Tim Walz just achieved the ultimate Swiftie dream — getting acknowledged by Taylor Swift herself.
While doing a live TV interview immediately following the presidential debate on Tuesday, September 10, MSNBC anchor Rachel Maddow revealed someone had just handed her something Walz, 60, probably didn’t know yet.
“Somebody just handed me something, and I’m going to do sort of a not very TV thing,” Maddow says, before reading Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris and Walz in its entirety.
Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz delivers keynote remarks at the Human Rights Campaign annual national dinner in Washington, DC, on September 7, 2024. On September 10, Walz reacted to finding out Taylor Swift had endorsed him and Kamala Harris.
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Walz — a known Swiftie — was smiling as Maddow began, but became very serious once he heard who the statement was from. He looked somber as he shook his head in acknowledgement when Maddow read the part of Swift’s message expressing her concerns over AI (since Donald Trump posted a false AI endorsement of her to his site).
When Maddow read, “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election,” Walz put his hand to his heart, and smiled. His smile only got larger as Maddow continued to read Swift’s full endorsement.
The governor of Minnesota was clearly touched, laughing at the end when Swift signed her message as a “Childless Cat Lady” — a reference to J.D. Vance, who infamously claimed that “childless cat ladies” were running the government. Walz could be seen mouthing “wow,” before Maddow asked for his response. “All those things, I am incredibly grateful, first of all, to Taylor Swift,” he said.
“I say that also as a cat owner, a fellow cat owner,” he continued. “You heard it. We know that it’s there. That was eloquent, and it was clear — and that’s the type of courage we need in America to stand up.”
“We’ve seen it out of those republicans who were at the DNC,” Walz said. “We’ve seen it out of women who would like to have their own personal lives kept personal, but are forced to go out there because they nearly died because they can’t get abortion services in a pregnancy.”
“And now you have somebody like Taylor Swift coming out, making that very clear,” Walz said. “This would be the opportunity, Swifties. KamalaHarris.com, get on over there. Give us a hand. Get things going!”
The clip quickly went viral on X (formerly known as Twitter), with Swifites celebrating the “cute” response. “THIS IS INSANE 😭 HIS REACTION IS SO CUTE HE KNOWS THEY HAVE THIS IN THE BAG,” one person wrote.
Another Swiftie commented, “Just look at that smile, he just knew Taylor helped them seal the deal and close that gap!”
Others commented on the power of Swift, posting, “Taylor Swift is the main character,” and “She really does have America at the palm of her hand😭.” Another person posted, “Taylor ended everyone.”
Swift’s endorsement comes after fans were concerned over the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” hitmaker hanging out with bestie Brittany Mahomes, who has been “liking” content supporting Trump and Vance.
