Hollywood Reacts to Trump-Harris Debate: Taylor Swift Has Entered the Chat

Within minutes of the close of the lengthy debate between former president Donald Trump and current vice president Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift was among the first to respond by officially making her endorsement. The biggest pop culture star in the country made it very clear where she stood in the upcoming election with a lengthy post encouraging her fans to do their research on the candidates and the issues that matter to them, as she did. But there was no doubt which way she was going to go when she chose a picture of herself holding a cat and signed off her post with the descriptor, "Childless Cat Lady." That was a pointed jab at Trump's vice presidential candidate's controversial comments suggesting that women's primary role in life is to have children. Swift also cited Trump's sharing of an AI version of her "falsely endorsing" his campaign. "It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation," she explained. "It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth." That truth include a "vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz," with Swift explaining she supports the vice president "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, praising the choice of Governor Tim Walz, "who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades." A stark contrast from the first debate of this election cycle between Trump and President Joe Biden, a quick glance of cable news reactions to the nearly two-hour affair showed that what happened on that stage didn't really move the needle for those who were already ardent supporters of their candidate. Left-leaning outlets called Harris the clear winner, while right-leaning outlets are either saying Trump won, or leaning in to the pre-debate rhetoric that moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis were biased against Trump as a way to explain his performance. CNN's post-debate "Flash Poll" of a cross-section of registered voters reported 63% of respondents felt Harris was better in the debate than 37% for Trump. That's a nearly perfect flip of this same poll's results after the previous debate, where 67% felt Trump was stronger to Biden's 33%. The majority of voters, though, told the outlet the debate didn't matter a bit and had zero effect on how they'll vote in two months time. Voters who self-identify as independent, though, were open to what was presented on the stage, with Harris' favorability among them raising from 30% before the debate to 48% after. Meanwhile, Trump was in the "spin room" after the debate, touting that he'd won by a large margin, referencing a purported Newsmax snap poll that said he won by a margin of 93% to 6% over Harris. He also mentioned other polls showing him the clear winner, but it's not clear where he got those numbers. From the beginning, Harris managed to get under Trump's skin, knocking him off message and getting him defensive about his rally crowd sizes (a sensitive topic for him) and even getting him to espouse the recent rumors of Haitian immigrants "eating the pets" in Ohio. Both candidates avoided answering pointed questions, with Harris backing away from direct questions about her changing political stances over the years, or her possible role in the Afghan pullout. She also sidestepped questions about the rising cost of living under the Biden administration, simply saying she would work to bring prices down. Meanwhile, Trump refused to say definitively if he would sign a bill banning abortions nationwide or if he'd support Ukraine in their war on Russia. Instead, he said it was basically a ridiculous question about a possible federal abortion ban as no such bill would ever hit his desk, and simply said he'd end the war in Ukraine as president-elect, though he did not specify how; just that he'd end the senseless deaths. He also said it would have never happened under his watch. Ultimately, the candidates spent much of their time sparring with one another. But let's face it, that's what these televised debates are for. A steady split-cam showed their reactions to one another, with Harris' facial expressions to some of Trump's response quickly going viral. Ever since television entered the conversation in the debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon, they've been almost more about presence and style than substantive issues. Undecided voters wanted to see that Harris looked like a leader (some on the left, too). They wanted to get a sense that she was competent and ready in a way Biden did not assure anyone last tim

Moderated by Tomas Kauer Moderated by Tomas Kauer
Sep 11, 2024 - 17:00
Hollywood Reacts to Trump-Harris Debate: Taylor Swift Has Entered the Chat

Taylor Swift signs her endorsement "Childless Cat Lady" as Hollywood weighs in on the debate performances of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Within minutes of the close of the lengthy debate between former president Donald Trump and current vice president Kamala Harris, Taylor Swift was among the first to respond by officially making her endorsement.

The biggest pop culture star in the country made it very clear where she stood in the upcoming election with a lengthy post encouraging her fans to do their research on the candidates and the issues that matter to them, as she did.

But there was no doubt which way she was going to go when she chose a picture of herself holding a cat and signed off her post with the descriptor, "Childless Cat Lady." That was a pointed jab at Trump's vice presidential candidate's controversial comments suggesting that women's primary role in life is to have children.

