While Taylor Swift has been the focus of much speculation over what she hasn't said regarding Kamala Harris' run in this year's election, she certainly has had much to say in the past about the vice president's rival, Donald Trump.
Harris became a late entrant into the 2024 race for the White House after President Joe Biden announced in July that he would not be seeking reelection, 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.
With Harris on course to be named the official nominee at next week's Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Swift has faced growing pressure from fans to publicly declare her support for the former attorney general of California.
Experts recently told Newsweek that the highly influential Swift is likely delaying her public endorsement of Harris to ensure maximum impact at the polls this November. That Republican nominee Trump has not been a part of the conversation regarding who Swift might endorse is no mistake. The pop star backed Harris as VP in 2020 and has been highly critical of Trump in the past.
Swift's political beliefs had long been a point of speculation, as the 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.
In an interview with The Guardian back in 2019, Swift explained that she started to become more politically active following Trump's defeat of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the end of the 2016 election cycle.
"The things that happen to you in your life are what develop your political opinions," she told the publication. "I was living in this Obama eight-year paradise of, you go, you cast your vote, the person you vote for wins, everyone's happy! This whole thing, the last three, four years, it completely blindsided a lot of us, me included."
Avoiding Backlash
Swift stated that her reluctance to publicly share her political views was influenced by the backlash The Chicks (previously The Dixie Chicks) faced from country fans after they criticized then-President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq in 2003.
"I watched country music snuff that candle out," Swift recalled. "The most amazing group we had, just because they talked about politics. And they were getting death threats. They were made such an example that basically every country artist that came after that, every label tells you, 'Just do not get involved, no matter what.'"
"The worst part of the timing of what happened in 2016 was I felt completely voiceless," Swift said, adding that she "of course" would have publicly endorsed Clinton had she felt more confident to do so at the time.
"It was the fact that all the dirtiest tricks in the book were used and it worked," the singer continued, without naming names. "The thing I can't get over right now is gaslighting the American public into being like... 'If you hate the president, you hate America.' We're a democracy—at least, we're supposed to be—where you're allowed to disagree, dissent, debate. I really think that he thinks this is an autocracy."
The star ultimately vowed to do "everything I can for 2020" following 2016's election.
Swift's decision to publicly share her point of view on political matters was covered in her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana. She was shown passionately defending her decision to speak out against certain GOP views as she spoke with a team that included her father, Scott Swift.
Breaking Her Silence
Making good on her vow to do her part politically, Swift became increasingly outspoken against Trump in the months preceding his showdown with Biden.
In May 2020, the "Shake It off" hitmaker took to X, formerly Twitter, to criticize Trump's posts about Black Lives Matter protesters in Minnesota following the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer. As the protests turned violent, Trump rounded out a post by stating that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."
Swift pushed back on the statement, writing in a post of her own: "After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? 'When the looting starts the shooting starts'??? We will vote you out in November. @realdonaldtrump."
In August of that same year, Swift focused on Trump's handling of U.S. Postal Service funding and criticized him for allegedly withholding billions of dollars in funding.
"Trump's calculated dismantling of USPS proves one thing clearly: He is WELL AWARE that we do not want him as our president. He's chosen to blatantly cheat and put millions of Americans' lives at risk in an effort to hold on to power," she posted to X.
In a follow-up post, the star added: "Donald Trump's ineffective leadership gravely worsened the crisis that we are in and he is now taking advantage of it to subvert and destroy our right to vote and vote safely. Request a ballot early. Vote early."
Political Power
Swift's political power has become evident. On September 19, National Voter Registration Day, she 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, stated 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.
A poll conducted in May 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 likely to vote for a Republican candidate backed by Swift.
Her influence seems to be growing among Trump supporters as well, albeit less so than among those who had supported Biden. In January, 13 percent of Trump 2020 voters said they'd be more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate endorsed by Swift. That number rose to 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 entry into politics, and undeniable 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.
Trump on Swift
Swift's support for Democratic politicians has led to comments from Trump, who back in 2018 told reporters he liked the star's music "about 25 percent less now" after learning of where she was placing her support.
Earlier this year, Rolling Stone reported that had Trump previously declared himself to be "more popular" than the musician.
In the book Apprentice in Wonderland: How Donald Trump and Mark Burnett Took America Through the Looking Glass, released in June, it was stated the onetime real estate mogul called Swift "unusually beautiful," but "liberal."
"I think she's beautiful—very beautiful. I find her very beautiful," Trump began. "I think she's liberal. She probably doesn't like Trump. But I hear she's very talented. But I think she's very, I think she's very beautiful, actually—unusually beautiful."
Elsewhere, Trump was quoted as saying of Swift's political leanings: "She is liberal, or is that just an act? She's legitimately liberal? It's not an act? It surprises me that a country star can be successful being liberal."
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