Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after Tuesday night’s presidential debate against Donald Trump.

The pop star made her announcement in an Instagram post she captioned “Childless Cat Lady,” a reference to comments made by Trump’s running mate JD Vance.

In her post, breaking her silence on the 2024 vote, she explained: “I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for rights and causes that I believe need a fighter to defend them.”

Swift, who also endorsed Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020, called Harris a “steadfast, talented leader.”

She added: “I believe we can achieve much more in this country if we are guided by calm and not chaos.”

Swift’s text was accompanied by a photo of her with a cat. Her “Childless Cat Lady” comment was a nod to comments made by Vance, Trump’s 2021 vice presidential nominee.

Vance, the Ohio senator, has faced criticism for a clip in which he called several prominent Democrats — including Harris — “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives.” He recently said said his comments were “sarcastic”.

Swift complimented Harris’ choice of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, who she said “has spent decades advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF and women’s right to their own bodies.”

The singer said she wanted to share her voting decision with the public in part after an AI image of her falsely supporting Trump was posted on his website.

“It really raised my fears around AI and the dangers of spreading misinformation,” she said. “It made me realize that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter.”

Trump then embraced the fake images in a post that sparked a fierce reaction among Swift’s fans – or Swifties – who accused Trump of spreading disinformation.

In response to Swift’s endorsement of Harris, Trump told Fox News that he was “not a fan of Taylor Swift.”

He called her a “very liberal person” and said she “will pay the price for that in the marketplace.”

Trump supporter Elon Musk, known as the father of 12 children, posted on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter): “Fine Taylor… you win… I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”

Meanwhile, Harris’s running mate Walz told MSNBC Tuesday night after learning of the show of support that he was grateful to Swift for “as a fellow cat owner.”

Swift is among a number of celebrities supporting Harris, including singers John Legend and Olivia Rodrigo, actor George Clooney and director Spike Lee.

Meanwhile, former wrestler Hulk Hogan, TV star Amber Rose and billionaire Elon Musk have also expressed their support for Trump.

Swift’s intervention followed a heated 90-minute presidential debate in which the two candidates clashed over issues including abortion rights, the economy and immigration.

It’s not the first time the pop star has endorsed the Democratic nominee in a race against Trump. Swift announced her support for President Joe Biden and Harris as his vice president a month before the 2020 election.

Swift also loudly criticized Trump during his presidency, amid nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

“After fanning the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, do you dare pretend to be morally superior before threatening violence?” she posted on Twitter/X. “We will vote you out of office in November.”

An academic who researches the intersection of media and politics pointed to Swift’s political past and argued that the endorsement was unlikely to have a positive effect on Harris’ standing.

“It’s no surprise that she supported Biden and Harris in 2020, so we already knew her political views,” said Lauren Rosewarne, a professor at the University of Melbourne.

Swift’s endorsement could have an impact on voter registration, Ms Rosewarne told the BBC. But because her fan base is predominantly young and female – which is already Harris’s base of supporters – her endorsement may not have much impact in November.

The singer has 283 million followers on Instagram. Her message of support has received more than 4.5 million likes on Instagram, less than three hours after she posted it.

In her post, Swift urged first-time voters to register and said she would post a link with more voting information on her page.

“I’ve done my research and I’ve made my choice,” she said. “Your research is entirely yours to do and the choice is yours to make.”

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher chronicles the race for the White House in his weekly newsletter US Election Unspun.

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