“Swifties for Trump” is a direct quote from presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“I hate Taylor Swift,” Trump said, mere days later.
From selling Eras Tour-inspired shirts with his pictures on them, to generating AI images of Swift supporting his campaign, Trump appears to be desperate to have Swift’s support…which poses the question: “Why?”
According to Julia Reinstein, a reporter for ABC News, Swift made Instagram posts about voter registration in 2018 and 2023. Tens of thousands of people registered to vote in the days that followed. This September, the day of the second presidential debate, Swift shared another voting link, endorsing Harris. Over 300,000 people visited the link she shared that same Wednesday.
Taylor Swift is not the only celebrity who encourages her fans to vote. A couple of weeks ago, Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas publicly endorsed Kamala Harris. Not to mention, Eilish debuted the first live performance of her single “My Future” at the Democratic National Convention in 2020. Ariana Grande and John Legend are also examples of celebrities who have endorsed Harris in the upcoming election.
Kanye West has also made a public endorsement, except in support of Donald Trump.
“Yeah, of course, it’s Trump all day,” West said when asked by the media if he was still behind Trump. Additionally, West has entered the White House wearing a MAGA hat.
Country artist Jason Aldean and rock musician Kid Rock have also made statements in support of Trump to their fanbases.
Public figures like Kanye West and Billie Eilish have been very open about their political stance. But have they really created an impact on the official polls? A Harvard study conducted this year found that “celebrities are positioned to empower Americans.” The study provided examples such as Taylor Swift getting 250,000 people to vote in under 72 hours, Kylie Jenner being the reason behind an 80% increase in votes, and Kerry Washington raising over $30 million to promote civic engagement. Many other influencers such as David Dobrik and Trevor Noah were included in the research as well.
While nobody knows whether celebrity input has anything to do with election results, they can definitely impact the public. Freshman Andrew Luschei shared his opinion about why this may be the case.
“I think celebrities can impact polls,” Luschei said. “A lot of their fans are hardcore, so they’re most likely to follow what their idol does.”
An X (formerly Twitter) account titled “Swifties for Kamala” recently reached 54,000 followers, which shows how much of an impact someone with fame could have on political beliefs. Charli XCX, who rose to fame this summer, posted “Kamala IS brat” on X, which gained 54.5 million likes. This led to many social media accounts posting edits or pictures supporting Harris to songs from Charli XCX’s album “Brat.”
Many celebrities make public statements about who they are voting for while trying to convince their fans to do the same. However, some celebrities are not endorsing anyone and receiving backlash for it. An example would be Chappell Roan, who made a video explaining that she did not fully agree with either side. She immediately received backlash from fans and non-fans alike. To learn more about this situation and the famous singer, flip to page nine.
The founder of organization Legion of Voters and president of the CHS branch, Fiona Wu, shared her thoughts about the power that these famous individuals have in terms of elections.
“They can’t be spreading misinformation, but if it’s factual information, it can help and encourage people to vote in general,” Wu said. “As celebrities, they’re also people. They can have bias and a political stance. However, they should use their platform for a positive reason.”
Celebrity endorsements are reaching their peak right now. Celebrities have performed at party conventions, created social media trends, and gotten fans to vote. Yet, it remains to be seen whether or not celebrities will be a deciding factor in the polls this November.
