After Taylor Swift endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night, media outlets broke from their coverage of the presidential debate and dedicated ample coverage to the megastar.
Liberal commentators were ecstatic. Many played up Ms. Swift’s endorsement as a game changer, arguing it could help swing the election toward Ms. Harris by winning over undecided voters. They noted that hundreds of thousands of people had visited Vote.gov hours after Ms. Swift’s endorsement.
Conservative outlets, on the other hand, took one of two approaches to the news. Some downplayed the impact her announcement would have. Others attacked her, continuing a pattern of critical coverage of the singer-songwriter by right-wing media.
Here’s how the news was covered by a selection of outlets:
FROM THE LEFT
MSNBC
Commentators on MSNBC, a liberal network, seemed overjoyed at the news of Ms. Swift’s endorsement. Rachel Maddow, the influential MSNBC host and commentator, joyfully informed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Ms. Harris’s running mate, in a live interview that Ms. Swift had just endorsed the Democratic ticket.
Lawrence O’Donnell, host of “The Last Word,” called the timing of Ms. Swift’s endorsement “exquisite” because it came right after the debate. He argued Ms. Swift’s endorsement could be the rare celebrity backing with measurable impact, because of her broad appeal.
“This is, I think, the most important celebrity endorsement we’ve seen in a presidential campaign, especially because it is so close and could make that sort of difference,” Mr. O’Donnell said.
FROM THE LEFT
Salon
Amanda Marcotte, a writer for the liberal site Salon, wrote that Ms. Swift’s approval “trolled” conservative men like JD Vance, Mr. Trump’s running mate, who, she said, wanted to restrict women’s rights.
She referenced Ms. Swift’s sign-off on her Instagram post endorsing Ms. Harris as a “Childless Cat Lady,” a swipe at Mr. Vance, senator of Ohio, who used the term derogatorily to describe women without children.
“Swift reclaiming the term ‘childless cat lady’ was a sick burn,” Ms. Marcotte wrote. “She deftly mocked what scares and enrages MAGA men most: women who don’t care what they think.”
FROM THE RIGHT
Megyn Kelly
Ms. Swift has endorsed Democrats in the past, including Mr. Biden in 2020, moves that have drawn strong criticism from conservative commentators. She attracted a fresh wave of scrutiny from right-wing commentators in 2024, including some who falsely claimed her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce was contrived to boost Democrats politically, or to bolster support for other liberal causes.
Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News host who now hosts her own talk show and podcast, “The Megyn Kelly Show,” was outraged by Ms. Swift’s endorsement. At one point, Ms. Kelly said, “Oh my God” as she raised her hands to her head, and called Ms. Swift’s praise of Mr. Walz “disgusting.”
“You can kiss your sales to the Republican audience goodbye, Taylor,” Ms. Kelly said on Tuesday night on her show. “Hope you enjoyed them while you had them.”
The next morning, former president Donald J. Trump echoed Ms. Kelly’s sentiments, saying on the Fox News show “Fox and Friends” that Ms. Swift’s endorsement would backfire.
“She’s a very liberal person,” Mr. Trump said. “She seems to always endorse a Democrat. And she’ll probably pay a price for it in the marketplace.”
FROM THE RIGHT
Fox News
Jeanine Pirro, a conservative host of “The Five” on Fox News, suggested Ms. Swift was not qualified to make a political endorsement.
“What makes you think that the way you think should influence other people?” Ms. Pirro said on Wednesday. “You sing for a living. Just deal with that.”
In January, Ms. Pirro said Ms. Swift should not “get involved in politics,” and that doing so would risk alienating her fans, who “come across from every political ideology.”
FROM THE RIGHT
Newsmax
John Bachman, a host for Newsmax, said on “National Report” Wednesday that Ms. Swift’s endorsement would have a “diminishing return” compared to her support for Mr. Biden in 2020.
“We knew Taylor Swift was going to vote for Kamala Harris, whether she posted about it or not,” Mr. Bachman said. “What she’s doing is showing her support for her fellow childless cat ladies. Those people were never going to vote for Donald Trump anyway.”
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