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Book Reveals Harris Campaign Blocked Staff From Contacting Taylor Swift

The book shows that the campaign relied solely on Doug Emhoff for Swift outreach, resulting in one social-media endorsement followed by expensive celebrity rallies with questionable voter impact.

Taylor Swift posed 'special challenge' for Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign, new book claims (Photo by MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP, photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)
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FILE – Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour in London on June 21, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Overview

  • Harris campaign staff were instructed to avoid direct outreach to Taylor Swift and defer all contact to Doug Emhoff.
  • Emhoff’s request to Swift’s lawyer, Doug Baldridge, was met with the reply that “Swift would do what Swift thought best,” halting further involvement.
  • Swift’s only contribution was an Instagram endorsement after the Sept. 10, 2024 debate and she made no in-person appearances on the campaign trail.
  • The campaign shifted to star-studded rallies featuring Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey and others, spending tens of millions in battleground states.
  • Internal staff raised concerns that the celebrity-filled events had scant evidence of boosting voter turnout or persuading undecided voters.