Here is The Atlantic’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, first published on October 10, 2024. For the third time in eight years, Americans have to decide whether they want Donald Trump to be their president. No voter could be ignorant by now of who he is. Opinions about Trump aren’t just hardened—they’re dried out and exhausted. The man’s character has been in our faces for so long, blatant and unchanging, that it kills the possibility of new thoughts, which explains the strange mix of boredom and dread in our politics. Whenever Trump senses any waning of public attention, he’ll call his opponent a disgusting name, or dishonor the memory of fallen soldiers, or threaten to overturn the election if he loses, or vow to rule like a dictator if he wins. He knows that nothing he says is likely to change anyone’s views. Almost half the electorate supported Trump in 2016, and supported him again in 2020. This same split seems likely on November 5. Trump’s support is fixed and impervious to argument. This election, like the last two, will be decided by an absurdly small percentage of voters in a handful of states. Because one of the most personally malignant and politically dangerous candidates in American history was on the ballot, The Atlantic endorsed Trump’s previous Democratic opponents—only the third and fourth endorsements since the magazine’s founding, in 1857. We endorsed Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860 (though not, for reasons lost to history, in 1864). One hundred and four years later, we endorsed Lyndon B. Johnson for president. In 2016, we endorsed Hillary Clinton for more or less the same reason Johnson won this magazine’s endorsement in 1964. Clinton was a credible candidate who would have made a competent president, but we endorsed her because she was running against a manifestly unstable and incompetent Republican nominee. The editors of this magazine in 1964 feared Barry Goldwater less for his positions than for his zealotry and seeming lack of self-restraint. Of all Trump’s insults, cruelties, abuses of power, corrupt dealings, and crimes, the event that proved the essential rightness of the endorsements of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden took place on January 6, 2021, when Trump became the first American president to try to overturn an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. This year, Trump is even more vicious and erratic than in the past, and the ideas of his closest advisers are more extreme. Trump has made clear that he would use a second term to consolidate unprecedented power in his own hands, punishing adversaries and pursuing a far-right agenda that most Americans don’t want. “We believe that this election is a turning-point in our history,” the magazine prophesied correctly when it endorsed Abraham Lincoln in 1860. This year’s election is another. About the candidate we are endorsing: The Atlantic is a heterodox place, staffed by freethinkers, and for some of us, Kamala Harris’s policy views are too centrist, while for others they’re too liberal. The process that led to her nomination was flawed, and she’s been cagey in keeping the public and press from getting to know her as well as they should. But we know a few things for sure. Having devoted her life to public service, Harris respects the law and the Constitution. She believes in the freedom, equality, and dignity of all Americans. She’s untainted by corruption, let alone a felony record or a history of sexual assault. She doesn’t embarrass her compatriots with her language and behavior, or pit them against one another. She doesn’t curry favor with dictators. She won’t abuse the power of the highest office in order to keep it. She believes in democracy. These, and not any specific policy positions, are the reasons The Atlantic is endorsing her. This endorsement will not be controversial to Trump’s antagonists. Nor will it matter to his supporters. But to the voters who don’t much care for either candidate, and who will decide the country’s fate, it is not enough to list Harris’s strengths or write a bill of obvious particulars against Trump. The main reason for those ambivalent Americans to vote for Harris has little to do with policy or partisanship. It’s this: Electing her and defeating him is the only way to release us from the political nightmare in which we’re trapped and bring us to the next phase of the American experiment. Trump isn’t solely responsible for this age of poisonous rhetoric, hateful name-calling, conspiracies and lies, divided families and communities, cowardly leaders and deluded followers—but as long as Trump still sits atop the Republican Party, it will not end. His power depends on lowering the country into a feverish state of fear and rage where Americans turn on one another. For the millions of alienated and politically homeless voters who despise what the country has become and believe it can do better, sending Trump into retirement is the necessary first step. If you’re a conservative who can’t abide Harris’s tax and immigration policies, but who is also offended by the rottenness of the Republican Party, only Trump’s final defeat will allow your party to return to health—then you’ll be free to oppose President Harris wholeheartedly. Like you, we wish for the return of the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, a party animated by actual ideas. We believe that American politics are healthiest when vibrant conservative and liberal parties fight it out on matters of policy. If you’re a progressive who thinks the Democratic Party is a tool of corporate America, talk to someone who still can’t forgive themselves for voting for Ralph Nader in 2000—then ask yourself which candidate, Harris or Trump, would give you any leverage to push for policies you care about. And if you’re one of the many Americans who can’t stand politics and just want to opt out, remember that under democracy, inaction is also an action; that no one ever has clean hands; and that, as our 1860 editorial said, “nothing can absolve us from doing our best to look at all public questions as citizens, and therefore in some sort as administrators and rulers.” In other words, voting is a right that makes you responsible. Trump is the sphinx who stands in the way of America entering a more hopeful future. In Greek mythology, the sphinx killed every traveler who failed to answer her riddle, until Oedipus finally solved it, causing the monster’s demise. The answer to Trump lies in every American’s hands. Then he needs only to go away.
About the candidate we are endorsing: The Atlantic is a heterodox place, staffed by freethinkers, and for some of us, Kamala Harris’s policy views are too centrist, while for others they’re too liberal. The process that led to her nomination was flawed, and she’s been cagey in keeping the public and press from getting to know her as well as they should. But we know a few things for sure. Having devoted her life to public service, Harris respects the law and the Constitution. She believes in the freedom, equality, and dignity of all Americans. She’s untainted by corruption, let alone a felony record or a history of sexual assault. She doesn’t embarrass her compatriots with her language and behavior, or pit them against one another. She doesn’t curry favor with dictators. She won’t abuse the power of the highest office in order to keep it. She believes in democracy. These, and not any specific policy positions, are the reasons The Atlantic is endorsing her. This endorsement will not be controversial to Trump’s antagonists. Nor will it matter to his supporters. But to the voters who don’t much care for either candidate, and who will decide the country’s fate, it is not enough to list Harris’s strengths or write a bill of obvious particulars against Trump. The main reason for those ambivalent Americans to vote for Harris has little to do with policy or partisanship. It’s this: Electing her and defeating him is the only way to release us from the political nightmare in which we’re trapped and bring us to the next phase of the American experiment. Trump isn’t solely responsible for this age of poisonous rhetoric, hateful name-calling, conspiracies and lies, divided families and communities, cowardly leaders and deluded followers—but as long as Trump still sits atop the Republican Party, it will not end. His power depends on lowering the country into a feverish state of fear and rage where Americans turn on one another. For the millions of alienated and politically homeless voters who despise what the country has become and believe it can do better, sending Trump into retirement is the necessary first step. If you’re a conservative who can’t abide Harris’s tax and immigration policies, but who is also offended by the rottenness of the Republican Party, only Trump’s final defeat will allow your party to return to health—then you’ll be free to oppose President Harris wholeheartedly. Like you, we wish for the return of the Republican Party of Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, a party animated by actual ideas. We believe that American politics are healthiest when vibrant conservative and liberal parties fight it out on matters of policy. If you’re a progressive who thinks the Democratic Party is a tool of corporate America, talk to someone who still can’t forgive themselves for voting for Ralph Nader in 2000—then ask yourself which candidate, Harris or Trump, would give you any leverage to push for policies you care about. And if you’re one of the many Americans who can’t stand politics and just want to opt out, remember that under democracy, inaction is also an action; that no one ever has clean hands; and that, as our 1860 editorial said, “nothing can absolve us from doing our best to look at all public questions as citizens, and therefore in some sort as administrators and rulers.” In other words, voting is a right that makes you responsible. Trump is the sphinx who stands in the way of America entering a more hopeful future. In Greek mythology, the sphinx killed every traveler who failed to answer her riddle, until Oedipus finally solved it, causing the monster’s demise. The answer to Trump lies in every American’s hands. Then he needs only to go away.
