Why Taylor Swift's support could win the race for Kamala Harris

Celebrities do not change people’s minds. But enough of the army of young female Swifties might come out to vote.

- Lin Suling

Look what you made her do.

When former US president Donald Trump shared fake images of global music phenomenon Taylor Swift endorsing him in August, I wondered quietly whether Tay Tay would set the record straight. After all, the songstress had supported President Joe Biden's bid in 2020 and her disdain for Trump is well-known.

When she remained silent after a week, 34,000 of her fans mobilised under a banner of "Swifties for Kamala" and gathered over TikTok, Zoom and YouTube to raise funds and share stories, hoping to channel the energy and intensity of her fandom to boost Vice-President Kamala Harris' push for the White House.

On Sept 10, the starlet answered the call, choosing carefully to endorse Ms Harris only after her first presidential debate with former US president Donald Trump. As the internet discussed who won the debate, the announcement seemed a sign that, for Swift, Ms Harris did.

Swift runs a shrewd business machinery, which assiduously curates her image and is circumspect about the bets she makes. She had resisted backing Mrs Hillary Clinton during the bitterly fought 2016 showdown, to avoid alienating conservative country music listeners who made up a sizeable segment of her fan base, only to be censured by her female supporters for her silence.

Fair then for Swift to wait for more indications that Ms Harris was a serious and credible contender. For the past seven weeks since Mr Biden dropped out of the race and backed his No.

2, it was uncertain if Ms Harris would win her party's nomination, and even then, whether she could take on Trump.

With Ms Harris largely untested in an uncontested Democratic primary race and having avoided all but one media interview, accompanied by her running mate Tim Walz, no superstar would risk backing her until she was put under closer examination.

THE TAYLOR SWIFT EFFECT