No, Taylor Swift did not endorse Kamala Harris in a photo

By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN

(CNN) — Taylor Swift’s supporters are keenly adept at reading into the singer’s lyrics and social media posts. And Swift is keenly masterful at providing what are known as “Easter eggs” for her fans, laying secret clues and hidden messages for her followers to dissect and discuss.

This week, a photo shared by Swift that included a silhouette of a woman in a pantsuit — perhaps similar to one that could have been worn by Vice President Kamala Harris — had some fans suggesting the superstar had laid a massive Easter egg, giving her presidential endorsement to Harris.

But that’s not the case.

The image in question, posted Wednesday on Swift’s Instagram in a carousel of ten images, shows Swift center stage performing in Warsaw, Poland. In the background of the image, a woman in a pantsuit is pictured waving as she walks off the stage. Some speculated the woman pictured was depicting a silhouette of Harris, but it’s actually one of Swift’s background singers, who wear pantsuits during the particular set that was pictured in Swift’s post. A closer look at Swift’s posts from other Eras Tour stops, shows the background performers pictured in clearer focus in the pantsuit costumes.

Also, the woman in the silhouette mistaken to be Harris is wearing boots, part of the performers’ costumes seen in other photos from the tour. (Though the vice president has been photographed wearing boots before, she typically wears pumps, or, more recently, sneakers with her suits.)

Further evidence of no endorsement? Swift’s caption did not reference anything evoking politics.

“Oh I loved those Warsaw shows SO much!!! Our first time ever playing in Poland, but it won’t be the last,” Swift wrote with the carousel of photos. “I seriously had the best time 😆 Also want to thank those beautiful crowds for making us the first tour to play 3 nights in a row in your stadium!!”

Yet, some Harris supporters still thought they may have picked up on a clue.

“Taylor Swift just low key endorsed Kamala Harris and MAGA is losing their minds,” the group Call to Activism wrote on X.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Swift for comment.

Swift posted the image hours before organizers canceled three of her concerts in Austria after authorities said they foiled a terror attack planned for the Vienna leg of her tour.

Swift’s political past

Supporters, political pundits, media figures and likely the Harris campaign itself is closely watching for Swift’s endorsement, wondering if — or when — it may come.

One of the most influential stars on the planet, Swift’s endorsement could have major impact with her hundreds of millions of fans around the world.

In fact, a community of “Swifties for Kamala” has already emerged, without the star’s participation, with thousands of Swift’s fans making signature friendship bracelets to support Harris and voicing their support of the vice president loudly across social media.

Swift has yet to speak out about Harris or former President Donald Trump this election cycle, but she endorsed President Joe Biden and Harris in their bid for the White House in 2020.

“The change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included,” Swift told V magazine in October 2020 about her endorsement. “Everyone deserves a government that takes global health risks seriously and puts the lives of its people first. The only way we can begin to make things better is to choose leaders who are willing to face these issues and find ways to work through them.”

On social media at the time, Swift shared the cover of the magazine and joked, “So apt that it’s come out on the night of the VP debate. Gonna be watching and supporting @KamalaHarris by yelling at the tv a lot.”

In 2020, Swift tweeted about Trump, writing, “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in November.”

Swift largely stayed away from politics for the first decade of her career. But in her 2020 documentary “Miss Americana,” she expressed regret for not speaking up sooner.

In a scene where her father told her that she could face backlash and media scrutiny for speaking out against Trump, Swift responded, “I don’t care if they write that.” She told her father, “I’m sad that I didn’t two years ago, but I can’t change that. I’m saying right now, that this is something I know is right … I need to be on the right side of history.”

Speculation about a 2024 endorsement from Swift has been going on for months. Leading up the Super Bowl, right-wing media and some Republicans suggested Swift was part of an alleged conspiracy staged by the NFL and Democratic Party to deliver the 2024 presidential election to Biden.

Trump recently spoke about Swift, calling her “beautiful” but “liberal” in a new book about “The Apprentice.”

“I think she’s beautiful — very beautiful! I find her very beautiful. I think she’s liberal. She probably doesn’t like Trump,” the former president told author Ramin Setoodeh in his book, “Apprentice in Wonderland.”

“I hear she’s very talented,” Trump said. “I think she’s very beautiful, actually — unusually beautiful!”

After the book was released, Swifties on the left of the political spectrum took to social media with a message for the former president: “Stay away from her.”

The-CNN-Wire
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