The Choice Is Clear
The presidential election is a little over three weeks away. I can’t imagine anyone is still on the fence. On the one hand you have Trump: the oldest candidate to run for president, a convicted felon, a man found liable for sexual abuse, a national security threat, a threat to democracy, the person most responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade, and a ranting, raving racist. On the other hand you have Harris: a normal person. They really couldn’t be any more different.
At this point I think I have more disdain for undecided voters than I do for Trump voters — at least the Trump folks have some conviction, even if their conviction plays to all the worst parts of our human nature. But to be undecided at a time like this? Or, even worse, to not vote at all? That’s a form of privilege that I can only ever dream about having. I mean, think about it: How nice must it be to feel like your life won’t be affected by the outcome of this election? You’re either incredibly privileged or incredibly ignorant — or both.
The point is, you need to get out there and vote. And vote for Harris. If you’re a Democrat who has issues with certain of Harris’ policies: That’s fine, but vote for her anyway because the alternative is far, far worse. If you’re a Republican who has a conscience: Lots of other Republicans have endorsed Harris, so you have permission to vote for Harris, too. If you’re a supporter of a third party candidate: Now is not the time to try to make a statement; now is the time to use your vote wisely.
There have been lots of news stories in the past few weeks, months, and years that make it clear just how big of a threat to democracy a second Trump term would be. Project 2025. The multifaceted attempts to overturn the 2020 election (which they would no doubt try again in subsequent elections — J.D. Vance even confirmed that, unlike Mike Pence, he would not certify election results). Trump’s claim that he only wants to be a dictator for a day. His spectacularly dumb plan for mass deportation. Not to mention the very real possibility of a nationwide abortion ban and other threats to reproductive health, from IVF to IUDs to other forms of contraception.
While there are lots of reasons not to vote for Trump, there are also plenty of reasons to vote for Harris. The economy is doing great, even if it doesn’t always feel that way. (And, in fact, contrary to the common myth, Democrats are better at handling the economy — from a higher GDP to higher job growth.) She will protect reproductive health freedoms. She is steady and calm, not wild and unpredictable. And, of course, she’d be making history as the first woman and the first South Asian to be president. This is all very exciting!
So, again, the choice is clear. But even if those big items haven’t changed your mind, I want to spend a little time today talking about a few of the smaller stories from the past week that maybe haven’t garnered as much attention. These stories might not be as flashy as, say, Project 2025, but they make me just as angry and just as scared as the others.
First, a few different stories related to natural disasters, particularly Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Trump and other MAGA Republicans have been purposefully spreading disinformation, to the point that meteorologists are receiving death threats. This is fucking absurd, but it’s not even the thing that makes me the most angry. No, the thing that makes me the most angry is how these liars are using the devastation to play into their narrative that the government is somehow evil or incompetent. For example, they’re claiming that FEMA funds haven’t been going to support disaster survivors and instead going to migrants in Springfield, Ohio. At a recent rally in Wisconsin, Trump said: “[The government] spent it all on illegal migrants… They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them.” This is false, of course, and I hate how his supporters will hear that and believe it.
Here’s the kicker, though: It turns out that while Trump was president, he wanted to withhold federal aid to disaster survivors — specifically, wildfire victims in California in 2018 and in Washington in 2020. He also “severely restricted emergency relief to Puerto Rico in the wake of the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017 because he felt [they] were not sufficiently supportive of him.” It’s no surprise, then, that Trump is out there claiming Biden is doing the sort of thing that Trump actually did.
Speaking of rehashes of Trump’s first presidency: The New York Times reported this week that the Trump team has not completed the necessary paperwork to participate in the presidential transitional process. This is similar to how they ignored the Obama administration in 2016, which made for a more chaotic transfer of power. This time Trump is once again not signing the required documents, likely for ulterior motives: “His refusal to sign the documents allows him to circumvent fund-raising rules that put limits on private contributions to the transition effort, as well as ethics rules meant to avoid possible conflicts of interest for the incoming administration.” This is a sneaky, dirty, and unethical move that shows his contempt for the government, the presidency, and any sense of integrity.
Finally, another completely normal and expected thing for presidential candidates to do is release a medical report on their health. Harris released hers on Saturday, and she’s in great shape. Trump, it should go without saying, has not (and likely will not) release his despite the fact that “Trump has become increasingly incoherent at campaign rallies, something the Guardian US reported on earlier in October. He has been slurring, stumbling over his words, hurling expletives – and showing signs of cognitive decline consistent with someone approaching his 80s, according to medical experts.”
One such threat: Calling on the FCC to pull CBS’s broadcasting license after Trump turned down a requested interview with 60 Minutes. I know we’ve long lost the ability to be shocked by all the ridiculous bullshit Trump spews, but I really do think we need to take him at his word. He can claim all he wants that he’s joking or being sarcastic — it doesn’t change the fact that this is some scary authoritarian rhetoric.
So, there you have it. Just a few stories from this past week that remind me, once again, why the choice is clear. Let’s do this, America. Get out there and vote. Do it early, if you can, either in person or through a mail-in ballot. Or show up on November 5th, even though Republicans are trying to intimidate us with the threat of “armed guards.”
Do the right thing — vote for Harris.
