Taylor Swift made a striking appearance at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards on Wednesday night in Elmont, N.Y. This comes shortly after the acclaimed singer-songwriter publicly endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
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Former President Donald Trump has openly declared his disapproval of Taylor Swift.
Just days after Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president, the Republican nominee expressed his distaste for the pop icon with a bold statement on social media, exclaiming, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
Following the debate between Harris and Trump on Tuesday night, Swift announced her backing of the Democratic vice president.
In a passionate message to her over 280 million Instagram followers, Swift emphasized her admiration for Harris: “She fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. 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.”
Swift’s public endorsement is fueled by her desire to clarify her stance after Trump promoted misleading images suggesting he had her support. Last month, Trump shared an AI-generated image of Swift endorsing his campaign, claiming victory over her fanbase. “I accept,” he stated in relation to the images, which he has since distanced himself from.
The impact of Swift’s endorsements on civic engagement is noteworthy; her past statements have historically driven voter registration. Since her recent endorsement, there have been over 300,000 visits to the voter registration website Vote.gov.
However, the influence of such celebrity endorsements is debatable. An ABC News/Ipsos poll published on Sunday indicated that Swift’s endorsement may have had “little impact” on voters’ likelihood to support Harris.
On Wednesday, following the debate and Swift’s endorsement, Trump downplayed her influence in an interview, stating, “I was not a Taylor Swift fan. It was just a question of time. She couldn’t possibly endorse Biden. But she’s a very liberal person.”
Later that evening, during the MTV Video Music Awards, Swift used her acceptance speech for video of the year to encourage viewers to register to vote, emphasizing the importance of participating in the upcoming presidential election.
