Taylor Swift despatched Donald Trump into considered one of his Reality Social meltdowns after she endorsed Kamala Harris on the night time of Sept. 10, 2024, instantly following the Democratic presidential candidate’s commanding efficiency over the GOP contender at their one and solely debate.
However that’s so far as Swift would go in lending her international fame and affect to Harris’ marketing campaign, not like different A-listers. Beyonce, Woman Gaga, Oprah Winfrey or Bruce Springsteen had been all desirous to take part within the marketing campaign’s efforts to enlist as many celebrities as potential to provide speeches or to entertain on behalf of the previous vp.
A brand new e-book appears to be like at why Harris’ workers didn’t get Swift to indicate up on the 2024 marketing campaign path, regardless of weeks of rumors and hypothesis that she would make an look, even on the eve of the election.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to talk at a marketing campaign occasion Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Madison, Wis. (AP Picture/Morry Gash)
The authors, journalists Josh Dawsey, Tyler Pager and Isaac Arnsdorf, stated that staffers who labored on superstar appearances “were instructed not to make any outreach” to Swift. As an alternative, that job can be left to Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff. He was put in command of the Swift outreach as a result of he had an “in” within the pop singer’s staff.
“Before Harris became vice president, Emhoff had had a lucrative career as an entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles,” the authors wrote, in line with the Day by day Mail. “He and Swift’s lawyer, Doug Baldridge, were both partners at the firm Venable.”
Emhoff reached out to Baldridge to “convey that the campaign would appreciate any efforts the pop star could make to help Harris,” the authors wrote. However then got here a “brutal,” seven-word reply, which might grow to be a rejection, the Day by day Mail stated.
“Swift would do what Swift thought best,” Baldridge stated.
FILE – Beyonce seems at a marketing campaign occasion for Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston, on Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Picture/Susan Walsh, File)
In her endorsement, Swift stated she would vote for Harris and operating mate Tim Walz as a result of the previous California senator and San Francisco district legal professional “fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.” The mega-star additionally praised Harris as “a steady-handed, gifted leader” who would lead “with calm and not chaos.”
The Swift endorsement helped enhance an already “electric” temper within the Harris marketing campaign after the talk, the authors reported.
“Harris asked if she should mention the endorsement when she spoke to supporters at a watch party,” the authors wrote. However staffers advised her that “would sound too thirsty,” although they agreed to vary her walk-off track on the occasion to Swift’s “The Man.”
Days after Swift’s endorsement, Trump fumed on his Reality Social platform, declaring in all-caps, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”
TOPSHOT – US producer and actress Oprah Winfrey (L) holds up US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ hand as she arrive onstage throughout a marketing campaign rally on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 2024. (Picture by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Picture by ANGELA WEISS/AFP through Getty Photos)
Authors Dawsey, Pager and Arnsdorf wrote: “Harris and Walz said they were bringing joy back to politics, and massive celebrity-filled rallies — Meghan Thee Stallion performed in Atlanta, Maggie Rogers in Ann Arbor, Gracie Abrams and Mumford & Sons in Madison, Wisconsin — were key to that strategy.”
Beyonce, who had been rumored to seem alongside Harris on the Democratic Nationwide Conference in Chicago in August, lastly joined the candidate at an abortion rights rally in her hometown of Houston, Texas in October.
“But privately, some campaign staff raised concerns that the major rallies may not be worth the millions of dollars they cost to stage or the staff investment,” the authors wrote. “There was scant evidence that the rallies were persuading voters or necessarily boosting turnout.”
There additionally had been issues about a few of the superstar assignments, in line with the e-book. For instance, the marketing campaign despatched Springsteen, whose followers are predominantly white, to Clarkston, Georgia, the place town’s inhabitants is 70% black and 50% foreign-born. “The predominantly white press corps appeared extra thinking about Springsteen’s efficiency than the 23,000 principally black attendees,’ the authors stated.
Within the closing hours earlier than Election Day, there was some perception that Swift may lastly make an look, in line with the e-book. Harris was headed to Pennsylvania for some occasions and a closing rally in Philadelphia, and “low-level Harris aides did nothing to tamp down the speculation” that Swift would be a part of Harris there, in her house state. As an alternative, Woman Gaga was the principle act for the ultimate occasion, the e-book stated.
It’s well-known that Swift has fastidiously curated her political activism, simply as she curates her public picture. She seems desirous to restrict her political statements to these which she believes may have most affect, often non-partisan statements that encourage voter registration efforts. She first endorsed candidates within the 2018 election cycle, lending her assist to Democrats operating in races in Tennessee, her house state on the time. She endorsed Joe Biden on social media in 2020, then Harris in 2024.
