Taylor Swift backs Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in first public presidential endorsement

Taylor Swift announced Wednesday that she will be voting for Democratic nominee Joe Biden and running mate Senator Kamala Harris in the 2020 election — her first-ever public presidential endorsement. The superstar broke the news on social media hours before the first and only vice presidential debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Harris.

Swift shared an image of herself holding cookies with "Biden Harris 2020" written on them, as well as her cover for V Magazine's "The Thought Leaders issue," in which she spoke about the endorsement in an interview. The cover shows Swift with the word "Vote" superimposed over her face.

"I spoke to @vmagazine about why I'll be voting for Joe Biden for president," she wrote on social media. "So apt that it's come out on the night of the VP debate. Gonna be watching and supporting @KamalaHarris by yelling at the tv a lot. And I also have custom cookies." 

The music icon is one of 12 public figures featured on the covers of the issue, which draws attention to 45 musicians, political figures, actors and others who are ushering in the future of social and cultural activism, People reports. 

V Magazine shared a link to what appears to be a preview of Swift's interview and her cover on Twitter. The magazine also tweeted the profiles and covers of the other cover stars, including Megan Rapinoe, Mariah Carey and Jaden Smith. 

"The change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of color deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included," Swift stressed in the piece.

She also stressed the importance of "a government that takes global health risks seriously and puts the lives of its people first." Swift continued, "the only way we can begin to make things better is to choose leaders who are willing to face these issues and find ways to work through them."

Swift added that she will "proudly vote" for Biden and Harris. "Under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs," Swift said, according to the magazine. 

The issue is available for pre-orders and the magazine will ship them at the end of the month, according to the magazine's website.

Biden thanked Swift for her support and "for speaking out at this crucial moment in our nation's history," on Twitter. He also appeared to reference lyrics to her hit song, "…Ready For It" with a question to followers, "Election Day is right around the corner — are you ready for it?" He added a link to the website iwillvote.com, which allows residents in all 50 states to check their voter registration status and provides specific details on voting in their state. 

The star long faced criticism for not speaking out about political issues to her massive following in the past. She broke her political silence in 2018 when she told her millions of Instagram followers that she was voting for Tennessee's then-Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen and Democrat Jim Cooper for the U.S. House.

While Bredesen lost the election to Republican Marsha Blackburn, Swift's post appeared to cause a spike in voter registrations at the time, both in Tennessee and across the U.S.

Since then, she has started to regularly spoken out about politics and social issues, and lately has been vocal about her opposition to President Trump. 

In:
• Taylor Swift
• Joe Biden
• Kamala Harris