Carole King, Elizabeth Warren and others join ‘Swifties for Kamala’ call: ‘As single cat ladies…we are part of this campaign’

By CNN Newsource

Published August 27, 2024 9:00 PM

By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN

(CNN) — Left-leaning Taylor Swift fans joined artists like Carole King and politicians, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, for a Zoom call organized by the group “Swifties for Kamala” in an effort to mobilize fans of the pop superstar to vote for Kamala Harris.

Swift herself has no affiliation with the group and was not involved in the call on Tuesday. CNN has reached out to Swift’s representative for comment on the event.

“Swifties for Kamala” has amassed roughly a quarter of a million followers across multiple social media platforms since President Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term and endorsed Vice President Harris. To date, the group has raised over $13,000 for the Harris-Walz campaign.

More than 26,000 participants registered to join the Tuesday evening call, which was attended by CNN and also featured remarks by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) and chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party Anderson Clayton.

Irene Kim, the co-founder of “Swifties for Kamala,” had previously told CNN the group was hopeful Harris or her running mate, Tim Walz, might join the call, though neither were present.

“Hello Swifties!” is how Warren, the first speaker of the night, greeted the group as heart, thumbs up and party emojis flowed through the Zoom stream.

“You are resilient, and you know how to take on bullies and you know how to be your most authentic, most joyful selves,” Warren said. “You come together hand-in-hand, friendship bracelets on your wrist, and you overcome pretty much anything that life throws at you. And that is what the Kamala Harris campaign is all about. It’s about standing up for what is right in the face of bullies, like Donald Trump.”

King sang her favorite Swift song, “Shake It Off,” on the call, telling those gathered not to be afraid of standing up and using their voice in the lead-up to the election.

“I’ve been a political activist for years, I’ve been a volunteer, I’ve been doorknocker, even as a famous person,” King said.

“I am a Swiftie, and Taylor and I are actually friends,” the music legend also said. “We’ve had conversations backstage, and I see her as sort of my musical and songwriting granddaughter, and we have a lovely relationship and I’m so proud of her.” King added, “I’m so excited about Kamala because so many people are excited about Kamala.”

Gillibrand told a few Swiftie jokes (“Karma is a relaxing thought, but for Donald Trump, it’s not” and “Kamala is saying, look what you made me do”) and also referenced the now-infamous cat lady remarks made by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance.

“I think it’s important that we, as single cat ladies, as independent women, as women who know every lyric that Taylor Swift has ever written, that we are part of this campaign and part of this election,” Gillibrand said. “I think she can be a voice for this generation that is really profound, as someone who values women’s words, who values women, who values our independence.”

Markey spoke about climate change when alluding to Swift’s Rhode Island summer home.

“Climate change is threatening our favorite phenomena,” Markey said. “The waters on the shores of Taylor’s holiday house in New England are some of the fastest warming waters in the world, outside of the Arctic. Right now, Kamala is running against the climate-denier-in-chief.”

In the chat, organizers called for action in Swift-appropriate fashion: by asking for donations in the amount of $13 or $19.89 – numbers that have meaning for the singer – or $47, in reference to the next president.