In a few days, we will know who the next president of the United States will be.
The prospect is both exciting and terrifying. If one candidate wins, we will have triumphed over hate and division. We will make history. Democracy will be preserved. But if the other candidate wins, we will have succumbed to hate. Our freedoms will be stripped from us. Democracy will crumble.
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump paint starkly different visions for our future. Harris’ vision is progressive and full of hope; she promises to restore abortion rights, protect voting and LGBTQIA+ rights, fight against gun violence, tackle climate change and reform the Supreme Court. She pledges to lower everyday costs, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, rectify the immigration system and stand with our allies. Meanwhile, Trump’s vision is regressive and autocratic; he promises to escalate abortion bans, attack voting rights, eliminate LGBTQIA+ protections, push concealed carry laws, roll back climate policies and contest election results. He plans to increase everyday costs, cut Social Security and Medicare, carry out large-scale deportations, eliminate the Department of Education and stand with dictators. He pledges to unleash the Department of Justice on his critics, purge the federal government of disloyal civil servants and consolidate power in the executive branch.
It is clear that Harris will deliver on her promises. Even as vice president, she has worked on ensuring gun safety, protecting the climate and preserving abortion rights. Likewise, it is clear that Trump will deliver on his threats. After all, he pursued his 2016 campaign promises during his first term, hindered only by supporters of the Constitution and his political inexperience. He tried to defund sanctuary cities, maintained ties with Russia, condoned white nationalist groups and cut taxes for corporations and the wealthy. He attempted to have the Department of Justice prosecute his political rivals, separated families at the border, broke U.S. foreign policy, refused to accept a peaceful transfer of power and tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Countless people have endorsed Harris, including President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, former Vice Presidents Dick Cheney and Al Gore, musicians Taylor Swift and Beyoncé and billionaires Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Even Republicans have supported her, such as former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, Senator Mitt Romney and former Georgia lieutenant Gov. Geoff Duncan. Trump’s own White House staff has backed her, from the former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey to former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to the Vice President Olivia Troye and former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. Harris has received support from all ends of the political spectrum.
On the other hand, numerous Trump administration officials have warned against Trump’s re-election. His longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, claimed that Trump would rule as a dictator, citing his admiration for dictators, such as Adolf Hitler, and his desire to employ the military against U.S. citizens. Thirteen former aides backed Kelly’s remarks, warning of Trump’s desire for absolute, unchecked power. Even his former vice president, Mike Pence, has warned that Trump put himself above the Constitution, which no president should ever do. They have labeled him a fascist, conman and predator—and all are lifelong Republicans.
With Trump’s hateful and undemocratic plans, disastrous first term and lack of support among his own White House staff, it is clear that he is unfit to be president. Harris is the only democratic option. Yet, despite everything, the polls are tied. And nearly 4% of Americans in battleground states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona—remain undecided.
This 4% may become who decides the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Some undecided voters say they are dissatisfied with both candidates, and others state they simply do not care about the election. But neither reason makes sense. How can you view Harris, our current vice president with decades of experience in all three branches of the government, and Trump, a twice-impeached convicted felon who idolizes autocracy, as equal? How can you not care about who leads our country? How can you ignore the threat to democracy that Trump poses? Having the right to vote is a privilege and a responsibility. It is our responsibility to vote for the candidate that is best for our country. It is our responsibility to uphold the founding principles of our country—to uphold our freedoms and democracy. It is our responsibility to guarantee future fair elections.
We cannot regress to being an authoritarian nation, where women, people of color and LGBTQIA+ individuals have no rights. We cannot allow Trump’s Project 2025 to become a reality. We must move forward—not back.
The choice is clear: Vote for Kamala Harris by Nov. 5.