Normally, The Talon would not endorse a Presidential candidate, especially when our area will overwhelmingly vote for one candidate over the other. But due to multiple national newspapers being forced by their billionaire owners to cut already drafted endorsements, the Editorial Board has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump.
This November’s election will decide a lot of things. But most importantly, it will decide if America will elect Vice President Kamala Harris, or a man convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual abuse, and impeached for attempts to overturn an election he lost.
The Editorial Board of The Talon endorses Harris for a variety of policy reasons: She has years of experience as an elected official, has actual plans for issues like the economy, believes in and plans to fight climate change, and has consistently supported reproductive rights. She has also served California for a long time as both a general attorney and the junior senator from California before becoming the vice president. Harris would create a bipartisan advisory council for her policies, and supports working across the aisle for policy, such as the bipartisan border bill — which was shot down by Trump.
On the international scale, Harris is also the best choice. Harris has repeatedly stated her commitment to Ukraine’s right to self-defense and support of NATO allies. Meanwhile, Trump calls for isolation, abandoning Ukraine, and lessening support of NATO allies. Both Harris and Trump support Israel’s right to self-defense, but while Trump has no stipulations over how the Gaza and Lebanon wars are conducted, Harris supports an eventual two-state solution.
In every category, Harris has better plans than Trump — if he even has any. But elections aren’t only about policy. They’re also about character. And Trump is a spitting image of exactly what a president shouldn’t be.
He’s a narcissist. He’s a bully. He threatened to use the government against political opponents. He praised strongman leaders, and was praised back. He mocked people with disabilities, injured veterans, and people with a stutter. He consistently surrounds himself with, and gets support from, the worst of the far-right, and has numerous links to the homophobic, authoritarian, and nationalist Project 2025.
Trump is the antithesis of American ideals of truthful and honest leaders — his lies are blatant and numerous, and he uses them to create a cult of personality. He’s also concerningly become more and more far-right. Trump gets support from the America First Policy Institute — an institute that shares its name with an isolationist, antisemitic, and pro-fascist pressure group from the 1930s. Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, John Kelly, said Trump “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist.” According to multiple members of his staff, he privately said “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.”
Trump is also staggeringly anti-immigrant and can be shockingly racist. At a recent rally, one of his speakers said Puerto Rico was an “island of garbage.” Trump’s campaign retracted the statement.
They didn’t, however, retract statements by speakers saying Latinos “love making babies…they come inside, just like they did to our country”, spouting the racist white replacement conspiracy theory, or saying “Jews have a hard time throwing that paper”. During his debate with Harris, Trump made baseless and absurd claims that Haitian migrants were eating pets in Springfield Ohio, leading to bomb and death threats. He also wants to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, a plan that could cost billions a year.
He wants to give tax cuts to the ultrarich, that could cost $4 trillion in the next 10 years. He wants to deregulate AI and environmental protections. He wants to put a 20% tariff on all imports, and companies are all ready planning to raise prices if he wins. The Wharton School — Trump’s alma mater — predicts that under Trump’s policies, the United States’ GDP growth, total capital growth, and wage growth would all decrease, while national debt would increase. Harris isn’t a perfect choice for everyone. You might not agree with her economic, social, or global policies. But Trump is the wrong choice for everyone. His policies, character, and inner circle with are not fit for the leader of the free world. This election, vote for the dignified candidate. Vote for Kamala Harris.
