Angel Sobolewski doesn’t take political advice from pop stars — not even her favorite, Taylor Swift. That’s why Sobolewski, who regularly promotes Republican candidates through her profile on X, is voting for former President Donald Trump in November despite being a Swiftie. “I think you can like an artist without, like, agreeing with their politics,” Sobolewski, 21, said. “You know, if we had to agree with their politics, we’d probably be left with, like, two people.” Swift’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday after Harris’ debate with Trump has rankled and disappointed some of her many fans on the conservative side of the political spectrum. Others said they’re not thrilled about the endorsement — but they were “Ready for It.” “We learned last night that she’ll be supporting Kamala Harris in the election, but that’s OK, and that, you know, diversity of ideology and diversity of opinion in the United States are important, and we should keep our horizons open,” conservative Swift fan Jenna Piwowarczyk told NBC News. On social media, many Swifties said they anticipated Swift, who endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 but rarely makes political statements, would most likely vote for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Those who spoke to NBC News said her comments wouldn’t stop them from listening to her music. “I think that the endorsement was nothing too unexpected,” said Heath Johnson, 15, a self-described “Gen Z Swiftie” from Wisconsin. “I think Taylor really dislikes Trump and that she would endorse a dead body over him if it came to it.” Swift’s post to Instagram on Tuesday, shared after Harris and Trump’s first debate, explained that she decided to back Harris “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,” Swift wrote. Some right-leaning Swift fans had expected those statements. “We’re not surprised. We know that Taylor leans left on stuff, and in her statement she talked about that she’ll be voting for Kamala and Tim Walz because of social issues,” said Piwowarczyk, 19, who said she will be voting for Trump in the November election. On Wednesday, in an interview with “Fox & Friends,” Trump responded to Swift’s endorsement, saying, “I was not a Taylor Swift fan. It was just a question of time.” He added later, “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.” In her endorsement post, Swift also mentioned that Trump had shared images that appeared to have been generated by artificial intelligence to his social media platform, Truth Social, of both her and her fans supporting Trump. She said she felt the need to speak out. Two of the images Trump posted were real photos of Piwowarczyk in which she was wearing a “Swifties for Trump” shirt. “I was disappointed in the Trump campaign for posting AI pictures, because it kind of dilutes the realness of this movement,” Piwowarczyk said, adding that “there are thousands of girls who do support Trump and listen to Taylor Swift.” One such group is “Swifties for Trump,” a loose ideological group of mostly women who identify as conservative Swift lovers. In a lengthy post, the “Swifties for Trump” account on X, which has no affiliation with Swift, said Wednesday that the group respects Swift’s right to endorse any candidate but that the endorsement won’t change the group’s passion for Trump. The post emphasized that while the group had no intention to pressure Swift to vote for Trump, she doesn’t share the struggles of the average American. “She isn’t worried, like most young Americans, that she may never be able to afford to buy a house — a quintessential part of the American Dream. … She’s worked extremely hard since she was a teenager to earn all that she has. The majority of us, however, live in a very different world than Taylor Swift,” the post read in part. The “Swifties for Trump” account declined to comment. Other Swifties, like Jason Richardson, 23, echoed the sentiment that Swift’s billionaire status means she’s “out of touch” with her fans. Richardson said some Swift lovers can’t afford “food, housing and transportation” because of the Biden administration. Richardson said he’s one of the Swifties genuinely disappointed by Swift’s endorsement of Harris. “I am still a big fan of hers,” Richardson said. “Her endorsement of the Harris campaign does not change my love or admiration for her. I just wish she made a better choice.” The worldwide phenomenon of Swift and, more recently, the Eras Tour has attracted fans from all walks of life. In the past, some have speculated that Swift was a Republican, and Vice reported in 2016 that white supremacists viewed her as “aryan goddess.” But Swift has consistently advocated for left-leaning candidates and policies since she spoke up about politics for the first time six years ago. The 2020 documentary “Miss Americana” featured scenes of Swift fighting with her team to publicly denounce Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., then a member of the House, whom she described as “Trump in a wig.” The same year she shared a post of cookies with Biden’s name on them. Johnson, who spoke via X direct message, said he hoped Swift would look at what the Republican Party has to offer beyond Trump. He suggested Swift look at candidates like Nikki Haley, who he believes aligns more closely with Swift than Harris or Trump. Still, he said the endorsement will change little in the Swift fan base. “The few conservative Swifties who didn’t want her to endorse [Harris, like me] weren’t thrilled to say the least but we aren’t surprised either,” he said. Most said they hope that, in the future, Swift and other celebrities will encourage people to vote but won’t say which candidates in particular they’re backing. “I think it’s pretty commonly known that she is a liberal, so it wasn’t surprising, and I wasn’t even really disappointed,” Sobolewski said. “I do kind of wish that she just kept it to herself.”
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