The Guardian's view on the 2024 US presidential election: a Democratic government is what we need | Editorial

It's hard to imagine a worse candidate for the U.S. presidency in 2024 than Donald J. Trump. His history of dishonesty, hypocrisy and greed makes him completely unfit for this position. A second Trump term would erode the rule of law, diminish America's global standing, and deepen racial and cultural divisions. Even if he loses, Mr. Trump has shown he will undermine the electoral process, with his allies spreading baseless conspiracy theories to delegitimize the results.

There are prominent Republicans, like former Vice President Dick Cheney, who have refused to support Mr. Trump because of the threat he poses. Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Mr. Trump, calls his former boss a fascist. America was founded in opposition to absolute monarchy. The Republican candidate draws inspiration from the leader he most admires: Russia's autocratic President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Trump's authoritarianism could end American democracy. He congratulated and promised to pardon those convicted during the January 6 insurrection. He has suggested circumventing legal norms to resort to potentially violent methods of repression, blurring the lines between vigilance, law enforcement and military action, against groups he considers enemies, whether Democrats or undocumented immigrants.

His team has tried to distance itself from Heritage Foundations Project 2025 and its extreme proposals such as mass layoffs of civil servants and erasure of women's rights that have received poor polling. But it is likely that, once in office, Mr. Trump will adopt many of these intolerant, patriarchal and discriminatory plans. He aims to dismantle the government to enrich himself and escape the law. If Republicans take control of the Senate, House and White House, he will interpret it as a mandate to silence his critics and consolidate his power.

Mr. Trump is a transactional and corrupting politician. His supporters see this as an advantage. Christian nationalists want authoritarian rule to impose religious decrees on Americans. Elon Musk wants to shape the future without regulatory oversight. Both put self-interest ahead of that of the American people. Democracy erodes slowly at first, then all at once. In office, Mr. Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices, who this summer blocked efforts to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election: their immunity ruling makes the president a king over above the law, in the words of liberal judge Sonia Sotomayor.

A historic president

Since Kamala Harris burst into the spotlight following Joe Biden's departure, her campaign has been a lesson in political jujitsu, skillfully turning Mr. Trump's perceived strengths into glaring weaknesses. By emphasizing joy, the vice president stands in stark contrast to Mr. Trump's bleak narrative of America's decline. In their only televised debate, Ms. Harris skillfully outmaneuvered Mr. Trump, who fell into her traps, appearing angry and incoherent. She is confident and composed. He seems unbalanced.

The Trump agenda threatens to dismantle voting rights, women's rights, and minority rights, not just reversing decades of social progress, but burying it. Mr. Trump was behind the destruction of reproductive rights. Conservative forces rallying behind him now intend to impose a nationwide ban on abortion, with dire consequences if they win on IVF and birth control. Republicans have been hurt in the polls by being associated with such unpopular policies, a weakness that Ms. Harris should continue to exploit.

The vice president has energized Democrats with savvy media appearances while appealing to undecided voters. Progressives, determined to defeat Mr. Trump, remain committed to freedom and equality. But Ms Harris disappointed those who urged her to take a stand on US complicity in Israeli bombings of civilians in Gaza and Lebanon. Downplaying war crimes, while weapons flow to Israel, has already hurt Democrats' chances in key states like Michigan.

In a political system where style often competes with substance, perception is crucial. Even if Ms. Harris did not place race and gender at the center of her campaign, her victory would be historic: she would be the first woman, and the first woman of color, to be president. Symbolism counts for its basis. His candidacy rallied key groups, young people, women, African-Americans and Hispanics, who were cooling towards Mr. Biden. This election is an act of faith in Ms Harris, who offers a sense of possibility for the future, while Mr Trump clings to a reactionary past.

Protect democracy

Despite his criminal conviction and being declared a rapist by a judge, Mr. Trump remains dangerously close to winning back the presidency. Many voters still support a man who was the worst American president ever. But probably not a majority of American voters. Republicans benefit from an asymmetric electoral system: Democrats have won the popular vote in all but one election since 1992, and have achieved an overall popular majority for the Senate in every six-year cycle since 1996. Yet the country has often been led by Republican presidents. and a GOP-controlled Senate, and therefore a Republican-dominated Supreme Court. In a tight race in November, that could mean Mr. Trump does not need to win the election simply through a lawsuit.

Mr. Biden was a transformational political figure, but he did not transform the country. It aimed to tackle inequality, failing public services and the climate crisis with a $4 trillion plan financed by taxing the rich. His goal was to restore the political credibility of his party by marrying social liberalism and economic justice. But corporate influence and the slim Democratic majority in the Senate have reduced his ambitions. Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused it to focus on national security, while the United States experienced rising prices. However, Mr. Biden has made historic investments to green the economy and refocused his industrial policy to take on China. Ms. Harris’s plans aim to recapture the spirit of Mr. Biden’s insurrection.

The US economy is stronger than it has been in decades, but Mr Trump consistently outpaces Ms Harris on economic issues. This perhaps reflects decades of neoliberalism. Real wages for workers have stagnated since the 1970s, while inflation-adjusted house prices have doubled. Polls show that 70 percent of Americans believe significant political and economic reform is necessary, putting Democrats at a disadvantage because they are tied to the status quo.

Political hope fades when we settle for what is, instead of striving for what could be. Ms. Harris embodies the belief that it is better to believe in the potential of democracy than to surrender to its imperfections. The Republican agenda is clear: voter suppression, book bans and tax cuts for billionaires. Democrats seek global engagement; the GOP favors isolation. The Biden-Harris administration has laid the foundation for a net-zero America. A Trumpian comeback would undo all that. A Harris victory, with a Democratic Congress, means a chance to restore good governance, create good jobs and lead the entire planet's climate efforts. Defeating Mr. Trump protects democracy from oligarchy and dictatorship. There is too much at stake not to support Ms. Harris for president.

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