politics
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When Michael Stipe and Jason Isbell played a Get Out the Vote concert Oct. 4 in Pittsburgh in support of Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s presidential campaign, they took time out to visit with Harris’ husband and second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Emhoff introduced the concert at Pittsburgh’s Schenley Plaza, which took place in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Backstage, in exclusive footage provided to Billboard by the Harris campaign, the two artists talked to Emhoff, a former entertainment attorney, about politics and their support of Harris.
Stipe discussed the responsibility voters have to put in the work and to vote for the candidate that most closely aligns with their ideas, even if they don’t completely match. “There’s the comparison that has been made that voting for a politician is like taking a bus,” he said. “You get on the bus that takes you closest to where you want to go. When you get off that bus, that’s when you have to start working. You have to do the walking.”
Stipe, a lifelong activist, added, “We’re a big country with a lot of weight and a lot of power. And we need it to go right and your wife can guide it in the right direction. There’s a lot to work on, there’s a lot to do, but I have a lot of faith in her.” Stipe also praised Harris for her commitment to fighting injustice.
Isbell added that growing up in Alabama, he was around people who would say, “‘No politicians actually care about working people or about regular everyday Americans’, but as I have become more involved in politics myself, I have found that that’s just not true,” adding that he found Harris a “fantastic leader, brave and strong and hyper-intelligent and I think she truly cares about American people.”
He also lauded the “integrity that Kamala has that makes me feel safer as a creative person and as a citizen in general. I feel like somebody is at the top of the pyramid that is not attempting to confuse. Somebody is trying to tell me the truth and her opponent is trying to confuse us all.”
Emhoff was treated to a private performance of Stipe and Isbell practicing the latter’s “Traveling Alone,” which they also performed on stage together. They also played a pair of R.E.M. classics, “Driver 8” and “The One That I Love.” As the video shows, Emhoff also geeked out over receiving a lyric sheet signed by the pair.
Stipe and Isbell have been vocal in their support for the VP this year, with Isbell performing at the Democratic National Convention in August, as did Stevie Wonder, John Legend, The Chicks, Mickey Guyton and P!nk. Numerous musicians — including Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lizzo and Cardi B — have all endorsed Harris for president in 2024.
Election day is Nov. 5.

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Donald Trump remains in a tight race with Vice President Kamala Harris which ends in just under a month, and the stakes are rising higher than ever. In a new interview, Donald Trump attacked immigrants with a vile comment suggesting that they are “bad genes” in the country who have a genetic predisposition to murder.
Donald Trump appeared on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Monday (October 7) and immediately seized upon the xenophobic fears of his supporters by aiming attacks at Vice President Harris and immigration policies enacted under President Joe Biden. Furthering his stances on the southern border and attempting to frame Harris as a communist, Trump went on a verbal tear that many are currently decrying.
“When you look at the things that she proposes, they’re so far off she has no clue. How about allowing people to come to an open border, 13,000 of which were murderers,” Trump says.
He added, “Many of them murdered far more than one person, and they’re now happily living in the United States. You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now. They left, they had 425,000 people come into our country that shouldn’t be here, that are criminals.”
Trump’s comments were found to be appalling by others in the media, including the panelists of the Morning Joe show on MSNBC, which discussed the matter on the Tuesday morning broadcast of the program. Across X, others observed Trump’s chat with Hewitt and considered his words offensive and a rallying cry for fascism among other digs.
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, perhaps realizing how much of a gaffe this could be considering Election Day is fast approaching, countered in a statement that Donald Trump was referring to murderers and not migrants but it appears the damage is done.
Across X, formerly Twitter, many are discussing Donald Trump’s “bad genes” quip. We’ve got reactions listed below.
JUST NOW: @realDonaldTrump leans heavily into race science by telling @hughhewitt that you can tell whether migrants are predisposed to committing murder by “their genes.”
“We got a lot of bad genes in our country right now,” he adds. pic.twitter.com/t722iYq4Hm
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) October 7, 2024
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Seven years ago, Drag Race stars Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme saw an opportunity to ring in the holiday season the way they wanted to — as two friends just gabbing to one another in front of a live audience.
