The basketball star ignited furious backlash from her conservative fans after she liked Taylor Swift’s Instagram post endorsing Kamala Harris—and when a reporter asked why she did it, she gave a very measured answer.

Caitlin Clark; Taylor Swift

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WNBA star Caitlin Clark was lauded for her calculated response to a question regarding the backlash for “liking” Taylor Swift’s post announcing the singer was officially endorsing Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.

After Harris dominated Republican challenger Donald Trump for her first presidential debate against him on Tuesday, the long-awaited endorsement finally came from Swift, the biggest international music star who is continuously playing to sold-out arenas with her ongoing Eras Tour.

The “Fortnight” singer posted a four-paragraph message to fans praising Harris and Walz and encouraging her millions of followers on social media to do their “own research, ” register and vote. Her anticipated announcement led to at over 400,000 visits in just 24 hours to the voter information website via a link she included.

Clark was among the many celebrities—including actors Reese Witherspoon and Viola Davis, music artists Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX, and even Oprah—who smashed the “like” button on Swift’s post in which she signed off and included a photo of herself as a “Childless Cat Lady,” a jab at Trump’s VP pick JD Vance’s demeaning comment towards women voters.

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But it was Clark who incurred significant backlash from the disgruntled MAGA contingent for getting involved in aligning with Democrats.

Disappointed former fans withdrew support for the Indiana Fever basketball player after seeing her approval of Swift’s blue ticket endorsement.

Here are some of the hateful comments Clark saw flooding her Instagram messages, screenshot by X user @KevinOnStage.

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Amidst the controversy surrounding Clark, USA Today columnist Christine Brennan asked Clark to explain what Swift’s post meant to her and if she would “potentially vote for Kamala Harris.”

Clark replied at Wednesday’s press conference:

“I have this amazing platform, so I think the biggest thing would be to just encourage people to register to vote.”

The 22-year-old continued:

“That’s the biggest thing I can do with the platform that I have, and that’s the same thing Taylor did. And I think you continue to educate yourself about the candidates that we have and the policies they are supporting.”

Clark reiterated the importance of voter privilege and added:

“That’s the biggest thing you can do, and that’s what I would recommend to every person who has that opportunity in our country.”

 

In her Harris/Walz endorsement, Swift wrote in part:

“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,” she said before reminding first-time voters they have to be registered first in order to vote.

Swift previously endorsed Democratic President Joe Biden and VP Harris in 2020 after expressing regret for not endorsing Trump’s Democratic challenger, former U.S. Senator, Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.