Republican nominee Donald Trump failed to impress his party's strategists with his endless rambling and inability to effectively push back when he went head-to-head against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time in the presidential debate.
Immediately following Tuesday evening's hotly anticipated 2024 election face-off, Harris and her VP running mate Tim Walz received one of the most significant celebrity endorsements from mega-music artist Taylor Swift.
Trump couldn't shake it off.
The ex-President fretted about the singer's snub on Fox & Friends when co-host Steve Doocey asked his thoughts on Swift favoring Harris.
He replied:
“I actually like Mrs. Mahomes much better if you want to know the truth."
“She’s a big Trump fan. I was not a Taylor Swift fan.”
Trump's admiration for Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, comes as no surprise since she made headlines recently for appearing to support Trump by liking one of his Instagram posts. She "unliked" it after some backlash.
Mahomes has never publicly stated her support for the Republican nominee.
Mahomes and Swift were often spotted at Chiefs games together, with Mahomes cheering on her husband while Swift rooted for her beau, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
There doesn't appear to be any bad blood between Mahomes and Swift as the gal pals were last seen getting chummy during the men’s singles final at the U.S. Open in New York City over the weekend.
You can hear Trump's reaction to Swift's endorsement of Harris on Fox & Friends here.
Trump continued:
“It was just a question of time. ... You couldn’t possibly endorse Biden. You look at Biden — you couldn’t endorse him."
"But she’s a very liberal person. She seems to always endorse a Democrat, and she’ll probably pay a price for it ... in the marketplace."
"But no, I like Brittany," he added.
His comments trying to pit Swift against Mahomes led to a collective eye-roll.
Fans noted that Swift's star power can't be dimmed.
After the Trump vs. Harris showdown concluded, Swift took to Instagram and wrote:
"Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to do your research on the issues at hand and the stances these candidates take on the topics that matter to you the most."
"As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can about their proposed policies and plans for this country."
The international superstar continued, saying she realized that she had to be "very transparent" about her plans as a voter in the election after an AI image of her evoking Uncle Sam and seemingly endorsing Trump on his Truth Social platform surfaced online.
"It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation," said the "Fortnight" singer.
She continued:
"The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth."
"I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election."
She backed her decision to cast the blue vote, writing:
"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."
"I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make."
Swift, who endorsed Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020, reminded first-time voters to register if they haven't already and shared that she found early voting was "much easier."
She left a link with information on where to register and early voting dates in her Instagram story.
She then signed off as "Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady," an allusion to Trump running mate J.D. Vance's three-year-old comments about Democratic female voters without children who are "miserable at their own lives" and have no stake in the future of the country.
The pop star, who generated more than $1 billion in ticket sales from her ongoing, historical Eras Tour, posted a photo of her holding her cat, Benjamin Button, reinforcing her "Childless Cat Lady" status.
Her Harris endorsement post received more than 2.3 million likes in the first half hour since posting.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
@arianagrande/Instagram
@arianagrande/Instagram