Karma is a Cat(lady)

Upstairs in my living room, the debate was the big news of the night. Downstairs in my 16 year-old daughter’s room, there was a very different headline. Taylor Swift, in part fed up with Trump’s AI-powered lies about having her support, dropped her latest hit and endorsed Kamala Harris. “Recently I was made aware that AI of ‘me’ falsely endorsing Donald Trump’s presidential run was posted to his site … I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris 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. 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.” And she signed off, “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”

+ Yes, this is an important election. Yes, democracy is at stake. Yes, the stakes could be clearer. But it takes a lot of guts for the most public of figures to pick a side in this of all eras, when the opposition with attack her relentlessly. Trump has already commented that Swift’s decision will hurt her in the marketplace. But in an era of hate spewing, personal attacks, and rampant death threats, the marketplace of ideas is much more risky than the bottom line. Taylor Swift is displaying the courage that so many of Trump’s enablers have been afraid to show, even though they privately agree with every word of her post. Let’s hope many other public figures are inspired by her guts.

+ In a weird response to Swift’s endorsement of Harris, Elon Musk posted: “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.” (I don’t usually root for the Chiefs, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how this plays out.)