Taylor Swift is in her Kamala era.
The superstar singer-songwriter’s key phrase took over digital billboards in New York’s Times Square and on the Las Vegas strip Friday in a marketing push from the Democratic National Committee, spurred on by her endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz.
The highly visible ads came together after Swift’s debate-night endorsement post following Tuesday night’s face-off between 2024 presidential candidates Harris and former President Donald Trump. “We’re In Our Kamala Era!” and “A New Way Forward… Ready for It?” — the latter, referencing Swift’s song from her Reputation album — were emblazoned across multiple sky-high digital billboards.
The 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. The Harris campaign site had been selling Harris-Walz friendship bracelets for $20. After selling out overnight following Swift’s endorsement, the campaign put in more orders — they are now available again for pre-order, with a purchase going to the Harris Victory Fund.
Swift’s endorsement — which led directly 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 jab at Trump running mate J.D. Vance) shared her thoughts shortly after Harris and Trump left the ABC debate stage.
But for the organizers behind Swifties For Kamala, a movement working to elect Harris, Swift’s timing was spot on. “We never doubted Taylor would endorse at the right time because we know that her values align with Harris and our community,” said the coalition following her endorsement. “We are excited to see the momentum she will bring to this campaign.”
Similar to Beyoncé swiftly giving Harris her approval to use her song “Freedom” from her Lemonade album as part of her presidential campaign, Swift also instantly OK’d the appeal to her legion of Swifties. The marketing push came together on Wednesday so the ads could launch by the weekend, with under two months to go before Election Day.
In addition to reaching her 283 million followers with her Instagram post, the locations selected for the Swift ads are two of the biggest tourist spots in the country.
“As we drive the contrast between Vice President Harris’ New Way Forward and Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, which would rip away reproductive rights and rig the economy against working families, we’re reminding voters that it is critical to speak 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,” said DNC Communications Director Rosemary Boeglin in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday.
In her post, Swift had pushed her fans to register her vote. The ads direct voters to do the same at IWillVote.com.
“If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most,” Swift wrote, in part, in her endorsement. “I’m voting for @kamalaharris 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. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Swift said she was driven to go public with her stance after a recent instance of a deepfake, created with AI, of her likeness falsely claiming that she was endorsing Trump. In response to her support for the Democratic presidential nominee, Trump told Fox & Friends, “I was not a Taylor Swift fan … 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.”
The Swift ads are the latest move from the Harris campaign to target the youth vote. Harris’ campaign kicked off with the Vice President having a “brat” summer. After Brat artist Charli XCX posted to her social media that “kamala IS brat,” the official rapid response page of Harris’ presidential campaign on X changed its banner over from the Biden-Harris campaign one to “kamala hq,” matching the “brat” branding.
“To be on the right side of democracy, the right side of women’s rights, is hugely important to me,” said Charli of her support of Harris turning into a meme phenomenon this summer. “I’m happy to help to prevent democracy from failing forever.”
Within the last week, the DNC also flew planes over a handful of universities, telling college football fans to “sack” Trump and the proposal of Project 2025, and targeted Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, campuses on the day of the debate.
