To Those of You Still on the Fence

Thoughts on the Coming Election

I want to speak to those of you who may still be wavering about how to vote in November’s election. I don’t normally drill down into politics in this space but I feel compelled to make a case for why Trump does not deserve our votes. Lying tops my list.

Lies:

All politicians seem to stretch the truth and make bogus claims, which is troubling. Trump has gone above and beyond normal here. He has repeatedly demonstrated how self-deceived individuals deceive others.

According to this article in Politifact, “American fact-checkers have never encountered a politician who shares Trump’s disregard for factual accuracy. Ever since he descended the escalator at Trump Tower in 2015, we have encountered a fire-hose of claims.” A whopping 76% of his statements earned ratings of “mostly false, false, or pants on fire.”

Analysis from the Poynter Institute found that “Trump’s immigration-related claims tended toward inflammatory falsehoods and that more than 70 percent of PolitiFact’s checks on immigration, foreign policy, crime, COVID, and health care were largely false.” It concluded, “Trump’s falsehoods have fueled threats to democracy.” It’s one thing to exaggerate your net worth (Trump has done this repeatedly) and quite another to claim that the 2020 election was stolen and foment a riot.

One of his tactics is to blame immigrants (only those from “shit-hole countries,” not from Europe) for any number of issues, including violent crime. This is blatantly false. Othering, blaming, and demeaning those who have less power, divides us, stokes anger and mistrust toward those already marginalized, and dodges responsibility to fix underlying issues. It also reveals racist underpinnings, as explained in this Time Magazine article and inclines white Americans toward fear and greed rather than compassion and generosity.

Lies often metastasize and take on a life of their own, as was the case regarding Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Vance and Trump knew that their narrative about immigrants eating dogs and cats was false. In the days following the debate, schools and public offices got bomb threats as white nationalist groups took to X and other social media channels to spread their xenophobia. Haitians once again feared for their lives, which is why many of them left Haiti in the first place. (You can read about a similar lie regarding immigrants in Aurora, CO, here.)

Just last week, Trump, Vance, and other GOP stalwarts such as Taylor-Green (R, GA) fabricated lies about FEMA, claiming they were not on the ground helping hurricane victims and that they diverted money from the rescue and relief effort. Trump’s special friend Laura Loomer urged her followers on X to “not comply with FEMA…. This is a matter of survival.” Taylor-Green went so far as to claim that the Biden administration caused the hurricanes. These lies are as consequential as they are idiotic.

Part of the problem is that millions of Americans are getting their “news” from X, TikTok, and other social media platforms, none of which are monitored for accuracy. What’s even more disturbing is that many conservative folks now have such a deep mistrust of the mainstream media that they do not believe anything on Reuters, AP, NY Times, etc., even though these outlets have strict protocols for fact checking and will fire writers who dispense falsehoods. (Duly noted: most news sources do have a bias because we humans are biased. A bias is not the same as a lie. Check out this chart to see where your favorite sources fall.) The increasing use of AI generated images and viewers’ inability or unwillingness to recognize them as fake has also contributed to our descent into an anti-truth era. Trump and company are capitalizing on this as they distort facts, inflame fears, and normalize deceit. This practice should not be overlooked or excused. Lying is a form of bearing false witness and listed among the Ten Commandments.

Upholding the Constitution and Playing by the Rules:

When the 55 European men crafted The Constitution, they made several notable mistakes, including failing to give all men and all women equal rights and failing to specify that committing a crime immediately disqualifies anyone from serving as an elected official, particularly president or vice president.

Trump seems to believe that he can play by his own rules. After leaving office, he took boxes of classified documents to Mar-a-Largo, did not store them securely, and potentially compromised national security. “The documents, according to the indictment, included details about U.S. nuclear weapons, spy satellites and the U.S. military. They were produced by the Pentagon and arms of the U.S. intelligence community, including the CIA, the National Security Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office and other agencies.”

Then there’s January 6 and his refusal to abide by the will of the people. He and Vance continue to maintain that the election was stolen and have been evasive about whether they will respect the 2024 outcome if they lose.