“We could have just sat on stage and shot the s–t for an hour and a half,” Monsoon explains to Billboard. “That’s how this whole idea started, with us saying ‘Let’s just sit on stage, maybe do a couple numbers and bulls–t about the holidays.”
Today, that original concept has grown into an annual tradition for the pair that extends far beyond just chatting and singing in front of a crowd. The Jinkx & Dela Holiday Show, instead, transformed over multiple iterations into a spectacle of costumes, dancers, high-production performances and an ever-evolving story — one that usually pits the two performers’ disparate dispositions against one another.
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Each year, the pair use the plot of their show to tackle topics of the moment, including the oncoming approach of AI technology and adjusting to a post-COVID world. For this year’s show — which kicks off its 33-date North American run on Nov. 7 in Charlotte, N.C. — the pair recognized that there’s really only one topic they felt needed to be addressed; our current, fractured political discourse. “There’s a lot of fear right now,” DeLa explains. “We have never shied away from taking on those hard topics, but doing it in a way that also can bring joy and hope.”
It certainly helps that the pair are well-versed in the political challenges of this election — in July, Jinkx and DeLa joined forces with fellow Drag Race stars Alaska, Willam, Monét X Change and Peppermint to create the first-of-its-kind political action committee Drag PAC. Aimed at engaging young voters to exercise their rights in the upcoming election, the organization has already provided prospective voters with the tools needed to register to vote and spread the word about the high-stakes election taking place on Nov. 5.
Below, Jinkx & DeLa break down the creation of their latest special, their thoughts on the upcoming election and their approach to young voters who don’t feel represented by either candidate in 2024.
Let’s talk about the special! What made you want to continue your tradition of doing this holiday tour?
Jinkx: It’s grown through the years — it started as something special, and just becomes more and more special each year, and that’s because there was always true heart and intention from the very very beginning of this project. We are writing a two act musical spectacular for the seventh time, because what we created that first year resonated with an audience that wanted to come back the next year. Their support through the years has allowed us to grow and take more time; now, we take off four months a year to devote to this project. As freelance artists, that’s crazy. But it pays off, because it is not only a wonderful artistic endeavor, but it is one of our best ways to stay in communication with our audience.
DeLa: It’s really about the spirit of this thing. It’s so great to be able to do this, but also, Jinkx and I love spending this time together, we love spending this time with our show family. We wanted to create a new tradition for us and for our audiences, and now, this is coming home for Christmas for us.
What can you tell us about this particular Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show? What are some of the new areas you wanted to explore with this year’s version?
DeLa: Every time we come at this, you can always expect that special Jinkx and DeLa flavor — we have a very specific brand of comedy, we have a very specific odd couple dynamic that makes for a very good time, and we come at it with a lot of humor, and camp, and sparkle, and spectacle, and original music, and pop parody. But we’re always also coming at it with keeping what is culturally happening around us in mind, so that will always dictate what is happening in the show. And this year, there is a lot of division happening, politically and otherwise.
Jinkx: I feel like drag queens are expected to be funny. Not every drag queen is funny, but there is an expectation that we’re going to tell some jokes and we’re going to entertain you, right? DeLa and I both chose comedy because it is a wonderfully effective tool for communication and for introducing new ideas. Throughout the years, I’ve learned that even though comedy kind of gets treated like this light-hearted, frivolous art form, it actually has been the most powerful way for me to convey very important messages to my audience.
When you double that with Christmas and what a difficult time of year this is for our community, it’s a no-brainer that people resonate with the work that we put a lot of passion into. This time of year is hard for all of us, and you don’t even have to be queer for it to be hard for you.
The two of you clearly have an excellent working relationship as artists — what, in particular, about the other person makes them a good collaborator, to you?
Jinkx: I think if you asked us at different points over the last seven years, we might have had different answers. But right now, it’s pretty easy to say that there is trust and respect here. We have so much trust in one another that you can actually believe that this person is making a suggestion that we should wear specific costumes not because she thinks it’s the best option for her, but because she thinks it’s the best option for the show. To find another artist who wants to remove their ego from the conversation and put on the best show possible is rare. It’s hard to get there as an artist, but when you find an artist who brings that out in you, it’s a unique privilege as a performer.
