Taylor Swift is in the Kamala period.
The superstar singer-songwriter's catchphrase has taken over digital billboards in New York's Times Square and Las Vegas She debuted Friday in a marketing campaign by the Democratic National Committee, boosted by her support for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.
The highly visible ads were created after Swift's post supporting the debate night, following Tuesday night's clash between 2024 presidential candidates Harris and former President Donald Trump. “We're in our Kamala era!” and “A new way forward… Are you ready for this?” — the latter, referencing Swift's song from her Reputation albums — have been displayed on numerous sky-high digital billboards.
Harris' campaign has fully embraced the Grammy-winning artist's support now that everything has changed with Swift weighing in on the U.S. presidential election. Harris’s campaign website was selling Harris-Walz friendship bracelets for $20. After they sold out overnight following Swift’s endorsement, the campaign placed additional orders: they are now back up for pre-order, with one purchase going to the Harris Victory Fund.
Swift’s endorsement, which directly led to 337,826 people visiting Vote.gov registration sites overnight, took fans and voters by surprise when the proudly self-proclaimed “Childless Cat Lady” (a dig at Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance) shared her thoughts shortly after Harris and Trump left the stage at the ABC debate.
But for organizers at Swifties For Kamala, a movement working to elect Harris, Swift’s timing was perfect. “We never doubted that Taylor would endorse at the right time because we know her values align with Harris and our community,” the coalition said after her endorsement. “We are excited to see the momentum she will bring to this campaign.”
Similar to Beyoncé who quickly gave Harris her approval to use her song “Freedom” from her Lemonade album as part of her presidential campaign, Swift also immediately endorsed the appeal to her legion of Swifties. The marketing push was finalized Wednesday so that the ads could launch by the weekend, with less than two months to go until Election Day.
In addition to reaching her 283 million followers with her Instagram posts, the locations selected for Swift’s ads are two of the country’s top tourist destinations.
“As we lead the fight between Vice President Harris’ New Way Forward and Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, which would strip away reproductive rights and rig the economy against working families, we’re reminding voters that it’s critical to speak up now to dump Trump and enter our Kamala era by visiting IWillVote.com and doing their research on how, where, and when to vote in this election,” DNC communications director Rosemary Boeglin said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
In her post, Swift urged her fans to register their vote. The ads direct voters to do the same on IWillVote.com.
“If you haven't already, now is the perfect time to do some research on the issues at hand and where these candidates stand on the topics that matter to you,” Swift wrote, in part, in her endorsement. “I'm voting for @kamalaharris because she's fighting for the rights and causes that I believe need a warrior to champion. I think she's a gifted, steady leader and I believe we could accomplish so much more in this country if we were led by calm and not chaos. I was so encouraged and impressed by her choice of running mate @timwalz, who has been an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and women's right to their own bodies for decades.”
Swift said she was prompted to go public with her stance after a recent deepfake case, created using artificial intelligence, in which her image falsely claimed to support Trump. In response to her support for the Democratic presidential candidate, Trump said Fox and friends“I wasn't a fan of Taylor Swift… But she's a very liberal person. She always seems to support a Democrat, and she's probably going to pay the price in the marketplace.”
The Swift ads are the latest move by Harris' campaign to reach out to the youth vote. Harris' campaign began with the vice president having a “brat” summer. After Rascal Artist Charli XCX posted on her social media that “kamala IS brat,” the official rapid response page for the Harris presidential campaign on X has changed its banner from that of the Biden-Harris campaign to “kamala hq,” rebranding it as “brat.”
“Being on the right side of democracy, on the right side of women’s rights, is incredibly important to me,” Charli said of her support for Harris’s memetic turn this summer. “I’m happy to help prevent democracy from failing forever.”
In the past week, the DNC has also flown planes over a handful of universities, urging college football fans to “fire” Trump and the Project 2025 proposal, and targeted campuses in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the day of the debate.