Taylor Swift's Harris endorsement draws 9 million 'likes'

By Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) -Pop megastar Taylor Swift drew more than 9 million "likes" to her Instagram post backing Vice President Kamala Harris for president from celebrities that included Jennifer Aniston, U.S. basketball star Caitlin Clark and Selena Gomez.

Soon after Harris, a Democrat, finished debating her Republican rival Donald Trump on Tuesday night, Swift, 34, told her 283 million followers that Harris and running mate Tim Walz would get her vote in the Nov. 5 election.

Her post encouraged first-time voters to be sure to register for the election, and a U.S. General Services Administration spokesperson reported on Wednesday receiving 337,826 visitors at vote.gov from a custom URL that Swift had shared.

"I'm voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them," Swift posted. She called Harris a "steady-handed, gifted leader" who could lead the country with calm rather than chaos.

Swift was pictured with her cat in her post, which she signed as "Childless Cat Lady" in a dig at Trump's running mate JD Vance, who in a 2021 interview called some Democrats "a bunch of childless cat ladies." He has since said it was merely a sarcastic remark.

Supermodel Karlie Kloss, who is married to Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's brother, liked Swift's post.

"Parks and Recreation" and "The White Lotus" actor Aubrey Plaza echoed Swift's endorsement in her own Instagram post on Wednesday, where she held a cat alongside the caption "HARRIS WALZ" with an American flag emoji.

Trump supporter Elon Musk, who is chief executive of Tesla and owns social media platform X, wrote on his platform, "Fine Taylor ... you win ... I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life."

His message was branded "disgusting," "misogynistic" and "creepy."

"I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice," Swift wrote to her followers on Instagram. "Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make. I also want to say, especially to first time voters: Remember that in order to vote, you have to be registered!"

Swift wrote that she was impressed by Walz, the Minnesota governor, and described him as someone "who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman's right to her own body for decades."

Walz, who was on MSNBC when the endorsement was announced, said he was "incredibly grateful" and urged the singer's large fan base of "Swifties" to "Get things going."

Shortly after Swift's endorsement, the Harris-Walz campaign announced pre-orders for its latest campaign wear: Swift fan inspired friendship bracelets.

TRUMP DISMISSES ENDORSEMENT

Trump on Wednesday dismissed Swift's endorsement of Harris, saying he "was not a Taylor fan".

"It was just a question of time," Trump told Fox News in an interview. "She's a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she'll probably pay a price for it ... in the marketplace."

In August, Trump posted a fake social media image of Swift asking people to vote for him in the November election.

Swift referred to that in her Tuesday post, saying Trump had "really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation."

She added: "It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter."

Opinion polls show the race essentially tied between the two candidates.

Harris, who supports abortion rights, has criticized Trump for appointing three of the Supreme Court justices who in 2022 helped overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling ensuring a constitutional right to abortion.

Trump has defended the court's abortion ruling but said a federal abortion ban is unnecessary and that the issue should be resolved at the state level.

Swift backed President Joe Biden in 2020. Many Hollywood actors, producers and filmmakers have said they view Harris, a former U.S. senator from California, as their hometown candidate.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller)