As Kamala Harris continues to gain momentum in her presidential run—with a host of celebrities and public figures backing her—Taylor Swift’s continued silence on the matter has sparked questions about if or when she will endorse the vice president.

Harris became a late entrant into the 2024 presidential race after Joe Biden announced in July that he would not be seeking reelection, following weeks of pressure from within his own party and from key Democratic donors to step down amid concerns over his age and mental acuity.

As Harris’ potential nomination and expected showdown with former President Donald Trump—the GOP nominee—dominates the news cycle, a host of social media users have urged Swift to publicly declare her support for the Democrat.

David Hogg, a gun control activist, took to X, formerly Twitter, to address the hugely influential pop star, writing on July 21: “@taylorswift13 have you decided who you are supporting? We need to do a ton to bring back the youth vote and you could literally be the reason we don’t fall to a pro-life, pro-gun, anti climate, felon.”

Kamala Harris (left) on February 19, 2022, in Munich, Germany, and Taylor Swift on November 12, 2021, in New York City. Swift is facing mounting pressure to endorse the Democrat. Alexandra Beier/Getty Images;/Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Fans have taken things one step further by starting up @Swifties4Kamala accounts on TikTok, Instagram and X, amassing tens of thousands of followers in the process. However, the star to whom these fans hitch their faith has yet to pledge allegiance to either of the candidates in this election cycle.

The assumption has always been that Swift will back the Democratic ticket, given the fact that she did share her support for Harris during the 2020 election cycle.

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Taking to X in August 2020, Swift responded “YES” to Harris’ post, in which the Democrat said she was “honored to join [Biden] as our party’s nominee for vice president, and do what it takes to make him our commander-in-chief.”

In October 2020, Swift again expressed her support for Harris as she promoted her interview with V magazine, in which the pop superstar said why she was backing Biden.

“So apt that it’s come out on the night of the VP debate,” the musician wrote. “Gonna be watching and supporting @KamalaHarris by yelling at the TV a lot.”

Speaking Out

Swift’s political beliefs have long been a point of speculation, as the “Shake It Off” singer largely remained quiet about politics until 2018, when she endorsed Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen in Tennessee. She has also voiced support for the LGBTQ+ community and abortion rights, and publicly criticized Trump.

So what gives? Is Swift abstaining this year, or is it just a matter of timing? Jeffrey R. Dudas, Ph.D., a professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, told Newsweek that we’re likely to see a Swift endorsement sooner than later ahead of November’s election.

“Taylor’s endorsement of Harris is a matter of when and not if,” he said. “On one hand, and no matter how fervently Trump tries to convince himself that she is a secret admirer of his, Taylor is very clearly not a supporter of him or the politics that he represents and practices: she has consistently supported more progressive causes and candidates, including Harris for VP in 2020.

“On the other hand, Taylor has a long history of being very in tune with what her fan base is talking about and how they are thinking; I get the sense that she is just as often led to causes and issues by Swifties as she is their leader. So even were she not on her own inclined towards endorsing Harris, she would likely find herself being supportive in order to maintain her relationship with the fan base.”

Taking things a step further, Dudas shared his suspicion that Swift will time her announcement around the schedule of her record-breaking Eras Tour, which so far has had the star on the road for almost 18 months and won’t end until December.

“Taylor has been on tour, of course; and the sense that we get is that when she is touring it is pretty all-consuming of her time, energy, and focus,” Dudas explained. “The European leg of the Eras Tour ends on August 20 in London; I can’t help but notice that the Democratic National Convention runs from August 19-22 in Chicago. Would anybody be that surprised if she finds her way to Chicago on the night of the 21st or even the night of the 22nd?”

Jay Oliver, a LI News Radio host and political commentator, has gone a little later on the calendar with his prediction, telling Newsweek: “Look to October when her tour returns stateside in Miami.”

Looking at Biden’s ill-fated campaign, Oliver quipped: “Maybe way back, the campaign should have sent Joe Biden to her Eras tour.”

Newsweek has contacted a representative of Swift via email for comment.

Chip Franklin, a Democratic political commentator and talk show host, agrees that it’s just a matter of when Swift will announce her backing of Harris.

“Harris and Swift share the experiences of many progressive women being attacked by Trump and right wing media for daring to be themselves and speak frankly about what’s wrong with America,” Franklin told Newsweek.

Social Media Savvy

In the days since Harris announced her presidential run, her campaign team has shown its social media savvy by leaning into the “Brat Summer” movement, which prides itself on bucking conventions. Spawned from the name of Charli XCX’s latest album, Brat, it has been embraced by the coveted Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012).

Harris became an honorary member of the club soon after Biden bowed out of the race, with Charli XCX herself writing on social media that the politician “IS brat.” In apparent agreement, the @KamalaHQ account on X underwent a subtle makeover, with its background image featuring the neon green shade and low-res Arial font used for the Brat album artwork.

