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Culture

Pop Stars Shouldn’t Mix with Politics

Morgan Kilger
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SBU chapter.

Taylor Swift just endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris — and I think it’s too much. 

After the second presidential debate on Sept. 10, Swift announced her endorsement for Harris mere minutes after closing statements concluded. Swift’s endorsement stated: 

“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”

In this portion of the endorsement, she’s making it clear that she believes Harris will be a better leader than President Donald Trump. She did a beautiful job with the endorsement, however I feel that she’s potentially ruining her career by announcing this statement. 

I enjoy Swift’s music. Not enough to call myself a Swiftie, but enough to always turn up the volume a little when a song comes on. I’m enough of a fan to where if her career was tarnished because of a political statement, I’d be upset. 

Making a political statement when your job doesn’t include politics can be detrimental. With musicians, people enjoy the artist because of their music and not their political views. I could honestly care less what Swift’s political views are as long as she continues to make absolute bangers like “Down Bad”. 

The other thing that kind of bothered me was how she signed off on the endorsement. This was her sign off: 

“With love and hope,

Taylor Swift

Childless Cat Lady” 

I don’t know if I’m just not in on the joke, but I don’t understand why it was relevant to what she had stated. I don’t know if it’s a knock to herself not having children in her mid-thirties or if she’s making a point about it. 

I just like her music, okay?

Swift has maintained her image as a popular musician for close to 20 years (if we’re not talking about her year-long hiatus from 2016-2017), making her a household name — especially if that household has at least one Gen Z daughter. She is globally known, so I see where she’s coming from with making a political statement in one of the closest elections in our lifetime. 

Swift’s endorsement was most likely targeted towards a specific group of voters, Gen Z. Most of Swift’s fan base is the older Gen Z-er’s that are old enough to vote. Swift’s fan base and her influence on these fans could help Harris in the long run with securing the young voters. 

Everyone wants the young voters when the election’s this close — right? 

Morgan Kilger is a junior at St. Bonaventure University. She is from Buffalo, NY and is super excited to start her first year at Her Campus! She plans on writing about pop culture, current events and lifestyle. Morgan is most excited to join the sisterhood that Her Campus proudly portrays and write about things that she is passionate about on a safe platform. Morgan is a double major in history and women’s studies with a political science minor. She plans on pursuing a career in museum work. She dreams of one day working in either Washington D.C. or Salem, Massachusetts. You can also find Morgan working on campus as a student ambassador, the Features Editor for The Bona Venture — St. Bonaventure’s student-run newspaper — and in participating clubs like the SBU Dance Team and College Democrats. Morgan also enjoys volunteering at places like the local SPCA and the Olean Warming House in her free time. Outside of her Bonaventure life, Morgan enjoys several hobbies. She likes to play with her dogs Oliver and Lylah, read her favorite books for the millionth time and to watch Gilmore Girls — she’s team Logan. You can also find Morgan hanging out with her roommates for family dinners or having movie nights.