The Philly Inquirer

Because there has never been a more important presidential election in our lifetime

Voters face an easy but tectonic choice in the race for the White House.

Will they choose the first woman or the oldest man to be the next president?

Will they choose the prosecutor or the convict?

Will they choose the candidate who supports restoring Roe v. Wade or the man who bragged about overturning it?

Will they choose the candidate with a tax plan to help the middle class or the one who wants to help the super-rich?

Will they choose the candidate who backs a tough bipartisan immigration law or the guy who killed the measure?

Will they choose the candidate who wants to combat climate change or the one who thinks it is a hoax?

Will they choose the candidate who upholds the peaceful transfer of power or the one who summoned a violent mob to attack the US Capitol?

Will they choose the candidate who stands up to Vladimir Putin or the one who said Russia could do “whatever the hell they want”?

Will they choose the candidate who champions education, health care for all, and sensible gun safety laws or the person who wants to close the US Department of Education, wants to repeal Obamacare, and told supporters after a school shooting to “get over it”?

Will they choose the candidate who supports the working class or the one who is anti-union and opposed raising the minimum wage?

Will they choose a woman of color who wants to unite the country or a man with a history of misogynistic, racist, and divisive comments and actions?

Will they choose the candidate who supports LGBTQ rights or the one who wants to roll back protections for the gay community?

Will they choose the candidate who will uphold the presidential oath or the one who was impeached twice for high crimes and misdemeanors, profited from the White House, dangled pardons to cronies, and was indicted four times?

This baker’s dozen list could go on, but the choice is clear and obvious. Vice President Kamala Harris wants to help all Americans.

Donald Trump wants to help himself.

That is why the Inquirer endorses Kamala Devi Harris to be the forty-seventh president of the United States.

If elected, Harris would be the first Black, South Asian woman to hold the nation’s highest office. She rarely references her historic candidacy and instead is laser-focused on earning votes through the substance of her vision, ideas, and temperament.

She assembled a positive, focused, and forward-looking campaign that has inspired the Democratic Party faithful and gained support from scores of influential Republicans, including several from Trump’s administration.

Meanwhile, Trump is mainly running to escape a mountain of legal troubles, stemming from his coup attempt, stolen classified documents, and conviction for paying off an adult film star to influence the 2016 election.

He is also out for retribution. More than one hundred times, he has threatened to jail perceived enemies. He also has targeted media companies and journalists.

Trump has spent the campaign tearing down the country. He rails about the enemy within but claims his armed mob of supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, took part in a “day of love.” He likens America to a failing, “third-world” nation.

Trump has nothing to offer but fear itself.

His campaign has careened from one reckless lie to another, claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating cats and dogs and telling hurricane victims that disaster relief funds were spent on migrants.

Campaign stops have turned into Kabuki theater. In Pennsylvania, Trump aimlessly bobbed on stage to music for thirty-nine minutes, served McDonald’s fries at a staged event, and told crude jokes about late golfer Arnold Palmer’s genitalia.

There is no vision to lift or unite the country. Instead, Trump pits neighbor against neighbor. He has made it safe for white supremacists, anti-Semites, and neo-Nazis to come out from the shadows and attend his events waving swastikas and shouting, “Make America white again.”

Trump claims immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” echoing the rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler.

John F. Kelly, Trump’s former chief of staff and a retired Marine general, said Trump met the definition of a “fascist” and would rule like a dictator.

Retired General Mark Milley, who served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, warned that the former president is “the most dangerous person to this country” and a “fascist to the core.”

Those warnings should not be ignored.

Beyond the anger, lies, and hate, Trump’s half-baked policy proposals would spell disaster for the economy, democracy, and his supporters, save a few billionaires.

There has never been a more important presidential election in our lifetime. The road to the White House may well run through Pennsylvania. Attention must be paid. Every vote matters.

Beyond the candidates’ personality and policy differences, voters must decide what kind of country they want for themselves and future generations. This election is about us and who we are not only as Americans but as people.

Do we still believe in the founders’ goal to form a more perfect union? Do voters still support the Constitution, the rule of law, and the peaceful transfer of power?

Can we really be proud of a president who is a convicted criminal, insurrectionist, tax dodger, sexual harasser, serial liar, and Russian sympathizer?

Can we tell our children we voted for a president who, when the angry mob stormed the Capitol looking to hang the vice president, said, “So what?”

America deserves much more than an aspiring autocrat who ignores the law, is running to stay out of prison, and doesn’t care about anyone but himself.

The better angels of our nature demand it.

There is only one candidate—Kamala Harris—who will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States from foreign and domestic enemies.

So help us, God.

[Please note: this is a shortened version of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s endorsement of Kamala Harris. The full version can be found here.]

Founded in 1829, the Philadelphia Inquirer is the third-longest continuously operating daily newspaper in the US. With a mission of “asking on behalf of the people,” the Inquirer provides essential journalism for the diverse communities of the Philadelphia region and has won twenty Pulitzer Prizes.