CNN anchors react to Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris

Taylor Swift on Instagram, endorsed, the Harris Walls ticket. she says she's doing it because Harris, quote, fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is steady handed gifted leader. And I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country for led by common I chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate Tim Walz, who's been standing up for LGBTQ plus rights, IVF and a woman's right to her own body for decades. She goes on to say I've done my research. I've made my choice. Your research is all yours to do. Interestingly, she signs it with love and hope. Taylor Swift, childless cat lady, an allusion to, Senator JD Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, insulting Democrats, as childless cat ladies. And she was holding a cat in that photo. The name of the cat. I've been reliably informed is Olivia Benson. Well, well, one of her cats was Olivia Benson. I cannot confirm that the cat she was holding in that picture was is is Olivia Benson. But I tell you, I guarantee you we will. We will hear from many, many Swifties out there. But let's just talk about what this means. what does it mean? What is the significance of a celebrity endorsement? It's not just a celebrity and one of the biggest celebrities in the world, the biggest celebrity in the world. But it's not just that she's a celebrity. She has people who are. I mean, like Swift ologist. I mean, they are people who are young people, young women who might not already be engaged in, in politics, who read and listen to every single thing that she says and love her. And if she makes a difference, even on the margins in a race like this, that is a huge difference. This was the this was the endorsement that the Harris campaign, they were hoping for. More than anything else. No one will ever say no to a Taylor Swift endorsement. I 100% agree with that. I think it's significant to all. It is always significant to have the most powerful force in pop culture on your side. The one contrarian view I will say is that in this moment, the thing the Harris campaign needs perhaps the most is to figure out how to reach men. They've got to figure it out here in Pennsylvania. They've got to figure out how to reach black men. And I'm not sure Taylor Swift helps them with that. It's a totally different ballgame that Taylor Swift is in, but they've got to figure that part out. Travis Kelsey here on the other, maybe if Travis Kelce comes around we'd be having a different conversation. But I think that it's just important to remember that, especially in this Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, that is that that is just it's a give and take here where you gain some and you lose some. And she really needs to start gaining. I don't want to rush us off the Taylor Swift ology discussion, and we but I do want to. There is another piece of news, which is that the, Harris campaign put out a release and has challenged Donald Trump to another debate that had been somewhat in doubt. And they say, we're ready for another debate. Let's have it. My guess is, after the vice presidential debate in October, but they're ready for round two. So CBS is doing the vice presidential debate, and I think NBC is supposed to do the, the next presidential debate. That's the reason it has lockdown confirmed, but that they cut it off around the expectation. Well, you know, I just check something before we move. Oh I'm sorry, from from Taylor Swift. Oh, boy. the cat's name is Benjamin Button. Okay, okay. Well, good. Can I just say one thing, though, that I saw when I talk about Taylor Swift's endorsement that she is very clearly showing people that reproductive rights is on the ballot. Very much so. She talked about in that actual statement about her research about Tim Walz, the governor, and his work with this particular area. And so for those who think that Roe v Wade is an invisible ink on the 2024 ballot, it very much is in a Sharpie pen. And that's why Kamala Harris's dissection of her references to what, voter would want was so important in the reproductive rights conversation. very briefly, our panel is going to talk about this next, but I'm curious, has Kamala Harris been in touch with Taylor Swift since the endorsement came out? Look, I think it was a late night last night. And, look, we're honored to have the endorsement of Taylor Swift. because I think that Taylor Swift saw what millions of Americans saw last night on the stage. She saw Donald Trump refused to say if he was on a national abortion ban. She saw him continue to demean America. And that's not the kind of America that Taylor Swift wants to be in. So we're honored that somebody who has a platform like that would use their voice to speak out on that. All right. Well, if they end up connecting on the phone, please feel free. Feel free to let us know. Quentin Fox, thank you very much for your time this morning. I really appreciate it. And of course, as we were just discussing, Taylor Swift knows all too well about upsetting Donald Trump. Let's say that I like Taylor's music about 25% less now. Okay, that was then. Donald. President Donald Trump six years ago. He didn't appreciate Taylor Swift's Democratic endorsements in the midterm elections. Possibly. Safe to say he may like her music even less now because shortly after last night's debate, Swift posted to her 284 million Instagram followers that she is endorsing Kamala Harris for president. Swift first got off the sidelines in politics back in 2018, when she endorsed Democratic challengers in Tennessee elections and then again in 2020, when she supported Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Her post seemed to reference this fake I image that was posted on Trump's Truth Social account. She says that this moment brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz last night was more than happy to accept this endorsement. Now you have somebody like Taylor Swift coming out making that very clear. This would be the opportunity. Swifties. Kamala harris.com. Get on over there. Give us a hand. Get things going. Harris stopped by a debate watch party after the debate. She did not address the endorsement, but she did give a nod to it as she walked off the stage. And we will win. We will win. See you in the title. Like I'm so sick of funny stuff. Cause I don't. that, of course. Harris walking off the stage to the man, which is an interesting choice of song. Kate, what do you make of all this? Love it. It's as a as a diehard swiftie. I'm very excited about this. But in all seriousness, I do think it is a great thing for the campaign. for a couple reasons. One, obviously, Taylor Swift has an enormous following of fans who care what she thinks and what she says, and we've seen her basically overtake the NFL over the last year, because she is so popular and because, her fans love her so much. They're all now like, watching Chiefs games. You know, Taylor's boyfriend got Taylor's boyfriend, Taylor's boyfriend. So she actually has, quite a bit of sway. The other thing I think is interesting, and telling about the endorsement is, you know, she signed it, childless cat lady, which shows you how completely this has permeated the culture and how completely JD Vance is kind of war on women has permeated the culture. I have a suggestion for Taylor how she can leverage this endorsement. Hear me out, Taylor. Have a series of free concerts in swing states, and the way you get into the concert is you're an unregistered voter, and you register at the event, and that's the only way you get in if you're on register and if you notice it, if you notice for democracy, if you notice she did frame it like, yes, I am voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. However, I've done my research and it's up to you. Dear voter decides that. It was interesting. That was me. Yeah. Because it because and it was framed in terms of voter registration, not in terms of a full throated intention rooted in humility. I think we'd often see from celebrity endorsements, which I think was refreshing. And look, she was you should prime citizen go vote for wherever she wants. There's also some bullying. Variety did a piece yesterday, but like, if she doesn't endorse Kamala Harris, then there's some betrayal. I was very I noted the kind of humility rooted. I thought it was refreshing in that, in that aspect. But yeah, we'll see where it goes. And it's just she just really smart about her brand and knowing that this is Michael Jordan and Republicans buy sneakers, too. Yeah. And knowing that she has to appear. It was a nod to that. I thought the same thing. And she knows how to talk to young people. I mean, marketing to young people is often, less fully aggressive. It's less for, you know, by this brand and like, think about, like, you know, the beer commercials that are like, I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I drink blah, blah, blah. It's an effective way to talk to young people.