'Childless cat lady' Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris moments after presidential debate with Donald Trump
11 September 2024, 04:25 | Updated: 11 September 2024, 07:42
Taylor Swift has endorsed Kamala Harris following the first television debate in the 2024 US presidential race between the Vice-President and former President Donald Trump.
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The singer made the announcement shortly after the the conclusion of the debate which saw the two candidates meet in person for the first time ahead of November’s election.
Writing on Instagram, Swift said: "I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election.
"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."
She added: "I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make."
Swift signed her post "Childless Cat Lady", an ironic reference to an insulting remark Mr Trump's vice presidential pick JD Vance made about Democrat women.
The debate itself was filled with several false claims made by Trump on a range of key issues including abortion, crime and immigration that were corrected by the debates moderators.
The former president also accused Harris of lying while the pair exchanged personal blows in the heated interaction that started with a handshake initiated by the Democratic nominee.
The debate was held at the National Constitution Centre in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania - a swing state divided on abortion and one that could be pivotal in the overall outcome of the election.
It was discussing abortion early on when Trump falsely claimed babies are killed after they are born in some US states.
ABC moderator Linsey Davis pointed out to viewers that "there is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born".
Harris said the former president "should not be telling a woman what to do with her body" and vowed to sign legislation that would restore abortion protections if it was passed by the US Congress.
As the debate moved on to immigration Trump repeated false rumours that immigrants are eating pets in Ohio, which moderator David Muir responded to by saying the city manager said there had been "no credible reports" to back up the claim.
Trump was also corrected by Muir after claiming "crime is happening at levels that nobody thought possible" despite FBI statistics revealing violent crime overall is down in the US.
He said the FBI's data is "defrauding statements" and "didn't include the worst cities".
Read more: Donald Trump's criminal sentencing delayed until after US election
Harris became the official nominee shortly after President Joe Biden's campaign effectively ended after a catastrophic performance in a TV debate against Mr Trump.
Trump was eager to bring up the current president and closely associate Harris to his weaknesses. His closing statement finished by saying Joe Biden is "the worst president" and that Ms Harris is "the worst vice president in the history of our country".
The Democratic nominee looked to establish herself as the change candidate, repeating the phrase “turn the page”, while framing Donald Trump as the incumbent.
At one stage when discussing the conflict in Ukraine, she said: “It's important to remind the former president you're not running against Joe Biden - you're running against me."
It was the discussions over foreign policy that brought out many of the personal blows.
On the topic of the conflict in Gaza, Trump said that Harris “hates Israel" and that "if she's president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now", while claiming the conflicts in both Gaza and Ukraine would not have started if he had been in power.
Harris responded by saying that Trump "wants to be a dictator one day".
She added: "It is well known he exchanged love letters with Kim Jong-un, and it is absolutely well known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again, because they're so clear they can manipulate you with flattery and favours."
Later discussing Trump’s relationship with Vladmir Putin, she said that Trump “adores strongmen, instead of caring about democracy" and that Putin is “a dictator who would eat (Trump) for lunch.”
Both campaigns expressed satisfaction over their candidate’s performances.
The Trump campaign said: "President Trump delivered a masterful debate performance tonight, prosecuting Kamala Harris's abysmal record of failure that has hurt Americans for the last four years.
"The choice could not be more clear— President Trump was the clear winner tonight, and he will win for America when he returns to the White House."
Meanwhile, during the debate a Harris campaign official simply said: "No spin needed after this one."
The debate was a chance for the two candidates to make a mark on the polling which has indicated a close-run contest following Harris’ nomination.
According to ABC’s national polling, Harris hit 47% during her party’s four-day convention in Chicago and it has remained at a similar level since, while Trump’s average has also remained relatively steady, hovering around 44%.
