‘Swifties for Kamala’ rakes in celebrities, campaign cash for Democrats

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Taylor Swift has yet to announce her endorsement for any candidate this election season, but her fans, known as “Swifties,” have already started fundraising for Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

the Swifties for Kamala Alliance It officially launched Tuesday, with a lucrative $142,000 debut, during a two-hour virtual event attended by stars including singer Carole King and U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

Many donations ranged from $13 to $19.89, a reference to the singer’s favorite number and the title of her fifth album.

the The call has started. With remarks from Warren, who was greeted with a sea of ​​heart emojis and cheers from the livestream chat.

“You are resilient, you know how to stand up to bullies, you know how to be more authentic and happy,” Warren told the group. “And that’s what Kamala Harris’s campaign is all about. It’s about standing up to bullies like Donald Trump.”

Later in the call, King — who described Swift as “the granddaughter of music and songwriting” — sang her favorite song, “Shake It Off.” King also spoke about her political activism: “I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been knocking on doors, even as a celebrity.”

The good vibes of the call made it seem like an impromptu meeting between Swift’s squad, but the group has been hard at work since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.

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Emerald Medrano, 22, founded the group in June and now has a quarter of a million followers across her social media channels.

in internationalHreview In an interview with The Cut, Medrano likened Harris to Swift, saying, “Harris is a very smart, strong woman; she’s a trailblazer. The way she’s opened doors and nurtured people who come through that door after her reminds me in a lot of ways of Taylor and the way she cares about people in the music industry.”

Medrano said that connection and feeling that Harris truly cared about his rights and identity made him want to vote for vice president.

Swift is not currently part of the group, but those on the call, including Warren, are hoping she will publicly support Harris. The singer endorsed Biden for president less than a month before the 2020 election, a move by a star some have criticized as too apolitical.

Last week, Trump posted a fake image on social media of the pop star asking people to vote for him in the November election. The image showed the 14-time Grammy winner dressed in red, white and blue, with the caption: “Taylor Swift wants you to vote for Donald Trump.”

Trump wrote, “I accept!”

Swift Spokesperson Did not respond to request For comment, according to Reuters.

Melissa Cruz is an Election Reporting Fellow focusing on: On voter access issues for the USA TODAY Network. You can reach her at [email protected] or X, formerly Twitter, at @MelissaWrites22.

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