Tim Walz Thanks Taylor Swift for Endorsing Harris-Walz Campaign Ahead of 2024 Election

Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz expressed his gratitude after pop star Taylor Swift publicly endorsed his and Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign for the 2024 election.

The endorsement came just after Harris concluded her first debate against former President Donald Trump in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Shortly after the debate, Swift, a 14-time Grammy Award winner, announced her support for Harris on Instagram, revealing her plans to vote for the vice president.

“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them,” the 34-year-old singer wrote in her post.

Walz welcomed Swift’s endorsement and praised her for speaking out. “I am incredibly grateful, first of all, to Taylor Swift. I say that also as a fellow cat owner.

That was eloquent and it was clear,” Walz told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in a post-debate interview. “And that’s the type of courage we need in America—to stand up.”

Walz went on to applaud others who have spoken out in similar ways, saying, “We’ve seen it out of those Republicans who were at the DNC, we’ve seen it out of women who want their personal lives kept private but are forced to speak out because they nearly died from not being able to access abortion services.”

He added, “And now you have somebody like Taylor Swift, coming out and making that very clear.”

The 60-year-old Minnesota governor also gave a shoutout to Swift’s massive fanbase, known as “Swifties,” and urged them to support the Harris-Walz campaign. “This will be the opportunity, Swifties—KamalaHarris.com—get on over there, give us a hand, and get things going,” Walz said.

Swift has previously endorsed Democratic candidates, including her 2020 endorsement of President Joe Biden and Harris.

The pop star, fresh off the European leg of her Eras Tour, said she was “so heartened and impressed” by Harris’ decision to choose Walz as her running mate, praising him for his long-standing support of LGBTQ+ rights, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and women’s reproductive rights.

Swift emphasized that she had done her “research” on the candidates and encouraged her fans to do the same.

She explained that her decision to publicly endorse Harris and Walz was partly prompted by the use of artificial intelligence to create a fake image of her supporting the Republican candidate.

“It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is the truth,” Swift stated.

BREAKING: Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president.

Tim Walz reacts to the news LIVE on MSNBC pic.twitter.com/wACc6WzQ3k

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 11, 2024

The singer concluded her post with a humorous line: “With love and hope, Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.” The caption was accompanied by a photo of Swift holding her cat, Benjamin Button, a reference to her TIME Person of the Year cover from December.

This image is thought to subtly reference remarks made by Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator JD Vance in 2021, when he disparaged Democratic women as “childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.”