DeLa: Jinkx and I have just continued to propel each other to get better at everything. We come at this with very specific skill sets, and with different strengths — throughout the years, we’ve built each other up, we’ve helped each other, I feel like I am a freer, more comfortable improvisational artist because of it. I know that Jinkx feels like she’s gotten to learn a little bit about storytelling from me. It’s something that comes out of that incredible inspiration from each other. As a result, we not only are a stronger pair on stage, but we’re better comedy writers together.
The other project the two of you worked on earlier this year was the creation of Drag PAC. What made the two of you want to engage in this specific way in the election?
Jinkx: The credit actually has to go to a wonderful member of our community, someone who has helped create a lot of work for drag queens and queer entertainers since the pandemic, and that is our good friend Big Dipper. He really is the brain behind Drag PAC, and I don’t mind saying that because he puts in a lot of work so that we can come together as a group of very busy entertainers and use our platforms and our voices in a way that hopefully — actually, no, that will empower our community and give us voice in the political arena.
This is a very high-stakes election, especially for the LGBTQ+ community. With less than a month until Election Day, how are you feeling about the outcome of the campaign and our collective future as a country?
DeLa: I, personally, am feeling a great sense of gratitude for the way I’m seeing our community come together. I feel fortunate to get to step up and be a voice in the way that I do, and I feel inspired and grateful to see so many other queer people in the public eye doing that, as well as just seeing queer individuals across the board realizing that, collectively, we can make a lot happen, we can protect things and we can make change. That has been true of the queer community for decades, and I think both Jinkx and I feel very fortunate to be a part of the legacy of drag that has fought for queer rights and for the rights of all disenfranchised communities. As scary as what’s happening can be, and as infuriating as it can be, the counter to it is us knowing our extreme power. I feel a sense of knowledge that we are unbreakable, and no matter what happens in the next couple months, we will not stop fighting.
Part of Drag PAC’s aim is to engage young voters specifically, and there are a lot of Gen Z voters who have made it clear that they are not satisfied with either candidate in this election. As two people hoping to mobilize young voters, how do you approach conversations with people who don’t feel represented by the candidates?
Jinkx: In my lifetime, I’ve never lived through anything more tumultuous or divisive than the last eight years of politics. I know that those people who do not want to endorse either candidate, in many cases, are thinking about the fact that endorsing either candidate makes your friends from Palestine, your friends from the Middle East, your friends who are being actively affected by what Israel is doing, feel like you don’t care about what’s happening to them because it’s not happening to you.
I am not the most satisfied person when it comes to our government, but I’m at a point where I understand that if we want to have the kind of future where we can really dissent to things and have more options than just two candidates, then there’s only one option to vote for right now to make that future possible. I think it’s pretty obvious that, under Trump, we would lose our ability to protest, to dissent, to speak out against our government. He’s made that very clear. If you want to talk about what you can do right now to try and ensure that future that undecided voters are trying so hard to manifest, then there really is only one option right now.
DeLa: It’s important to note that Drag PAC, as an entity, is about motivating Gen Z voters, and there is no endorsement for a specific political candidate there. The intention is to encourage people to do their own research, find the candidates that align with their own values, and then take the steps to make change through our system. That free thinking is an important piece of all this. But as individuals, yes, Jinkx and I absolutely have our personal endorsements.
I also think there’s so much nuance here. I think about Rep. Ruwa Romman from Georgia, who is a Palestinian-American who was not allowed to speak at the DNC. There’s so much to say about that, and I think it’s also important for people who have strong opinions about this to go and listen to this person that they are upset they didn’t get to hear from at the convention — she has a very nuanced approach to this. She cares deeply for the Palestinian people, but she also has a lot to say about how voting Democrat is an important part of this process when you zoom out and see the full picture. That’s something we’re trying to tackle in our show this year — the importance of larger thinking, of listening, of not getting so entrenched in your own story about what’s going on, but really connecting to others face-to-face and listening to what people have to say. Sometimes, it’s not what you assume it’s going to be.
Before we wrap this up, is there anything else you want to add?
Jinkx: Yes — we’re comedians, I promise. [Laughs.]
