The undecided voter. The possibility that such a thing still exists in our divided country seems as unlikely as the existence of leprechauns, mermaids or gasoline at less than $3 a gallon.
Yet poll after poll shows that they do indeed walk among us, hiding in plain sight until they are briefly caught on camera for a post-debate panel. They are a mystery to us, the people who live and breathe politics and culture, or people who just live and breathe it. Seriously, who at this point doesn't know how they feel about Taylor Swift?
Shocking, I know. I'll give you a minute to recover.
Are you ready? Twenty-two percent of likely voters nationwide who participated in a recent presidential poll to measure the candidates’ “favorability ratings” either didn’t know what they thought of Tay Tay, or refused to say, or didn’t even know who she was.
The poll by the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College compared her favorability to that of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, after Swift endorsed Harris on Sept. 10 following a debate of sorts in which the singer was not present and none of her songs were played, so, well, nevermind.
On Instagram, Taylor Swift endorses Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.
(Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images)
T-Swizzle is, of course, more popular than both candidates.
According to the poll, 44% of respondents had favorable opinions of the singer, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and it seems like they're getting serious, and thank goodness because we all know (except maybe The Undecided) how much suffering she's been through. “Last Kiss” and “Death by a Thousand Cuts” come to mind, but take your pick. Her albums are forged from the fragments of relationships gone wrong.
However, 34% of respondents have unfavorable opinions of Swift and, apparently, they have a heart of cold steel. What else could they not like? That, or they are on team MAGA.
Last weekend, Trump posted on his platform Truth Social: “I hate Taylor Swift.” There is nothing vague or particularly mature about his opinions on Swift.
The Harris-Walz campaign also made its point with a response to her post that referenced 28 Swift songs. “We’re pretty sure it’s safe (and solid) to say Donald Trump’s week has left him in a bad light,” she posted Sunday morning.
“Mr. Nada Fino has spent this week trying to sort out his feelings, complaining about his champagne problems, and not spending a second of his time addressing the issues facing the American people. His rambling, yelling, and constant conspiracy theories have left many wondering if The Man is ‘too emotional’ to be president,” the campaign wrote.
With so much information available on social media, it should be easy for voters to learn about the real issues that affect us all, like what Taylor thinks of Trump and vice versa.
Still, it can be confusing, so here's a cheat sheet for those undecided: Swift is not a fan of the former president. She supported the last two Democratic candidates and accused Trump of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism.” [his] In a statement endorsing Harris, he wrote: “I believe she is a talented and steady leader and I believe we can accomplish much more in this country if we are guided by calm, not chaos.”
Trump has called her “unusually beautiful” but “liberal.” He has floated false suggestions that she supports him, and recently shared a collage of photos showing a supposed “Swifties for Trump” movement. But several of the images were generated by artificial intelligence, including those showing Swift dressed as Uncle Sam with the caption “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” Trump shared the images with his own comment: “I do!”
Enough about the feud between these two candidates. Let’s look at how they fared in comparison to Swift’s numbers. Harris was viewed favorably by 48% of respondents and unfavorably by 49%. As for Trump, 47% viewed him favorably, while 51% viewed him unfavorably. Split along party lines, 70% of Democrats surveyed viewed Swift favorably, compared to 23% of Republicans.
But back to the big mystery: Are disengaged voters real, or do these unicorns only feel insecure during election times, when they attract attention? without knowing Where to turn?
The ambiguity might be acceptable if the recent poll was asking really tough questions, like Taylor Swift vs. Beyoncé, or the Eras tour vs. the Olympics (like they all do, always). But no, it was just another poll about an election in which T-Swift isn't even on the ballot. She won the popularity contest, anyway. Unless you're undecided.
