Swifties are using their powers to make change.
The fervent Taylor Swift fanbase, who have helped boost local economies across the globe, has banded together to use their organizing tactics for the 2024 election. The group is helping campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid with the help of singer Carole King and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. While Swift herself is not involved in the organization and hasn't endorsed any political candidate this election year, that is not stopping her fans from mobilizing for Harris.
On Tuesday, an unofficial event neither sponsored by Harris nor Swift called "Swifties for Kamala" reportedly raised $142,000 for Harris' campaign. The event hosted 34,000 people on Zoom and was joined by King and politicians like Warren, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Ed Markey, Rep. Chris Deluzio and Rep. Becca Balint.
The Washington Post reported that the grassroots group is working to "harness our Swiftie power into political power," said April Glick Pulito, the group’s political director.
Warren also stated on the call, "I am looking forward to the era of the first woman president. Swifties, you can get this done."
The Massachusetts senator also mentioned that Harris would use her presidency to regulate and take down corporations, highlighting Ticketmaster which completely malfunctioned during the 2022 sale of Swift's Eras Tour tickets.
Legendary singer King, who said she is friends with Swift, sang the chorus of "Shake It Off," on the call.
“I see her as sort of my musical and songwriting granddaughter,” King said. “We have a lovely relationship, and I’m so proud of her.”
About Swift, Gillibrand added, “Whether it’s sexism or misogyny, or not being listened to, or being spoken over, or being disregarded or being counted out, she’s lived those experiences and I think that’s why she’s such a rallying cry for women."
Swifties for Harris also shared on their social media account a link to merch that will go to "organizations working to register voters, help them have their voices heard and elect Democratic leaders up-and-down the ballot who will protect our democracy and rights!"
The “Voting Era” collection merch spans from tote bags to stickers – one featuring a donkey wearing friendship bracelets – shirts and hats, many of which include the "I'm in my voting era" motto.
The organization's co-founder, Irene Kim told NBC News in an interview Wednesday, that despite Swift's lack of endorsement they believe in supporting Harris. "We’ve seen the good we can do as a fandom and what happens when we mobilize our community, so we don’t need to wait. . . . We personally know what our values are. We also know what Taylor’s values are. She’s made them very clear to us."
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Meanwhile, the pop singer's politics have been slightly more subdued this election cycle. Her more reserved approach may be linked to the public outcry from Donald Trump and conservatives about her relationship with Chief's tight end Travis Kelce, and how they were supposedly taking over the NFL, and by proxy the 2024 election, while working in tandem with President Joe Biden. This year, Trump has made multiple comments about Swift, including using a fake image of Swift falsely endorsing him.
In 2020, Swift endorsed Biden but only a month before election day. The singer, who was a fan of Harris, supported Harris' vice presidential announcement and said on X, “Gonna be watching and supporting @KamalaHarris by yelling at the TV a lot." In the post was also a photo of her holding cookies frosted with the Biden-Harris campaign logo.
Earlier this year, Swift pushed her fans who are eligible to vote to head to the polls to support candidates that personally best align with their views and interests.
"I wanted to remind you guys to vote the people who most represent YOU into power," she wrote in a post on Instagram. "If you haven’t already, make a plan to vote today."
The singer is still touring on her global Eras Tour despite a foiled terrorist attack in Austria that resulted in the cancellation of her shows in Vienna. The C.I.A. said on Wednesday that it provided intelligence to Austrian authorities that helped them thwart the planned attack that could have killed thousands, The New York Times reported.
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