DeLa: One hundred percent. I mean, one thing Jinkx and I are so proud of is that we’re not afraid to come at the hard stuff directly. At the end of the day, though, we are both inspired by drag. We love to make people laugh. The point of this show is that, at a hard time of year, in a hard year, a bunch of people get to come together and look at some beautiful visuals, outfits, props and performances from our brilliant cast, and get to reap the benefits of some really skilled performers who have developed a very real camaraderie over the years. Hopefully, people will come and experience some joy from this thing, and also come out feeling a little better about some of the harder stuff.
Jinkx: We’re not just spokespeople for the community — we benefit from being members of this community, too. The audiences charge us to keep going, and we only hope to charge our audiences to keep going, too, and to provide some food for thought.
What was Kamala Harris made for? Billie Eilish thinks the Oval Office.
Just a few weeks after endorsing the VP for president in 2024, the 22-year-old superstar was candid about her thoughts on the fast-approaching general election in a Vogue cover story published Tuesday (Oct. 8). “A lot of my fans are going to be able to vote for the first time,” Eilish told the publication. “So I’m like, ‘Do you like freedom?’”
“First female president? Would be really amazing,” the nine-time Grammy winner continued of Harris. “I would love to feel safe as a woman in my country.”
Eilish first joined the election discourse in September, when she and her older brother, producer Finneas, filmed a video together emphatically endorsing the Democratic ticket. “We are voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because they are fighting to protect our reproductive freedom, our planet and our democracy,” she said at the time. “Vote like your life depends on it — because it does.”
In posting the video to her social media accounts, the “Lunch” singer became just one of many stars to throw support behind Harris ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5. Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, John Legend, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, Carole King, Bon Iver, Pink and more have all also joined the cause over the past few months, while artists such as Ye, Kid Rock, Jason Aldean and Sexyy Red have backed Republican opponent Donald Trump.
“I mean, this is the most important election of our time, maybe,” Eilish told Vogue, adding that she’s a “really big fan of women’s rights and women’s reproductive rights and social justice and gun laws.”
“It’s so easy to be like, ‘I don’t want to think about it,’” she continued. “I have that same kind of feeling: I’m one person, I can’t make any change. But the truth is, we can all make change. And I have this platform and I’m going to use it.”
See Eilish’s Vogue cover and photos from the shoot below.
Annie Lennox is reflecting on the mass tragedies that have unfolded in the Middle East since Hamas launched its deadliest attack yet on Israel exactly one year ago.
Sharing a series of infographics via Instagram on Monday (Oct. 7), the politically outspoken musician took a moment to mourn all the casualties that have occurred over the past 12 months — from the 1,200-plus Israelis who lost their lives when Hamas descended on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, to the countless Palestinians (Associated Press estimates more than 41,000) who have died in Israel’s war efforts against the terrorist organization in the year since.
“This is a heavy day – one year after the events that were to create a ‘tipping point’ in this decades long situation of discord and brutality,” Lennox wrote. “I had always hoped things might change for the better.. but tragically – that is not the case. On Oct 7th 2024 we are looking at a potential ‘forever war’ situation, with the entire Middle Eastern region on the brink of being completely drawn into it.
“Today’s career politicians have no moral compass and the ‘never again’ understanding has evaporated in plain sight, with ‘human rights’ shredded into pieces,” she continued. “We humans are capable of tremendous achievements and indescribable atrocities.”
The Eurythmics frontwoman also encouraged followers to “reflect upon the sanctity of life..and the qualities of peace, compassion and empathy.”
“I am for ceasefire and peace,” she added in the comments. “That is ALL I call for. I deplore anti – Semitism as much as I deplore the killing, wounding and continuous displacement of children, women and innocent Palestinian civilians.
“And of COURSE I want to see the innocent hostages returned safely to their families,” Lennox concluded. “This tragically doesn’t seem to be a priority for [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu and his government.”
As the “Sweet Dreams” artist pointed out, the violence in Gaza has been unrelenting since the Oct. 7 attacks. As Israelis gathered to pay tribute to the people they lost that day with memorial services Monday, AP reports that Hamas was simultaneously firing rockets at Israel alongside Hezbollah, an allied militant organization from Lebanon. Meanwhile, Israel is continuing to assail both Gaza and Lebanon as tensions mount with Iran, and Palestinians are facing rampant hunger and homelessness across the country.
