Conservative Swifties say her endorsement of Harris won’t affect their vote or their love of her music

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 her debate with Trump has rankled and disappointed some of the pop star’s 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 the singer, who endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020 but rarely makes political statements, would 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 the global superstar’s music.

“I think that the endorsement was nothing too unexpected,” said Heath Johnson, 15, a self-described “Gen Z Swiftie” of 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. 

Those statements were anticipated by some right-leaning Swift fans.

“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, during an interview with “Fox & Friends,” Trump responded to Swift’s endorsement of Harris, saying, “I was not a Taylor Swift fan, it was just a question of time.” He later added, “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 which appeared to have been generated by AI to his social media platform Truth Social of both her and her fans supporting Trump. She said because of this, she felt the need to speak out.

Of the images Trump posted, two 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 it 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, the singer does not 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 when reached by NBC News. 

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 speaking up on 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.” That same year she shared a post of cookies with Biden’s name on them.

Johnson, who spoke to NBC News 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 fanbase. 

“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 candidate 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.”