By Bryan Chai September 11, 2024 at 11:23am
Is it an actual endorsement? Or is this just a “fever” dream?
Those are the questions that fans of precocious Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark are asking themselves after the WNBA superstar appeared to like a post backing Vice President Kamala Harris — the top of the Democratic presidential ticket.
The endorsement post came from pop superstar Taylor Swift via Instagram shortly after Tuesday night’s contentious presidential debate.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” Swift posted. “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.”
Per IG’s self-reported numbers, the post has garnered 8.8 million likes by Monday morning.
And, per multiple reports, it appears one of those 8.8 million likes came from Clark.
Now, a like is obviously not a literal, honest-to-goodness endorsement, as Fox News pointed out.
In fact, as USA Today noted, Clark has been a well-documented Swift fan (or “Swiftie”) for some time now. Even during Clark’s stellar college career, it was well-established that the superstar Lady Hawkeye was a fan:
Oh, my, what a marvelous tune 🎶#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/XEO8MdEZte
— Iowa Women’s Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 25, 2024
The “like” could’ve just been a Pavlovian response to Swift’s immensely popular social media posts.
That being said, it’s also undeniable that the WNBA has a left-leaning slant to it.
While Clark has generally stayed away from any culture war issues throughout her career, race-based and LGBT-based grievances are a dime a dozen in the WNBA.
That means the league — which seemingly always finds something to grouse about — will generally align with Democrats, who often bring race and LGBT issues to the forefront.
Indeed, as Fox noted, teams like the Seattle Storm have full-throatedly supported Democrats, like when the organization endorsed President Joe Biden leading into the 2020 election.
It’s also worth noting, however, that Clark’s roots are Republican red.
Both Iowa and Indiana — the two states where Clark has plied her basketball trade — voted for Trump in 2020.
Interestingly, noted Clark and Swift fan David Portnoy (the founder of Barstool Sports) offered a nuanced take on this all while specifically responding to the Swift endorsement.
As the king of the Swifties people are asking me what I think of her Kamala endorsement. I don’t care at all. People can vote for whoever they want in this country. How somebody votes will never change my opinion of a person. I’m voting the other way but to each their own
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 11, 2024
“As the king of the Swifties people are asking me what I think of her Kamala endorsement,” Portnoy posted Wednesday. “I don’t care at all. People can vote for whoever they want in this country.
“How somebody votes will never change my opinion of a person. I’m voting the other way but to each their own.”
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics.
Bryan Chai has written news and sports for The Western Journal for more than five years and has produced more than 1,300 stories. He specializes in the NBA and NFL as well as politics. He graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. He is an avid fan of sports, video games, politics and debate.
Birthplace
Hawaii
Education
Class of 2010 University of Arizona. BEAR DOWN.
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English, Korean
Topics of Expertise
Sports, Entertainment, Science/Tech
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