Additional Coverage:
- Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris drives nearly 338,000 users to government voting website (cnbc.com)
In a significant move on social media, pop icon Taylor Swift has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, driving a surge of visitors to Vote.gov, the official government website for voter registration and information. According to a spokesperson from the U.S. General Services Administration, Swift’s Instagram post on Tuesday night prompted at least 337,826 people to visit the site.
Swift’s endorsement came shortly after the debate concluded between Harris and former President Donald Trump. In her Instagram message, she encouraged her followers to check out Vote.gov for information on registering to vote and stressed the importance of early voting.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift wrote. “I find it easier to vote early. I’ll link to where you can register and find early voting dates and information in my story.”
By 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Swift’s custom URL had directed a significant amount of traffic to Vote.gov, highlighting her influence on voter engagement. Swift’s previous promotion of the site also resulted in a major traffic boost—a 1,226% increase in just one hour, as reported by NPR last year.
This endorsement has not gone unnoticed by Trump and his campaign. Trump mentioned on “Fox & Friends” that Swift “would probably pay a price for it in the market.”
His running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, also commented on the issue, expressing skepticism about the influence of celebrity endorsements on American voters.
Interestingly, Trump had previously suggested he would welcome a Swift endorsement. In August, when AI-generated images falsely showing Swift supporting Trump circulated, he posted on his Truth Social account, “I accept.”
Swift addressed these AI-generated images in her Tuesday night post, clarifying her genuine political stance and countering the misinformation. “Recently, I learned about AI images of ‘me’ endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run posted to his site,” Swift stated. “I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter.”