In May of 2024, Donald Trump “became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges” including “falsifying business records connected to hush money paid to Stormy Daniels.” In June of 2023, Trump was charged with thirty-seven felonies “related to his handling and refusal to return classified documents.” And in August of 2023, he was charged with four federal criminal counts connected to his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. As of October, 2024, he has a total of 88 criminal charges against him. If our president is the head of the government, shouldn’t he (or she) have to abide by the laws of the land? Prior to his 2016 election, Trump claimed he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue in New York City and get away with it. He lives with an awareness of his privilege, knowing he can buy or sue his way out of any criminal charge. (I have wondered if one of the main reasons he wants to be president is to avoid going to jail.)

Threatening and Bullying:

Trump is currently threatening those who disagree with him in a fashion that feels positively chilling. “Donald Trump’s sweeping threat if he wins the presidency again is to name a special prosecutor to ‘go after’ Joe Biden and take legal action against other foes would subvert the rule of law in America and take the country towards authoritarianism…. This conduct is utterly without precedent in campaign history, threatens all of our freedoms, and violates our basic rule of law.”

This past weekend, he talked about “the enemy within” on Fox News and hinted that using the national guard or even the military to deal with the “lunatic left” would be appropriate. He’s gone from blaming outsiders (specifically those from South America and Africa), to threatening American citizens who fail to comply with his agenda or bow down to him. In her interview on Fox News, Harris noted that Trump “has talked about going after people who are engaged in peaceful protest. He has talked about locking people up because they disagree with him. This is a democracy. And in a democracy, the president of the United States should be… able to handle criticism without saying he’d lock people up.”

Trump’s rhetoric should be interpreted as a giant red flag. Consider which leaders crack down on their own citizens: China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, etc. These are not countries we should emulate. Do we really want a president who boasts about using his power to silence and punish those who disagree with him? Trump has been a vocal admirer of Putin and North Korea’s Un, both tyrannical dictators, responsible for silencing and killing their own citizens.

He has also threatened to revoke the licenses of certain TV stations that he claims fail to show him in positive light. Limiting the press happens in dictatorial and communist states. Free press is a cornerstone of our country.

The Economy:

Trump’s basic plan involves cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, raising tariffs, and increasing drilling and fracking.

Trump claims that the tariffs he imposed back in his term as president made the US billions. “Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,’’ Trump said this month in Flint, Michigan. He even claimed tariffs can promote world peace. His plan is to impose 10-20% tariffs on all foreign goods and up to 60% on goods from China. Tariffs are not paid by foreign countries but by the US companies that import the goods, which is why we, the average American, end up footing the bill. According to this article, “tariffs can protect home-grown manufacturers” and the Biden/Harris administration has also relied on them. An article in the BBC stated that tariffs brought in “2% of US revenue in 2023.” However, they are not a panacea and economists agree that there’s also the danger of retaliatory tariffs being imposed on US goods.

If he does reduce corporate taxes, which he did in his first term (from 35% to 21%), the obvious effect is going to be decreased income for the government and increased national debt. Trump has repeatedly looked to Reaganonmics for inspiration (Make America Great Again! was Reagan’s line first), believing that the trickle down theory will bring relief to the poor and middle class. This has never worked. When most corporations make more money, they simply pocket it—and flaunt their wealth by designing space ships to distant planets. “Trump’s teams are among the leading beneficiaries of the economic policies that they put into place. Since the passage of Trump tax cuts, billionaire wealth has more than doubled, up by more than $3.1 trillion, and the most money ever amassed by the nation’s ultra wealthy.”

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released new detailed estimates showing Harris’ tax and spending plans would add $3.5 trillion to the debt over 10 years while Trump’s would add $7.5 trillion. Perhaps he has “concepts of a plan” for decreasing the debt, as he claimed in the debate with Harris, but he has not been forthcoming regarding specifics and hard figures. Cutting taxes for the wealthy and for corporations and relying on tariffs will not be enough to slash the budget, as Trump has promised.

The Environment:

Trump has consistently been a climate-change denier, going so far as to claim it’s all a hoax. He has not walked this back, even after the recent catastrophic storms in the southeast. While in office, the Trump administration “dismantled major climate policies and rolled back many more rules governing clean air, water, wildlife and toxic chemicals.” He pulled out of the Paris Agreement, claiming it would adversely impact the US economy. Trump advocates for more drilling and fracking, even in areas that have been protected, such as along the highly controversial Keystone Pipeline. His mantra is, “Drill baby drill.”

