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It’s only been about six weeks since President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down and endorsing VP Kamala Harris. That’s crazy! Somehow it feels like it’s simultaneously been a lifetime and yet gone by in a flash. There’s been so much enthusiasm for Kamala, which has thankfully helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars in record time. A good chunk of those funds have come from the wildly successful Zooms for Kamala. Black Women for Kamala set the bar, and soon Black Men, South Asian Women, South Asian Men, LGBTQ, White Women, and White Dude iterations followed. So the next logical demographic to organize their own Zoom was… Swifties for Kamala! The call raised over $140,000 and featured Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand, and singer-songwriter Carole King — she sang “Shake It Off!”
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” in an effort to mobilize fans of the pop superstar to vote for Kamala Harris.
Swift herself has no affiliation with the group and was not involved in the call on Tuesday. CNN has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment on the event.
“Swifties for Kamala” 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.
More than 26,000 participants registered to join the Tuesday evening call, which raised more than $138,000 for the campaign and featured remarks by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) and chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Anderson Clayton.
Irene Kim, the co-founder of “Swifties for Kamala,” had previously told CNN the group was hopeful Harris or her running mate, Tim Walz, might join the call, though neither were present.
“Hello Swifties!” is how 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 you know how to be your most authentic, most 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,” on the call, telling those gathered not to be afraid of standing up and using their voice in the lead-up to the election.
“I’ve been a political activist for years, I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been a doorknocker, even as a famous person,” King said.
“I am a Swiftie, and Taylor and I are actually friends,” the music legend also said. “We’ve had conversations backstage, and I see her as sort of my musical and songwriting granddaughter, and we have a lovely relationship and I’m so proud of her.” King added, “I’m so excited about Kamala because so many people are excited about Kamala.”
Gillibrand told a few Swiftie jokes … and also 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.”
Gosh I love Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She’s so earnest! I thought she did a great job making the pitch of the shared themes between Taylor’s songs and the ethos of Kamala’s campaign. And then Sen. Gillibrand waltzes in and nails her “As single cat ladies,” intro. But of course the big, billionaire, sold-out-global-tour elephant in the room is… where is Taylor herself? Politically speaking. Other outlets even noted how strange it was that Taylor couldn’t be bothered. I could understand Taylor waiting until after the European leg of the Eras Tour, then again until she was cleared to speak about the terrorist threat that was thwarted in Vienna (and caused her shows there to be canceled). And I also thought it was appropriate to show respect for the tragedy that occurred in Southport, England. But at this point, isn’t it more and more conspicuous the longer she stays mum? While hosting a pro-MAGA white nationalist at her home? The Swifties showed up for Kamala, now it’s time for Taylor’s version.
Photos credit Getty and via YouTube/Access Hollywood and Billboard News
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