Swift said Trump’s recent use of AI imagery of her on social media convinced her to be “very transparent” about her voting plans.

By Anthony Adragna

09/10/2024 11:13 PM EDT

Updated: 09/11/2024 12:07 AM EDT

Pop megastar Taylor Swift said she’s supporting Kamala Harris for president this fall following Tuesday night’s debate with Donald Trump.

“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift wrote in a post to her Instagram account. “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.”

The singer made her post alongside an image of her holding her cat, Benjamin Button, and signed her post “Childless Cat Lady.” That’s an apparent reference to Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s derisive comments about the country being led by “a bunch of childless cat ladies.” (Swift has three cats who are all named after movie or TV characters: Benjamin Button, Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey.)

Swift, arguably the largest celebrity on the planet, said “it’s much easier to vote early” and that she would share information on how to register and vote early on her accounts. She boasts an astounding social media reach with 283 million Instagram followers, and her post received more than 2.4 million likes within the first 30 minutes of it going up.

It’s not the first time Swift has waded into electoral politics. She endorsed President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and supported the Democratic challenger to Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s (R-Tenn.) successful 2018 Senate bid.

Her endorsement of Biden did not come until early October.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz hailed the endorsement in an interview on MSNBC following the debate.

“I’m grateful to Taylor Swift, and I say that as a cat owner,” the Minnesota governor said. “This will be the opportunity for Swifties. Get on over and give us a hand and get things going.”

Taylor Swift’s “The Man,” a song about women facing double standards in their careers, played on the speakers after Harris gave a speech at a debate watch party — minutes after the singer’s endorsement.

In her post, Swift referenced Trump’s recent use of AI imagery of her on his social media site Truth Social falsely suggesting she would support him.

The singer wrote it “really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.” She said it convinced her to be “very transparent” about her voting plans.

The endorsement comes as Swift has drawn online criticism from liberals for her friendship with Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is a teammate of Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce.

Brittany Mahomes appeared to like an Instagram post from Trump last month, and last week, the former president praised her on Truth Social for defending him. Swift was photographed hugging Brittany Mahomes last weekend when the two were at the U.S. Open.

Trump’s campaign bashed the endorsement as “more evidence that the Democrat party has become the party of the wealthy elite.”

Kierra Frazier and Ally Mutnick contributed to this report.