In an interview with financial guru Dave Ramsey, he shared his plan to increase fracking as a means to cut energy costs by “50% in one year,” using areas that “have no value environmentally.” Fracking can “poison groundwater, pollute surface water, impair wild landscapes, and threaten wildlife.” Tragically, toxic fracking fluids, “including known cancer-causing chemicals like benzene and toluene, are exempt from federal regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.” (We have former Vice President Dick Cheney to thank for that.) This is not to say that fracking should never be done, but increasing it without clear, enforced guidelines has the potential to harm people, water supplies, and the land. As with many of Trump’s proposed fixes, it’s not clear how increasing fracking could lower overall energy costs by 50%.

Treatment of Women:

As indicated by the 2005 Access Hollywood tape, Trump is no respecter of women. (If you have never listened to this recording in its entirety, it’s much worse than the one, well-known line.) He routinely demeans and sexualizes them. Only four months after his third and current wife, Melania, gave birth to their son Barron, Trump had an affair with an adult film star. He has been accused by more than eighteen women of sexual harassment, which is why his recent promise to protect women rang hollow and tone deaf. During an interview on The View, Donald said this about his daughter Ivanka: “She does have a very nice figure ... if [she] weren't my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”

Not surprisingly, that misogynistic attitude carries over into his work. Trump’s cabinet was one of the least diverse in the past thirty years. Of thirty-three positions, only four were filled by women.

You can read about how he referred to Harris as “retarded” and “mentally disabled” here and how he demeaned female leaders and reporters here. He seems to be totally out of touch regarding the issues and injustices that women face. Which leads me to my final point.

The Elephant in the Room.

This article is already too long to explore the complexities of how abortion factors into voting but I need to say something. The two candidates will gain or lose votes based on their stand on this divisive issue. For some women, the right to an abortion is one of the main reasons they plan to vote for Harris. For others, Harris’ support of abortion rights is the reason they will refuse to cast their ballot for her. Those who might choose Trump because he appeared to be pro-life in his first term need to be aware that he has been much more inconsistent during this campaign than he was as president. (Melania is quite clear that she supports abortion rights.)

Because I believe that life begins at conception, I’m personally opposed to abortion as a form of birth control. However, I do not feel comfortable basing my vote on a single issue, especially when neither party is pro-life from the cradle to the grave. (Historically, the Republican Party has consistently voted against legislation that would support women and children.) Additionally, I think many evangelical and Catholic Christians have been too focused on outlawing abortion while ignoring or minimizing the reasons why many women choose abortion in the first place.

This topic deserves an entire post because the stakes are so high. I don’t want to be reductionistic or oversimplify things but the following factors need to be taken into account as we think about abortion. The United States does a horrendous job of supporting pregnant women and new moms. We have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. We fail to prosecute rapists allowing far too many to rape repeatedly. Neither our government nor our workplaces offer paid maternity leave and do not provide any type of financial help for child care. (Many other countries across the globe far surpass us here.) Our government communicates to pregnant women and mothers, “You’re on your own doing this essential work of bearing and raising children. We feel no obligation to support you.” All of this and more contributes to women’s felt need for abortion.

If you oppose abortion, I want to encourage you to do something tangible. This could include supporting families who foster, helping women pay for their health-care needs during pregnancy, and coming alongside of them as they carry, give birth to, and raise their children. We can’t just say we’re pro life. We have to prove it.

Deep breath.

Every week, more Republicans and political leaders are warning voters about the dangers Trump poses to democracy. Many who were on his 2016 team are admitting how impossible it was to work with him. His public speaking has always been discursive but as we near the election, he’s becoming increasingly incoherent, unfocused, and confused. (Listen to this clip for evidence.)

I will be casting my ballot for Harris, not because I agree with all of her policies and plans but because I believe she is the best, most mature candidate and has expressed her desire to listen to, rather than silence, those who disagree with her.

Those of you who consistently read my work know it’s important to me that dialogue stays civil. I encourage comments, but please write them as if you were sitting across from a neighbor you respect.

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Header photo by Manny Becerra, Unsplash.

Thanks to my sister Jane Huber for helping me research and edit this piece. Any mistakes are mine.