Left-leaning Taylor Swift fans joined artists like Carole King and politicians, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for a Zoom call organized by the group “Swifties for Kamala” to mobilize supporters to vote for Kamala Harris.
Swift herself has no affiliation with the group and was not involved in the call on Tuesday. The group has amassed roughly a quarter of a million followers across multiple social media platforms since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term and endorsed Vice President Harris. To date, “Swifties for Kamala” has raised over $13,000 for the Harris-Walz campaign.
More than 26,000 participants registered for the Tuesday evening call, which also featured remarks by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT), and North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton.
Irene Kim, co-founder of “Swifties for Kamala,” had previously hoped that Harris or her running mate, Tim Walz, might join the call, though neither were present.
“Hello Swifties!” Warren, the first speaker of the night, greeted the group as heart, thumbs up, and party emojis flowed through the Zoom stream. “You are resilient, and you know how to take on bullies and be your most authentic, joyful selves,” Warren said. “You come together hand-in-hand, friendship bracelets on your wrist, and you overcome pretty much anything that life throws at you. And that is what the Kamala Harris campaign is all about. It’s about standing up for what is right in the face of bullies, like Donald Trump.”
King sang her favorite Swift song, “Shake It Off,” and encouraged attendees to stand up and use their voices in the lead-up to the election. “I’ve been a political activist for years, I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been a door knocker, even as a famous person,” King said. “I am a Swiftie, and Taylor and I are actually friends. We’ve had conversations backstage, and I see her as sort of my musical and songwriting granddaughter, and we have a lovely relationship. I’m so excited about Kamala because so many people are excited about Kamala.”
Gillibrand told a few Swiftie jokes (“Karma is a relaxing thought, but for Donald Trump, it’s not” and “Kamala is saying, look what you made me do”) and referenced the now-infamous cat lady remarks made by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance. “I think it’s important that we, as single cat ladies, as independent women, as women who know every lyric that Taylor Swift has ever written, that we are part of this campaign and part of this election,” Gillibrand said. “I think she can be a voice for this generation that is really profound, as someone who values women’s words, who values women, who values our independence.”
Markey spoke about climate change, alluding to Swift’s Rhode Island summer home. “Climate change is threatening our favorite phenomena,” Markey said. “The waters on the shores of Taylor’s holiday house in New England are some of the fastest warming waters in the world, outside of the Arctic. Right now, Kamala is running against the climate-denier-in-chief.”
In the chat, organizers called for action in Swift-appropriate fashion: asking for donations in amounts of $13 or $19.89—numbers significant to the singer—or $47, in reference to the next president.
