In the post that garnered four million likes in less than an hour, Swift voiced alarm over AI-generated images that falsely depicted her supporting Trump, condemned the spread of misinformation and urged her followers to register to vote, regardless of their political leanings. — AFP
Following weeks of speculation, Taylor Swift publicly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night, moments after a contentious debate with Donald Trump.
Among the more unusual reactions to Swift's support for the Democratic presidential nominee was that of Elon Musk, one of the world's most powerful men, who suggested that he would impregnate the pop superstar.
Swift posted her endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket on Instagram, where she signed off as a "childless cat lady," referencing a derogatory comment by Trump's running mate J.D. Vance about Democratic voters.
"Fine, Taylor... you win... I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life," the Tesla and SpaceX CEO wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
In the post that garnered four million likes in less than an hour, Swift voiced alarm over AI-generated images that falsely depicted her supporting Trump, condemned the spread of misinformation and urged her followers to register to vote, regardless of their political leanings.
Swift wrote, in part, "I'm voting for Kamala Harris 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."
The pop star publicly supported President Joe Biden and Harris during the 2020 presidential election, and has been publicly critical of Trump for years. Her renewed support of Harris comes days after speculation arose that Swift had abandoned her former political views because she was spotted with Brittany Mahomes, a vocal Trump supporter and wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, at the US Open tennis tournament in New York.
Shortly after Swift made the endorsement on Tuesday, the Harris-Walz campaign store began to sell Swiftie-inspired friendship bracelets. Harris later walked out to the pop star's song The Man at a post-debate rally.
Some of Musk's 197 million followers called out his bizarre comment, likening it to sexual harassment.
"You're creepy. Full stop," wrote Claudia Conway, daughter of former Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, wrote to Musk, who is 20 years older than Swift.
Armand Domalewski, a San Francisco data scientist, wrote, "I'm sorry but the richest man on the planet casually telling a woman he's not dating that he's going to put a baby in her is so skin crawlingly creepy I don't know where to start."
Musk, who has fathered 12 known children, is currently embroiled in a custody battle with his ex-girlfriend Grimes over three of them. He has three more children with Neuralink employee Shivon Zilis. Musk has promoted baseless fears of a "population collapse" in Western countries, and in 2022 tweeted, "I am doing my part haha."
Swift's post included a picture from a Time Magazine cover shoot in December in which she is holding her cat Benjamin Button, one of three she owns.
Musk, who supports Trump's bid to return to the White House, later agreed with an X user who noted that Swift's endorsement aligns "with demographic trends."
But he was far from finished. The South Africa-born billionaire entrepreneur then positioned himself and Swift as pivotal figures in the upcoming election. In response to a tweet from an X user, he wrote: "Oh my God, this has really become an Elon vs. Taylor Swift election now."
Swift and her boyfriend, NFL star and three-time Super Bowl winner Travis Kelce, did not respond to Musk's comments.
When asked about the endorsement, Trump told Fox News he was "not a Taylor Swift fan." He also said, "Well, I actually like Mrs Mahomes much better, if you want to know the truth. She's a big Trump fan."
Trump had previously tweeted "Taylor is terrific!" and, in June, griped about how she hadn't endorsed his campaign.
He added, "It was only a matter of time. You couldn't possibly endorse Biden. But 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. But I like Brittany. Brittany is great. She's the one I like much better than Taylor Swift. Wife of the great quarterback. I think she's terrific." – San Francisco Chronicle/Tribune News Service
