Pop star Taylor Swift says she will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, ending months of speculation about whether she would offer an endorsement in November's election.

What You Need To Know

  • Pop star Taylor Swift said on Instagram late Tuesday night following the first presidential debate that she will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, ending months of speculation about whether she would offer an endorsement in November's election

  • Swift encouraged her 283 million followers on Instagram to research their choices in November's election and check their voter registration

  • The megastar said she will support the vice president "because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them," and praised her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as a champion "for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades"

  • She also broke her silence about Trump posting an AI-generated image purporting to show Swift endorsing the Republican ex-president

Swift made the announcement on her Instagram page following the debate between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

"Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight," Swift said in her post late Tuesday night. "If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most. As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country."

"I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election," Swift added, saying she will support the vice president "because 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.

She also offered high praise for Tim Walz, her running mate, saying the Minnesota governor "has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades."

Swift later encouraged her 283 million followers on the popular photo-sharing platform to make sure they're registered to vote and urged them to do their own research on who to support before signing the post, "Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady," a reference to Trump's running mate JD Vance's previous criticisms of "childless cat ladies."

When asked in the spin room following Tuesday's presidential debate for his reaction to the endorsement from Swift, Trump replied: "I have no idea."

Come Wednesday morning, he predicted Swift will "pay a price" for backing Harris.

"I was not a Taylor Swift fan," Trump told Fox News in an attempt to shake off her endorsement of his opponent. "It was just a question of time."

"She's a very liberal person, she seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she'll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace," Trump said, before lavishing praise on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany Mahomes, who he recently thanked for "strongly defending" him on social media. Swift is dating Patrick Mahomes' teammate, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and was recently seen embracing Brittany Mahomes at the US Open Tennis Championships. 

"She's a big MAGA fan, that's the one I like much better than Taylor Swift," Trump said of Brittany Mahomes, later adding: "The wife of the great quarterback, and he is a great quarterback ... I think she's terrific."

She also broke her silence about Trump posting an AI-generated image purporting to show Swift endorsing the Republican ex-president, who she publicly opposed in 2020 in support of Joe Biden and Harris.

"Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site," Swift wrote. "It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. 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."