Lennox is far from the first musician who has supported a ceasefire amid the crisis. Dua Lipa, Paramore, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Reneé Rapp, Hozier, Muna and more have also all called for an immediate end to the violence in Gaza, while Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Adam Lambert and several more stars signed an Artists4Ceasefire letter to President Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress in October 2023.
Michael Stipe and Jason Isbell joined forces to perform a pair of R.E.M. classics during a Pennsylvania campaign event supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
On Friday (Oct. 4), the singer-songwriters took the stage during a Get Out the Vote concert at Pittsburgh’s Schenley Plaza, where Stipe sang R.E.M.’s “The One I Love” and “Driver 8,” which he hadn’t performed live since 2008. The former was the iconic rock band’s first top 10 hit, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1987.
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The singer-songwriters also teamed up for a handful of songs from Isbell’s catalog, including “Traveling Alone” and “Hope the High Road.”
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During the event, Stipe and Isbell were introduced by potential future First Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is married to Vice President Harris. Emhoff was present to help rally voters in the battleground state for this year’s Democratic presidential ticket.
“It’s been a while since I’ve sung these songs, 16 years in fact, but I’m really happy to be here with Jason and with the soon-to-be First Gentleman ever of the United States of America,” Stipe told the crowd.
Stipe and Isbell have been vocal in their support for the VP this year, with the “Cover Me Up” singer performing at the Democratic National Convention in August. Stevie Wonder, John Legend, The Chicks, Mickey Guyton and P!nk also took the stage at the Chicago political gathering, while numerous celebrity musicians — including Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Lizzo and Cardi B — have all endorsed Harris for president in 2024.
The Get Out the Vote concert arrived on the heels of the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate between Walz and Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, which took place a few weeks after the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Harris and the former POTUS.
Both campaigns are now working to sway the minds of American voters as Election Day on Nov. 5 approaches, particularly the nation’s swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Watch Stipe and Isbell’s performances of “The One I Love” and “Driver 8” here.
Could there be anything more on-brand than Tim Walz losing it over Bruce Springsteen‘s endorsement of Kamala Harris for President? The Minnesota Governor who is running as current Democratic V.P. Harris’ running mate had a typically enthusiastic, joyful response to the full-throated stamp of approval from The Boss in a three-minute video the rock icon posted on Thursday (Oct. 3).
“Wow. As a lifelong fan of The Boss, I couldn’t be more honored to have his support,” Walz wrote on X Thursday night along with a repost of the plainspoken video from the “Born in the U.S.A.” singer who referred to Harris’ Republican opponent Donald Trump as the “most dangerous candidate for President in my lifetime.”
Springsteen, who was a vocal supporter of President Joe Biden in his 2020 election run — he narrated a “Hometown” ad for the Biden campaign — took on a somber tone for the clip filmed in an empty diner in which he speaks directly to camera to deliver a plainspoken explanation of why he’s backing the Democratic ticket.
“We are shortly coming up on one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history,” he says. “Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, emotionally and spiritually divided as it does at this moment. It doesn’t have to be this way. The common values, the shared stories that make this a great and united nation are waiting to be rediscovered and retold once again. That will take time, hard work, intelligence, faith and women and men with the national good guiding their hearts.”
Springsteen goes on to praise the bedrock values he says Harris believes in, including “freedom, social justice, equal opportunity, the right to be in love with who you want,” while ticking off a list of what he says are the disqualifying attributes of twice impeached convicted felon Trump. “His disdain for the sanctity of our Constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law, and the sanctity for the peaceful transfer of power should disqualify him from the office of president ever again. He doesn’t understand the meaning of this country, its history or what it means to be deeply American,” the singer says.
Springsteen is among a long list of A-list stars who’ve lined up to support the Harris/Walz campaign, joining Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Stevie Wonder, Lil Nas X, Maren Morris, Barbra Streisand, Ariana Grande, Stevie Nicks, Cardi B, Katy Perry and many more. Trump also picked up an endorsement this week from Shazam star Zachary Levi, after the actor’s preferred candidate, vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abandoned his bid. In addition to the Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget actor, Trump has been endorsed by Kanye West, Elon Musk, Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Randy Quaid, Amber Rose, Russell Brand, Rosanne Barr and Rob Schneider.
