her selection" of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate due to his support for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and "a woman's right to her own body."
The pop star also appeared to troll the Republican ticket by signing "Childless Cat Lady" below her name — echoing a phrase Trump's running mate, JD Vance, has faced blowback over using in a 2021 interview, when he said the country was being run by "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives." Vance later said he was being sarcastic.
The megastar said she had been made aware of recent AI-generated images Trump had promoted that falsely suggested she had endorsed him, adding that the incident "brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter."
Swift said she watched the debate on Tuesday night and urged her fans to research the candidates and issues, while closing her statement by explaining that she had done her research and "made my choice."
"Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make," Swift said.
Swift's possible endorsement has been the subject of intense debate in the political sphere. Earlier in Swift's career, she had stayed out of political endorsements, but in 2018, she issued her first endorsement, for Democratic Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in the Senate race against Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn, who won the race. In the 2020 election, she backed President Biden. And at this year's Democratic National Convention, rumors swirled that Swift or Beyoncé would make an appearance to back the new Democratic nominee, though neither did so.
Appearing on MSNBC Tuesday night, Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, responded to Swift's endorsement by saying he was "incredibly grateful," and adding, "This would be your opportunity, Swifties — KamalaHarris.com, get on over there, give us a hand, get things going."
Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.