在八年内的第三次，美国人需要决定是否希望唐纳德·特朗普成为他们的总统。现在，没有选民会对他是谁一无所知。对特朗普的看法不仅根深蒂固，且早已枯竭。这个人的性格长期以来一成不变，直白且无法忽视，几乎扼杀了人们产生新想法的可能，这解释了我们政治中的那种奇特的无聊和恐惧交织的感觉。每当特朗普察觉到公众关注的减弱时，他就会称对手为恶心的称号，或是玷污阵亡士兵的记忆，或是威胁如果他失败将推翻选举结果，或是扬言如果胜利将如独裁者般统治。他知道自己所说的任何话都不太可能改变人们的看法。
几乎一半的选民在2016年支持了特朗普，2020年再次支持他。11月5日的选举似乎也会是这种分裂局面。特朗普的支持基础固定而难以动摇。这次选举将和前两次一样，由少数关键州中的极少数选民决定。
由于美国历史上最具恶意、最具政治危险性的候选人之一进入选票，《大西洋月刊》支持了特朗普的前两位民主党对手——这也是自1857年创刊以来的第三次和第四次支持声明。我们在1860年支持亚伯拉罕·林肯（尽管由于历史原因未在1864年支持他）。104年后，我们支持林登·约翰逊为总统。在2016年，我们支持希拉里·克林顿，原因与1964年支持约翰逊相似。克林顿是一位可信的候选人，将成为一位称职的总统，但我们支持她是因为她面对的是一位明显不稳定和无能的共和党候选人。1964年的编辑们对巴里·戈德华特的担忧更多来自他的狂热和似乎缺乏自制力。
在特朗普所有的侮辱、残忍、滥用权力、腐败行为和罪行中，2021年1月6日发生的事件证明了支持希拉里·克林顿和乔·拜登的正确性，那天，特朗普成为第一位试图推翻选举并阻止权力和平过渡的美国总统。
今年，特朗普比以往更凶残且更加反复无常，他的亲密顾问的思想更加极端。特朗普明确表示，他会利用第二个任期在自己手中巩固前所未有的权力，惩罚对手并推动大多数美国人不想要的极右议程。《大西洋月刊》在1860年支持林肯时准确地预言道：“我们相信这次选举是我们历史上的一个转折点。”今年的选举也是如此。 关于我们支持的候选人：《大西洋月刊》是一个异见纷呈的地方，聚集了许多独立思考者，对一些人来说，卡马拉·哈里斯的政策立场过于中间派，而对另一些人来说则太偏左。促使她提名的过程存在缺陷，她在让公众和媒体深入了解她方面有些遮掩。但是我们可以确定几件事。她一生致力于公共服务，尊重法律和宪法。她信仰所有美国人的自由、平等和尊严。她未受腐败玷污，更不用说有重罪记录或性侵历史。她不会用语言和行为令同胞尴尬，也不会让他们互相对立。她不会讨好独裁者，也不会滥用最高职位的权力以维持权位。她相信民主。这些原因，而不是具体的政策立场，是《大西洋月刊》支持她的理由。
这份声明不会对特朗普的对手引发争议。对他的支持者也无关紧要。但对于那些对两位候选人都不太满意并将决定国家命运的选民来说，仅仅列出哈里斯的优点或是罗列特朗普的显而易见的缺点还不足够。让那些犹豫不决的美国人投票支持哈里斯的主要原因与政策或党派无关，而是：选举她并击败他，是我们摆脱当前政治梦魇并进入美国未来新阶段的唯一途径。
特朗普并非导致这个充满恶毒言辞、仇恨称呼、阴谋和谎言、分裂的家庭和社区、懦弱的领导人和迷失的追随者的唯一原因——但只要他还在共和党内位居高位，这一切都不会结束。他的权力依赖于将国家拉入一种充满恐惧和愤怒的狂热状态，让美国人彼此对立。对于那些对国家现状感到疏离和政治上无所归属的数百万选民来说，送特朗普退休是必要的第一步。
如果你是无法容忍哈里斯的税收和移民政策的保守派，但也对共和党的腐败感到愤怒，那么只有特朗普的最终失败才能使你的党恢复健康——之后你便可以全心全意地反对哈里斯总统。像你一样，我们也期待里根、鲍勃·多尔、约翰·麦凯恩和米特·罗姆尼所在的那个充满实际理念的共和党回归。我们相信，当充满活力的保守党和自由党在政策问题上进行辩论时，美国政治最为健康。
如果你是认为民主党是企业美国工具的进步派，可以去找找那些仍对自己2000年投票支持拉尔夫·纳德尔无法释怀的人聊聊——然后问问自己，哈里斯和特朗普之间，谁更有可能给予你推动自己关心的政策的杠杆。
如果你是那些对政治厌恶且只想选择旁观的美国人之一，请记住，在民主制度下，不作为也是一种作为；没有人能永远洁身自好；并且正如我们1860年社论所言，“没有什么能使我们免于尽力以公民的身份看待所有公共问题，并因此在某种程度上视自己为管理者和统治者。”换句话说，投票是一项权利，也是一种责任。 特朗普是挡在美国进入更有希望的未来之路上的斯芬克斯。在希腊神话中，斯芬克斯杀死了所有未能解答她谜题的旅人，直到俄狄浦斯最终破解谜题，导致了怪物的消亡。美国人手中掌握着破解特朗普之谜的答案。然后，他只需走开。