“There is a real political message,” says a specialist in American politics

After the great debate between Donald Trump and Kamal Harris on Tuesday evening, Corentin Sellin, a historian specializing in American politics, analyzes the impact of the American star’s message of support for the Democratic candidate.

“I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she stands up for the rights and causes I believe in, it takes a warrior to carry them forward,” wrote superstar Taylor Swift to her more than 280 million Instagram followers. She added: “I think she’s a gifted, stable leader, and I think we can accomplish a lot more in this country if we’re led by calm and not by chaos.” The support came just after the vice president faced Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump for the first time in a highly anticipated televised debate on Tuesday, September 10.

She signs her message with a photo of herself hugging her cat, “Taylor Swift, childless cat lady”namely “Taylor Swift, cat lady without children”. For Corentin Sellin, a historian specializing in American politics, this is a direct reference to the comments made by Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, “who had castigated women who do not have children, calling them old women who live with cats”. Words “very sexist, which were taken very badly by women and Taylor Swift alludes to it. So we see that there is a real political message and so it can have a little more resonance”explains Corentin Sellin, also an associate professor of history.

The American singer also calls in her post for people to register massively on the electoral lists, a real challenge for Kamala Harris, because “The 18 to 30 year old electorate, which votes massively Democrat, is also the electorate which votes the least and participates the least”points out the historian. However, “18 to 30 year olds are Taylor Swift’s target audience, so she can actually have an influence there.”. Recalling that she has some “already had in the past” during Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign, or during a local election campaign in Tennessee, her home state, where she called for a vote for a Democratic candidate.