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How Taylor Swift’s support for Kamala Harris affects her conservative fans
Michigan

How Taylor Swift’s support for Kamala Harris affects her conservative fans

Angel Sobolewski doesn’t take political advice from pop stars – not even her favorite, Taylor Swift.

For this reason, Sobolewski, who regularly supports Republican candidates through her profile on X, will vote for former President Donald Trump in November despite her affiliation with the Swifties.

“I think you can like an artist without agreeing with his politics,” said Sobolewski, 21. “You know, if we agreed with his politics, we’d probably only have two people left.”

Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday following her debate with Trump angered and disappointed some of the pop star’s many fans on the conservative side of the political spectrum. Others said they weren’t thrilled about the endorsement – but they were “ready for it.”

“We learned last night that she’s going to support Kamala Harris in the election, but that’s OK, and you know that ideological and opinion diversity is important in the United States and we should keep our horizons open,” conservative Swift supporter Jenna Piwowarczyk told NBC News.

On social media, many Swifties said they expected the singer, who endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020 but rarely speaks out politically, would likely vote for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

Those who spoke to NBC News said her comments would not stop them from listening to the global superstar’s music.

“I think the support was not too unexpected,” said Heath Johnson, 15, a self-described “Gen Z Swiftie” from Wisconsin. “I think Taylor really doesn’t like Trump and would choose a dead body over him if it came down to it.”

Swift said in her Instagram post on Tuesday, shared after the first debate between Harris and Trump, that she chose to support Harris “because she fights for the rights and causes that I believe need a fighter to represent them.”

“I consider her a calm and gifted leader and I am convinced that we can accomplish much more in this country if we are guided by calm, not chaos,” Swift wrote.

Some right-wing Swift fans had expected these statements.

“This is not surprising. We know that Taylor is left-wing on some issues, and in her statement she talked about voting for Kamala and Tim Walz for social reasons,” said 19-year-old Piwowarczyk, who said she plans to vote for Trump in November’s election.

On Wednesday, Trump responded to Swift’s support for Harris in an interview with “Fox & Friends,” saying, “I was not a Taylor Swift fan, it was just a matter of time.” He later added, “But she’s a very liberal person, she always seems to support a Democrat and will probably pay a price for that in the market.”

In her supportive post, Swift also mentioned that Trump had posted images on his social media platform Truth Social that appeared to be generated by an artificial intelligence, in which both she and her fans supported Trump. She said that’s why she felt the need to speak out.

Two of the images posted by Trump were real photos of Piwowarczyk wearing a “Swifties for Trump” shirt.

“I was disappointed in the Trump campaign for releasing AI images because it kind of dilutes the authenticity of this movement,” Piwowarczyk said, adding, “There are thousands of girls who support Trump and listen to Taylor Swift.”

One such group is “Swifties for Trump,” a loose ideological group of mostly women who describe themselves as conservative Swift lovers.

In a lengthy post, the “Swifties for Trump” account on X, which has no affiliation with Swift, said Wednesday that the group respects Swift’s right to support any candidate she chooses, but that it will not change her passion for Trump. The post stressed that while the group has no intention of urging Swift to vote for Trump, the singer does not share the struggles of the average American.

“She doesn’t worry like most young Americans that she may never be able to afford a home – an essential part of the American dream. … She has worked extremely hard since her teenage years to earn everything she has. However, most of us live in a very different world than Taylor Swift,” the post said.

The account “Swifties for Trump” declined to comment when asked by NBC News.

Other Swifties, like 23-year-old Jason Richardson, agreed that Swift’s billionaire status means she has “lost touch with her fans.” Richardson said some Swift fans cannot afford “food, housing and transportation” because of the Biden administration. Richardson said he is one of the Swifties who is really disappointed by Swift’s support for Harris.

“I’m still a huge fan of hers,” Richardson said. “Her support of the Harris campaign doesn’t change my love or admiration for her. I just wish she had made a better choice.”

The worldwide phenomenon of Swift and more recently “The Eras Tour” has attracted fans from all walks of life.

In the past, there has been speculation that Swift is a Republican, and Vice reported in 2016 that white supremacists viewed her as an “Aryan goddess.” But Swift has consistently supported left-leaning candidates and policies since her first political statement six years ago.

The 2020 documentary “Miss Americana” featured scenes of Swift and her team battling to publicly denounce Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), then a member of the House of Representatives, whom she described as “Trump in a wig.” That same year, she shared a post featuring cookies with Biden’s name on them.

Johnson, who spoke to NBC News via X direct message, said he hopes Swift will look at what the Republican Party has to offer beyond Trump. He suggested Swift look at candidates like Nikki Haley, who he said is closer to Swift than Harris or Trump.

Still, he said the support would do little to change Swift’s fan base.

“The few conservative Swifties who didn’t want her (Harris, like me) to support weren’t thrilled to say the least, but we’re not surprised either,” he said.

Most expressed hope that Swift and other celebrities will encourage people to vote in the future, but declined to say which candidate they specifically support.

“I think it’s common knowledge that she’s a liberal, so it wasn’t surprising and I wasn’t even really disappointed,” Sobolewski said. “I do wish she would have just kept it to herself.”

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