How Taylor Swift fans raised more than $100K for Kamala Harris during a single, star-studded Zoom call: ‘They should be afraid of our power’

It’s blue, the feeling they’ve got.
A Tuesday night fundraising call organized by the group Swifties for Kamala (S4K) had it all: friendship bracelets, a surprise song, prominent Democratic politicians, Swiftie social-media influencers and legendary American singer-songwriter Carole King, who described Swift as her “music and songwriting granddaughter.” King surprised attendees by singing a snippet of “Shake It Off,” her favourite Swift song.
S4K describe themselves as a coalition of Taylor Swift fans — unaffiliated with the singer herself — who are mobilizing to help get Democratic candidates elected up and down the ballot, including Kamala Harris. While the singer herself has not endorsed anyone in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, Swift endorsed Democrats Joe Biden and Harris in 2020 and has in the past spoken critically of Harris’s opponent, former U.S. president Donald Trump.
In an evening laden with references to Swift’s music, speakers made the case for voting, volunteering and campaigning for Harris, vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz and the Democrats while also sharing their criticism of Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance.
According to S4K, over 34,000 people joined the two-hour long call which raised $122,000 USD to support Harris and Walz’s campaign. 
The call began with introductions from S4K’s co-founders Irene Kim and Emerald Medrano, political director April Glick Pulito and campaign manager, Annie Wu Henry, followed by a slate of speakers including King; U.S. senators Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Ed Markey; U.S. representatives Chris Deluzio and Becca Balint; North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton and popular Swiftie influencer Emma Coleman who runs the Twitter account “Swiftie Wins,” which celebrates achievements and milestones by fans of Swift.
The night also featured Elyse Hope, an American citizen living in Canada who volunteers with Democrats Abroad and Vote From Abroad. Hope told attendees how American citizens living outside the country can vote and request ballots.
Warren started the night by talking about how “under a Kamala Harris presidency, the future is bright,” promising that Harris would sign abortion right protections into law and would take on corporations that are “screwing” people over. Warren name-checked Ticketmaster, which famously came under scrutiny for having hidden junk fees and being a “monopolistic mess” after the first presale for Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour.
Warren commended the organizing power of Swifties and encouraged them to use it during the upcoming election. “You come together hand in hand, friendship bracelets on your wrists, and you overcome anything life throws at you,” said Warren. “It’s about standing up for what is right against bullies like Donald Trump.”
The power of fandom and the Swiftie community was a recurring topic throughout the night.
“There’s a reason that so many elected officials joined us tonight: because they understand the power and positivity of this community when we mobilize to take action,” said Pulito.
Lexi Hayes, S4K’s friendship bracelet co-ordinator, talked about the bonds formed by Swifties using friendship bracelets at concerts and other events and encouraged attendees to similarly use friendship bracelets to form bonds with people in their community who may need a push to go out and vote.
Gillibrand, who described herself as a Swifitie and a “Fearless” stan said, “I believe that Swifties can play a huge role in this campaign because no one organizes like Swifties.”
The sentiment was also shared by Markey. “I’m in awe of the community you have created online to share not just your love for Taylor Swift but your commitment to building a better world,” he said.
King — who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Swift in 2021 — emphasized the need for volunteering, door-knocking and phone-calling for the campaign and gave tips to the attendees on how they can do so and shared anecdotes from her own experience door-knocking for her friend, Democrat John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign. King encouraged people to “build a bridge” with people who may not necessarily agree with Harris by asking them, “What do you think you and Kamala might agree on?”
King also added that she has met and been an admirer of Harris and also praised Biden for his “gracious” exit from the presidential race.
Ballint, another Swiftie and a “Midnights” stan, encouraged attendees to channel the spirit of Swift’s “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me” adding, “Therein lies the issue: friends don’t try to trick you. Trump and Vance have no qualms about lying to you and trying to trick you. We’ve got no reason to be afraid. They should be afraid of our power. It’s massive.”
Further she said, “I never trust a narcissist” using Swift’s lyrics to refer to Trump and Vance and told Swifties that “When a man talks s — t, we owe him nothing.”
Markey came prepared with a flurry of references as he called out Trump for staring “directly at the sun but never in the mirror” in a reference to both Swift’s song “Anti-Hero” as well as the infamous incident where Trump was seen looking directly at sun during a solar eclipse in 2017. He called the former Republican president “Mr. casually cruel” and “Mr. everything revolves around you” and encouraged attendees to vote for Harris to address issues like climate change — a topic Markey brought up referencing his favourite Swift song, “Snow on the Beach.”
Markey also addressed the need for gun control and said, “We have to make sure that NRA (National Rifle Association) stands for Not Relevant Anymore.” 
“Instead of clowning for the release of ‘Reputation (Taylor’s Version)’ we should all be pounding on doors to get out the vote,” he added.