"Talented leader"

Taylor Swift after TV duel: “Will vote for Harris”

How many of her followers will answer Taylor Swift's call?(Bild: APA/AFP/ANDRE DIAS NOBRE)

Somewhat belatedly, but for many of her fans probably just in time, US pop star Taylor Swift has spoken out about the current US election campaign and made a clear election recommendation.

Immediately after the TV duel between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the 34-year-old singer posted: "I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the presidential election." Harris is a "talented leader" and stands up for rights and causes that require a "warrior".

Clear election recommendation for Kamala Harris(Bild: APA/AP)

"Fighting misinformation with the truth"
"We can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led with calm and not chaos," Swift adopted one of Harris' main lines of attack against former President Trump. She based her disclosure on the fact that Trump had recently posted an AI-generated false statement of support from her on his page. "This led me to the conclusion that I should be completely transparent about my actual plans as a voter. The easiest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."

Swift encouraged her followers to educate themselves about the candidates and their platforms and make their own choice. She called on first-time voters to register to vote and not overlook the applicable deadlines. To accompany her appeal, Swift posted a photo of herself with a cat (see below). She captioned the post "childless cat woman", alluding to a derogatory term used by the Trump camp to describe Democrat Harris, who has no biological children.

Election-deciding supporters?
Swift's Instagram account has 283 million followers, which corresponds to almost the entire population of the USA. According to US campaign expert Yussi Pick, Swift's endorsement could be the deciding factor in what is expected to be a close race. Swift has "enormous appeal in target groups that cannot be reached with traditional media", Pick said in an APA interview at the beginning of the year. "If it's only about 40,000 votes, that makes a difference," he said, referring to Republican Trump's narrow victory in the 2016 election.