Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz has given “fellow cat owner Taylor Swift” a shoutout at a Wisconsin rally.
Read More: Pop Is Not A Dirty Word: Taylor Swift finally got political. What took her so long?
Earlier this week (September 10), following the first debate between Harris and Trump, Swift broke her silence on the elections and threw her support behind Harris and Walz.
In an Instagram post, she championed Kamala Harris as a “steady-handed, gifted leader”, writing that she believes “we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos”. She signed off the post as Taylor Swift, “Childless Cat Lady”, in a nod to was a nod to a remark made by JD Vance, Trump’s candidate for vice president, in 2021.
Tim Walz shouts out Taylor Swift at his rally in Wisconsin:
“Surround yourself with smart women […] That includes my fellow cat owner Taylor Swift. It’s really great to have all these women help us beat the smallest man in the world”
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 14, 2024
It has since been reported that her backing of Harris caused a “500 per cent” increase in voter registration, with nearly half a million registrants being directed from Swift’s Instagram page.
After receiving her backing, yesterday (September 14), Harris’ vice presidential running mate shared some advice with the men in the Superior crowd and nodded to a track from Swift’s ‘Tortured Poet Department’.
“Here’s my life hack for all the guys out there,” he said. “Surround yourself with smart women and listen to them and you’ll do just fine.”
After displaying a Swiftie-style friendship bracelet from the campaign merch store, he added: “That includes my fellow cat owner Taylor Swift.”
It comes shortly after the Trump campaign controversially released a t-shirt designed very similarly to Taylor Swift‘s ‘Eras’ tour merch over the weekend. It features a grid of photos of the former president coloured like the infamous ‘Eras Tour’ shirt and retails for $36 (£27).
NEW MERCH
Calling all Swifties for Trump
Get your Trump Era shirt today https://t.co/HkA7LwHhIC pic.twitter.com/gqqITeCOFb
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 12, 2024
Any ambiguity about the inspiration its design was removed when a tweet from the former president’s headquarters called on “all Swifties for Trump” to get their “Trump Era shirt today”. Fans are speculating she will sue, as they have done previously when he falsely claimed her endorsement with a series of AI-generated posts.
Waltz concluded by saying it was “really great to have all of these women help us beat the smallest man in the world, Donald Trump“, a reference to Swift’s track ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived’.
Elsewhere, Stevie Nicks recently followed Swift’s lead in speaking out about the election. Describing Swift as her “friend”, the former Fleetwood Mac singer said: “Now is the time to research and choose the candidate that speaks to you and your beliefs.”
Though Nicks stopped short of explicitly endorsing a candidate or party in her post, she did sign off in the same manner as Swift, writing: “Love, Stevie Nicks, Childless Dog Lady.”
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