With President Joe Biden stepping down from his reelection efforts and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor, Taylor Swift is facing pressure from a growing faction of her fans to publicly back the potential Democratic nominee.
On Sunday, Biden announced in a statement posted on social media that he would not be seeking reelection in the 2024 presidential race, following weeks of pressure from within his own party and from key Democratic donors to step down amid concerns over his age and mental acuity.
In a follow-up post, Biden endorsed Harris to succeed him as the nominee, writing: "My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it's been the best decision I've made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats—it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this."
Hours later, Harris said in a statement of her own that she was "honored to have the President's endorsement." She continued: "My intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead."
"I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win," she concluded.
As Harris' potential nomination dominates the news cycle, a host of social media users have urged Swift to publicly declare her support for the Democrat.
David Hogg, a gun control activist, took to X, formerly Twitter, to address Swift, writing: "@taylorswift13 have you decided who you are supporting? We need to do a ton to bring back the youth vote and you could literally be the reason we don't fall to a pro-life, pro-gun, anti climate, felon."
"I feel like us U.S Swifties should mass organize and help campaign for Kamala Harris and spread how horrendous Project 2025 would be to help get people's butts down to the polls in November," one fan wrote on the platform, adding, "if we don't want democracy to end we really need to move and push blue votes."
Another commenter wrote, "Taylor Swift please do something right and endorse the Democratic nominee this election." The user added, "You have So [Much] Power."
"Kamala's party's first act should be getting Taylor Swift to publicly endorse her. Swifties would come through," another X user said.
An X account called @Swifties4Kamala launched soon after Biden backed Harris for the nomination. The account, which is not affiliated with Swift, describes itself as a "coalition of Swifties ready to mobilize Taylor Swift fans to help get Democratic candidates elected up & down the ballot."
Newsweek has contacted a representative of Swift for comment via email.
Swift's Views on Harris
While Swift has yet to weigh in on the latest developments in the presidential race, she did share her support for Harris during the 2020 election cycle.
Taking to X in August 2020, Swift responded "YES" to Harris' post, in which the Democrat said she was "honored to join [Biden] as our party's nominee for Vice President, and do what it takes to make him our Commander-in-Chief."
In October 2020, Swift again expressed her support for Harris as she promoted her interview with V magazine, in which the pop superstar said why she was backing Biden.
"So apt that it's come out on the night of the VP debate," the musician wrote. "Gonna be watching and supporting @KamalaHarris by yelling at the tv a lot."
Swift's political beliefs have long been a point of speculation, as the "Shake It Off" singer largely remained quiet about politics until 2018, when she endorsed Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen in Tennessee. She has also voiced support for the LGBTQ+ community and abortion rights.
There was speculation that she would endorse Biden ahead of November's election, but she has not said who she is supporting for president this election cycle. She did, however, endorse him in the 2020 presidential election. Solidifying her past positions, Swift publicly criticized Trump during his presidency.
Political Force
Swift has proved herself to be a political force. On September 19, National Voter Registration Day, the singer shared a message on Instagram, in which she urged her fans to register on the nonpartisan, nonprofit website Vote.org. According to the organization, Swift's post was followed by a surge of more than 35,000 registrations—an almost 25 percent increase over the same day the previous year.
Andrea Hailey, the CEO of Vote.org, said in a statement that the single-day surge in registrations was a "highly encouraging sign of voter enthusiasm," particularly as there was a 115 percent spike over 2022 in newly eligible 18-year-olds registering to vote.
In May, a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek found that 22 percent of voters who backed Biden in the 2020 election said they would be more likely to vote for a GOP candidate in an election if Swift endorsed them.
The survey, which was conducted among 1,500 eligible voters on May 1, showed a 9-point increase from January, when only 13 percent of Biden 2020 supporters said they would be more like to vote for a Republican candidate backed by Swift.
The singer-songwriter's influence seems to be growing among Trump supporters as well, albeit less so than among Biden supporters. In January, 13 percent of Trump 2020 voters said they'd be more likely to vote for a Democrat candidate endorsed by Swift. That number rose to only 16 percent in May.
Both the May and January polls had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.53 percent. The January survey was conducted among 1,500 eligible voters on January 18.
Swift's political influence has sparked a wave of unrelenting attacks from some Trump supporters. Ahead of this year's Super Bowl LVIII, many threatened to boycott the broadcast because the singer was expected to attend to support her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
"Taylor Swift is a force," comedian and Democratic consultant Chip Franklin previously told Newsweek. "Her presence at NFL games has been a $330 million bonanza for both the Chiefs and the NFL."
He added, "Swift's music taps into the angst and pressure young people are experiencing in this social media maelstrom, and combine that with her boyfriend—a handsome football star and pro-vax advocate—and you have an unprecedented whirlwind of cultural and political opinion."
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