Column: Taylor Swift and the mystery of the undecided voter

The undecided voter. The possibility that such a thing still exists in our divided country seems as improbable as leprechauns, mermaids or gas under $3 a gallon.

Yet poll after poll shows they do indeed walk among us, hiding in plain sight until caught briefly on camera for a post-debate panel. They’re a mystery to us folks who live and breathe politics and culture, or folks who simply live and breathe. Seriously, who at this point doesn’t know how they feel about Taylor Swift?

Stunning, I know. I’ll give you a minute to collect yourself.

Ready? Twenty-two percent of likely voters nationally who participated in a recent presidential poll gauging candidates’ “favorable rating� did not know how they felt about Tay Tay, or they declined to say, or didn’t even know who she was!

The poll conducted by the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College weighed her favorability against that of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump, after Swift endorsed Harris on Sept. 10, following some sort of debate where the singer wasn’t present and none of her music was played and so, like, whatever.

On Instagram, Taylor Swift endorses Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

(Pedro Ugarte / AFP via Getty Images)

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According to the poll, 44% of those asked had favorable views of the singer, who is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and it seems like they’re getting really serious, and thank goodness because we all know (except for maybe The Undecided) how much heartbreak 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 shards of relationships gone bad.

Yet 34% of those polled have unfavorable opinions of Swift, and apparently cold hearts of steel. How else could they not like her? That, or they’re on team MAGA.

T-Swizzle’s unfavorability, of course, is nowhere near that of either candidate.

Last weekend Trump posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT� on his Truth Social platform. Nothing undecided, or particularly mature, about his thoughts on Swift.

The Harris-Walz campaign also made its opinions clear with a response to his post that referenced 28 Swift songs. “We’re pretty sure it’s Safe (& Sound) to say Donald Trump’s week has him Down Bad,� it posted Sunday morning.

“Mr. Not-at-all Fine has spent this week working through his feelings, whining about his Champagne Problems, and spending exactly none of his time addressing the issues facing the American people. His rambling, yelling, and constant conspiracy theories have many asking if The Man is ‘too emotional’ to be president,� the campaign wrote.

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With so much information available across social media, it should be easy for voters to clue themselves in on the real issues that affect us all, like what Taylor thinks of Trump and vice versa.

Still, it can get confusing, so here’s a cheat sheet for the undecided: Swift is not a fan of the former president. She’s endorsed the last two Democratic tickets and accused Trump of “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism [his] entire presidency.�

In a statement endorsing Harris, she wrote, “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.�

Trump has called her “unusually beautiful� but “a liberal.�

He’s falsely floated suggestions that she supports him, most recently sharing a collage of photos showing an alleged “Swifties for Trump� movement. But several of the images were AI-generated, 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 accept!�

Enough about the beef between those two. Let’s look at how they fared against Swift’s numbers. Harris was viewed favorably by 48% of those polled and unfavorably by 49%. As for Trump, 47% viewed him favorably, while 51% viewed him unfavorably. Divided among partisan lines, 70% of Democrats polled viewed Swift favorably, compared with 23% of Republicans.

But back to the big mystery. Are uncommitted voters real, or do these unicorns only find themselves unsure around election time, when they garner attention for not knowing which way to turn?

Ambiguity might be acceptable if the recent poll was asking truly tough questions, like Taylor Swift vs. Beyoncé, or the Eras tour vs. the Olympics (like, all of them, ever). But no, it was just another poll about an election where T-Swift isn’t even on the ballot. She won the popularity contest, anyway. Unless you’re undecided.