August 30, 2024
While Taylor Swift has yet to endorse a presidential candidate, her fervent fanbase is already mobilizing for one. The Swifties for Kamala coalition officially launched on Tuesday afternoon, August 27, with a virtual rally that featured a lineup of guest speakers—including Carole King and Senator Elizabeth Warren, among others—making Swift-related references and puns, reports Variety.
King was introduced as the self-proclaimed “original cat lady” and started her speech by praising Swift as “my musical and songwriting granddaughter.”
Swift inducted King into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, performing a cover of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and calling her “the greatest songwriter of all time.” King returned the favor during the call by rapping the chorus of “Shake It Off.”
“I’m excited about Kamala, because so many people are excited about Kamala,” King said. “I have admired her, the idea that this happened, and the stars lined up, and Joe Biden did a really gracious, hard thing to do, and I’m so proud of him. … But this is about you. This call is about you.”
King provided the call with advice for volunteering, namely door knocking and phone banking, encouraging an estimated 27,000 viewers to support Harris and Tim Walz.
“I’ve been a political activist for years. I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been a door knocker—even as a famous person,” she added. “I’m telling you all this because if any of you are thinking of volunteering to be door knockers or phone callers, but you’re a little nervous about what you might say, please believe me: There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Each guest speaker was instructed to share their favorite song from Swift before sharing their political messages. Warren, the first guest speaker for the event, kicked off the call by claiming “Karma” and “All Too Well (10-Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” as her favorite songs. She also called out the battle against Ticketmaster and summoned the “Era of the First Woman President,” as viewers on the “Swifties for Kamala” Discord chat praised Warren’s efforts and donated to Harris’ campaign. (An estimated $114,000 was raised at the time of this article’s publication).
“So, here’s the deal. We’ve got 70 days until the election, and I’m just going to be blunt, it is going to be a tough fight ahead,” Warren said. “We have lots to do, and Dang, there are only 24 hours in a day, or 144 ‘All Too Well (10-Minute Versions).’”
Other featured guests included senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Ed Markey; Representative Chris Deluzio and Representative Becca Balint; North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton; and Swifties for Kamala team members Irene Kim, Emerald Medrano, Annie Wu Henry, April Glick Pulito, Emma Coleman, and Lexa Hayes.
The Swifties for Kamala launched after President Biden ended his campaign in July, as the Democratic Party leadership was quickly beginning to coalesce behind Harris as the new presumptive nominee. While Swift has yet to publicly voice support for either Harris or Trump, the pop star did endorse the Biden-Harris ticket ahead of the 2020 election.
“We are not waiting on Taylor to show her support for Kamala Harris,” Swifties for Harris Social Media Manager Rohan Reagan told Cosmopolitan in an interview earlier in August.
“We are doing this outside of her, using the platform of Swifties as a way to get people involved in the election. Taylor did throw her support toward Joe Biden during the 2020 election, so it is possible that she’ll show her support again. But Swifties for Kamala aren’t waiting for her to do that.”
Research contact: @Variety
