There are countless reasons why I cannot support Trump and Vance. While I don’t believe the Harris-Walz ticket is perfect, given the alternatives, I can tell my children and grandchildren that Harris and Walz were honorable citizens who would help unify our country and preserve our democracy. I want to set an example for my family.
But let me ask you:
- Do we want our children to honor a man like Trump, who cheated on his three wives?
- Who has the audacity to vilify immigrants, even though two of his wives were immigrants themselves?
- Who lies so much that his supporters believe his fabrications, and he ends up believing his own falsehoods?
- Who tried to overthrow a presidential election, revealing his true colors in the process?
- Who defrauded students out of their money at Trump University?
- Who, along with his wife and daughter, tried to profit from their positions by selling trinkets to their supporters?
- Who called military men and women «suckers» and «fools»? He himself never served due to so-called bone spurs. My family, and many of yours, proudly served this country and its flag. Yet, some still see him as a strong leader. I believe he is a coward—neither he nor any of his children have ever served this country.
- Who claims immigrants are rapists and murderers without evidence, while he himself was convicted of assaulting a woman?
- Who spread lies about Haitians, saying they eat cats and dogs?
- Who wants to round up millions of documented and undocumented immigrants and deport them?
What has Trump done for Latinos?
- Did he provide us with a better health plan? He used to claim he had a better plan than Obamacare, but when asked recently, he said he only had a “concept of a plan.” That might work for a ten-year-old, but not for a national leader.
- Did he ever help Puerto Rico recover after Hurricane Maria?
- Did he offer a solution to the student debt crisis?
- Did he introduce a program to support small businesses?
- Did he lower prescription drug costs?
In fact, it was the Biden-Harris administration that lowered the cost of insulin. For Hispanic Americans, who are disproportionately affected by diabetes, this was a crucial achievement.
- Did Trump do anything to address racism in the judicial system?
- Did he pass a reasonable immigration reform bill? No. In fact, he blocked legislation that could have improved the immigration situation.
- Did he pass any law to make voting more accessible for all citizens?
- Did he appoint reasonable individuals to the Supreme Court? His appointees were all white and from the radical right. His MAGA rhetoric prioritizes whites over any other group in America. Ninety-eight percent of his ambassadorial appointments went to whites, and not one to a Black woman.
“Make America Great Again” is a dog whistle meant to enrage a portion of the white population that longs for a bygone era:
When women couldn’t vote,
When lynching was accepted,
When child labor was commonplace in factories and fields,
When there were no civil rights laws,
When there were no environmental protections,
When “only white was right,”
When women had no say over their reproductive rights.
Despite this right-wing desire for ethnic and cultural isolation, America’s demographic balance is changing. More whites are crossing cultural borders and marrying people of different races and ethnicities every year. People of color are having more children than whites, and the browning of America is an unstoppable, slow-moving wave. In the end, we must ensure that we protect the rights of all Americans—even those with whom we disagree.
We must vote for candidates who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law. And once they are elected, we must hold them accountable to keep the promises they made to the voters.