While easy to dismiss as folly, such moves have only served to engage a sizable faction of young voters. At 59, Harris is considerably younger than her potential opponent Trump, who at 78 is now the oldest presidential candidate in U.S. history after Biden, 81, dropped out.

Franklin believes that Harris’ willingness to embrace the online world in a way that speaks to young voters will set her up well for a Swift endorsement.

“The Harris campaign may have just hit the ground running, but they are well versed in the power of social media,” Franklin told Newsweek. “And Taylor Swift’s meteoric success is both a testament to her immense talent and her almost intuitive understanding of the invisible, constantly changing algorithms that reward honesty, brevity, irony and levity.”

Pinpointing timing, Franklin advised: “After the Democratic convention, look for an announcement to carry that post Chicago momentum forward. And, I don’t know this for a fact, but I suspect that Swift and Harris might be shopping for cats.”

The Feline Factor

Cats became an unexpected talking point around the election soon after Trump announced JD Vance has his running mate. In July 2021, Vance said the country is run by “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.” The clip resurfaced last month and sparked outrage, amid Trump’s attempts at defending the comment.

Vance also suggested that people’s votes should count more if they have children. In a 2021 speech for the conservative organization the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, he said: “You should have more of a power, more of an ability to speak your voice in our democratic republic than people who don’t have kids.”

“Let’s face the consequences and the reality,” Vance said at the time. “If you don’t have as much of an investment in the future of this country, maybe you shouldn’t get nearly the same voice.”

With Swift having positioned herself as a figure of women’s empowerment, it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine the singer citing such statements when publicly declaring reasons for where she will place her vote.

Evan Nierman, CEO of global PR firm Red Banyan, believes that it would be safe to expect a stance from Swift that aligns with views shared in years past.

“Taylor Swift knows that being one of the most powerful people on the planet leads to people reading deeply into your every move, and even the moves you don’t make or just haven’t gotten around to making,” Nierman told Newsweek.

“I think it is foolish to draw any conclusions about a shift in Taylor’s political views based on the fact she has not yet endorsed Harris for president. There are many months to go before the election, and it will come as no surprise if Taylor ultimately decides to endorse Kamala Harris.”

Nierman, author of The Cancel Culture Curse and Crisis Averted, went on: “When she is good and ready I suspect that Taylor will pick her moment to impact the 2024 presidential election. After all, there is nobody more strategic and smart than Taylor Swift. She is a genius on many levels, including when it comes to wielding her hard-earned clout and making a massive global impact.

“Given her following, any endorsement she might make would carry enormous weight. An entire generation of people, especially young women, look to her as a role model and she has the ability to influence their worldview simply by sharing hers.”

T.J. McCormack, a Republican communications specialist in Westchester County, New York, told Newsweek that ultimately Swift has little reason to treat her endorsement announcement any differently to when she markets her music.

“Taylor Swift is arguably as good at curating her brand as she is at creating music,” McCormack said. “Like everyone else in the PR business, she’s waiting for the right moment. It’s likely not if, but when she comes out for Kamala, and when it does happen it will no doubt have a maximum beneficial impact for both women.”

Political Power

An endorsement from Swift is nothing to take lightly, given her political power. On September 19, National Voter Registration Day, the singer shared a message on Instagram, in which she urged her fans to register on the nonpartisan, nonprofit website Vote.org. According to the organization, Swift’s post was followed by a surge of more than 35,000 registrations—an almost 25 percent increase over the same day the previous year.

Andrea Hailey, the CEO of Vote.org, said in a statement that the single-day surge in registrations was a “highly encouraging sign of voter enthusiasm,” particularly as there was a 115 percent spike over 2022 in newly eligible 18-year-olds registering to vote.

In May, a poll conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek found that 22 percent of voters who backed Biden in the 2020 election said they would be more likely to vote for a GOP candidate in an election if Swift endorsed them.

The survey, which was conducted among 1,500 eligible voters on May 1, showed a 9 point increase from January, when only 13 percent of Biden 2020 supporters said they would be more likely to vote for a Republican candidate backed by Swift.

Her influence seems to be growing among Trump supporters as well, albeit less so than among Biden supporters. In January, 13 percent of Trump 2020 voters said they’d be more likely to vote for a Democratic candidate endorsed by Swift. That number rose to 16 percent in May.

Both the May and January polls had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.53 percent. The January survey was conducted among 1,500 eligible voters on January 18.

Swift’s political influence has sparked a wave of unrelenting attacks from some Trump supporters. Ahead of this year’s Super Bowl LVIII, many threatened to boycott the broadcast because the singer was expected to attend to support her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

With politics being the ultimate popularity contest, Red Banyan’s Nierman told Newsweek that the candidates have good reason to want Swift on their side.

He explained: “In this modern era, where fame carries more influence than ever, both of the current candidates should probably be thankful that Taylor Swift herself isn’t running for the job since triumphing over all the competition is the specialty of the world’s most recognizable and revered ‘childless cat lady.'”