See Walz’s reaction below.

The Boss has spoken. Bruce Springsteen took to social media on Thursday (Oct. 3) to officially announce that in the upcoming presidential election, he will be voting for the Kamala Harris and Tim Walz ticket. “We are shortly coming up on one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history,” he explains in the […]
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Van Jones had more than a few words of criticism for Sen. JD Vance in the wake of his vice presidential debate with Gov. Tim Walz. During a CNN breakdown of the debate, Van Jones aimed for JD Vance’s performance in the debate and noted that the Ohio senator took several liberties in his answers.
The CBS News debate between. Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday (October 1) was a highly anticipated event although most analysts couldn’t agree if this would be a pivotal needle-moving moment for either campaign.
Van Jones opened up his analysis of Vance’s performance by noting that they both attended the same law school and how that training may have served Vance onstage versus Walz’s style of speech.
“I think what you saw tonight was the kitchen table versus the Ivy League,” Jones began in his comments. “I went to the same law school as JD Vance [Yale Law School] and that’s how they teach us to do it. The problem is, JD Vance changes personalities like some people change suits and his job tonight was to try and “sane- wash” the crazy.”
Jones was referring to the measured tone and approach Vance took in comparison to the reported ramblings and off-script speeches of Vance’s running mate, GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump.
On X, Jones clarified his position further.
From X:
JD Vance used every trick we learned at Yale Law School — trying to sane-wash Donald Trump (and memory hole all the bigoted, nutty stuff Vance himself has been saying).
Do not fall for it.
Vance lied about everything, all night long: he said he never supported a national abortion ban (he did), that American energy production is down (it’s up), and that we had a peaceful transfer of power in 2020 (as if January 6 never happened).
A man who will lie on national television this brazenly about facts that anyone can find with a simple google search — should never be anywhere close to the Oval Office.
Some observers believe that while Vance’s answers were delivered with polish, mild fact-checking would uncover holes in some of his policy positions. In contrast, it has been stated that Walz didn’t appear as confident in the moment as he has been on the campaign trail but the debate was gentlemanly as it possibly could be given the distance on politics between the rivals.
At minute 31:00 of the video below, you can view Van Jones’ commentary on the debate.
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Photo: Getty

As he works to enter his vice president era, Tim Walz is invoking the power of Taylor Swift.
At the VP debate Tuesday night (Oct. 1), Kamala Harris’ running mate gave the pop superstar a big shout-out and wore Eras Tour-inspired friendship bracelets while facing off against JD Vance, Donald Trump’s pick for his second-in-command. After 90 minutes of back-and-forth — during which strings of beads occasionally peaked out from Walz’s shirt sleeves — the Minnesota governor ended his performance by marveling at the vast array of people supporting the Democratic ticket in 2024.
“I’m as surprised as anybody of this coalition that Kamala Harris has built, from Bernie Sanders to Dick Cheney to Taylor Swift,” Walz said, staring into the camera to directly address the American people. “They don’t all agree on everything, but they are truly optimistic people. They believe in a positive future of this country, and one where our politics can be better than it is.”
The 60-year-old politician was standing too far away from the camera to give a clear shot of his bracelets, but it’s very possible he was sporting an official Harris-Walz accessory on his wrist. The duo’s campaign began selling the beaded pieces in September, almost immediately after Swift endorsed their cause with a lengthy post on Instagram signed “Childless Cat Lady.”
“I think [Harris] 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,” the 14-time Grammy winner wrote in her message, which went live moments after the presidential debate concluded Sept. 10. “I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”
Though her support has arguably been the most impactful, Swift is just one of dozens of celebrities who’ve endorsed Harris and Walz ahead of election day on Nov. 5. Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Jon, Bon Iver, John Legend and Pink have all performed at campaign events this summer, while Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Carole King, Katy Perry, Kesha, Barbra Streisand and more have all spoken out in the Democrats’ favor.
Watch Walz give Swift a shout-out at the VP debate below.