Taylor Swift has entered the chat. The country-turned-pop mega-star officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Since she became the official democratic nominee, fans and Democrats around the country have been waiting for Swift, one of the biggest acts in music, to endorse Harris.
While it took longer than expected for some, Swift came out swinging with a major endorsement post on Tuesday evening, just minutes after the debate. It does leave one to wonder, however, if and when Beyoncé will make an official endorsement of her own this election cycle.
As The Root previously reported, the “Renaissance” singer and mogul has certainly signaled her support for Harris since she became the candidate this summer, including allowing her campaign to use her song “Freedom,” a track that has all but become synonymous with Harris’ media messaging. Her team also threatened the Trump campaign with a cease and desist after they used that “Lemonade” track in a campaign video without her permission. Nearly a day after the news of Beyoncé’s legal action, Trump’s team deleted the video.
While all of these moves and her past actions signal support for the Democratic ticket (Beyoncé has long been critical of Trump and has backed Democrats), it leaves one to wonder, why hasn’t she publicly endorsed the Harris-Walz ticket yet?
When one is a public figure with the immense reach of artists like Beyoncé or Swift, endorsements of political candidates can and could genuinely move the needle. This means that these declarations of support should be timed correctly, often announced during moments of potential maximum impact. Again, Swift took some heat last week for her silence throughout the election cycle so far.
Having previously been extremely critical of former President Donald Trump and his policies, her fans started to get restless last week at her lack of support for the Harris campaign. But now with her big announcement, it is clear even she recognizes what a big deal an endorsement from her is and the importance of timing.
Minutes after the debate, which most polls and viewers agree was a better night for Harris than Trump, Swift posted a lengthy endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket, detailing her ideological similarities to the democratic candidates while also criticizing the Trump-Vance campaign, even cheekily signing the post as a “childless cat lady,” the now-infamous term coined by Trump’s polarizing Vice Presidential pick JD Vance.
The Instagram post, which got more than 8 million likes in less than 24 hours, was dropped at a time of maximum impact, minutes after the entire country watched and tuned into one of the most consequential debates of our lifetime.
Perhaps Beyoncé, another artist with major impact, could be waiting for her perfect moment. While there are only eight weeks left to the election, it’s still long enough time for momentum to slow and potential hiccups to occur on either side. A Beyoncé endorsement, like support from Swift, is a major boost, and one that should come at the exact right time.
With deep ties to the American South (Beyoncé is a Texas girl after all), will we see an announcement in the Lone Star State? Will she even make an appearance on the campaign trail? It would not be the first time she showed up in person for a democratic ticket.
It’s hard to imagine we won’t get some form of formal support from Bey soon. She’s backed candidates in the past, endorsing Biden and Harris in November o2020, the literal day before election day. And again, she has already subtly shown Harris (and the public) where she stands with the integration of her song with the main message of the democratic campaign.
Still, time is ticking and every moment counts. Hopefully, Bey is cooking up a splashy Instagram post of her own, one set to drop at the exact moment when the Harris-Walz campaign may need it most.