Swift also cited Trump's sharing of an AI version of her "falsely endorsing" his campaign. "It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation," she explained. "It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."

That truth include a "vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz," with Swift explaining she supports the vice president "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, praising the choice of Governor Tim Walz, "who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades."

Debate Performances

A stark contrast from the first debate of this election cycle between Trump and President Joe Biden, a quick glance of cable news reactions to the nearly two-hour affair showed that what happened on that stage didn't really move the needle for those who were already ardent supporters of their candidate.

Left-leaning outlets called Harris the clear winner, while right-leaning outlets are either saying Trump won, or leaning in to the pre-debate rhetoric that moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis were biased against Trump as a way to explain his performance.

CNN's post-debate "Flash Poll" of a cross-section of registered voters reported 63% of respondents felt Harris was better in the debate than 37% for Trump. That's a nearly perfect flip of this same poll's results after the previous debate, where 67% felt Trump was stronger to Biden's 33%.

The majority of voters, though, told the outlet the debate didn't matter a bit and had zero effect on how they'll vote in two months time. Voters who self-identify as independent, though, were open to what was presented on the stage, with Harris' favorability among them raising from 30% before the debate to 48% after.

Meanwhile, Trump was in the "spin room" after the debate, touting that he'd won by a large margin, referencing a purported Newsmax snap poll that said he won by a margin of 93% to 6% over Harris. He also mentioned other polls showing him the clear winner, but it's not clear where he got those numbers.

From the beginning, Harris managed to get under Trump's skin, knocking him off message and getting him defensive about his rally crowd sizes (a sensitive topic for him) and even getting him to espouse the recent rumors of Haitian immigrants "eating the pets" in Ohio.

Both candidates avoided answering pointed questions, with Harris backing away from direct questions about her changing political stances over the years, or her possible role in the Afghan pullout. She also sidestepped questions about the rising cost of living under the Biden administration, simply saying she would work to bring prices down.

Meanwhile, Trump refused to say definitively if he would sign a bill banning abortions nationwide or if he'd support Ukraine in their war on Russia. Instead, he said it was basically a ridiculous question about a possible federal abortion ban as no such bill would ever hit his desk, and simply said he'd end the war in Ukraine as president-elect, though he did not specify how; just that he'd end the senseless deaths. He also said it would have never happened under his watch.

Ultimately, the candidates spent much of their time sparring with one another. But let's face it, that's what these televised debates are for. A steady split-cam showed their reactions to one another, with Harris' facial expressions to some of Trump's response quickly going viral.

Ever since television entered the conversation in the debates between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon, they've been almost more about presence and style than substantive issues.

Undecided voters wanted to see that Harris looked like a leader (some on the left, too). They wanted to get a sense that she was competent and ready in a way Biden did not assure anyone last time. Frankly, they wanted to get to know her and see how she differs from the very well-known Trump rhetoric.

That they did get, even if the debate was light on substantive policy discussions on both sides. Was it enough to move the needle either way in a tightly even race? Whether it makes a difference in November remains to be seen.

Hollywood's Take

Hollywood has been famously liberal for years, and so their reaction definitely fell in behind Harris, with many celebrities praising her strength and fearlessness in going after Trump and successfully goading him over and over again throughout the debate.

Many noted the stark difference in their rhetoric and approaches, with Trump seen as negative, angry, fear-mongering and focused on the past. Harris, meanwhile was perceived as more hopeful, unifying, optimistic, and forward-focused.

The biggest takeaway, though, was that for most in Hollywood, there was a clear winner. "That was a good old-fashioned ass-whupping," wrote Nick Offerman, while Mark Ruffalo noted, "She is just so much even-tempered and so much smarter than Trump. She crushed him."

After watching the debate, Michelle Obama declared "there should be no doubt - no room for discussion," saying Harris "is the only candidate in this race who is ready to be President."

Elon Musk leaned into far-right rhetoric about unfair moderation, but still conceded that Harris "exceeded most people's expectations," before he "strongly believe[s] that Trump will do a far better job."

Read on for these and more early Hollywood reactions in the post-debate hours.

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