In February, the editorial board called both then-presumptive presidential nominees “morally objectionable”—and this remains the case for the Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance tickets.
According to the Democratic 2024 party platform draft, Vice President Harris’s policies will look similar to President Biden’s. Consequently, we strongly disagree with some of her key stances—on Gaza, immigration, and even racial justice—as they fail to promote the value and dignity of all human life. Voting is an individual choice, and many communities rightfully treat those issues as dealbreakers. However, based on a broad policy evaluation of the two candidates and the impact their presidency would have on progressive causes, the editorial board urges voters to cast their ballots for Harris-Walz.
The “uncommitted” movement
The U.S. has continued to provide offensive military aid to Israel almost a year after Israel began its genocide in the Gaza Strip. Many activists, including members of the Uncommitted National Movement, have criticized Harris’s unconditional support of Israel under the Biden administration. The movement encouraged voting “uncommitted” during the primary election to pressure Biden to change his stance on Israel and Gaza. Now, it calls on Harris to do the same. Some members of the movement plan to vote for Harris but call for policy change on Gaza, while others have advocated voting for third party candidates like Jill Stein, who has committed to ending Israel’s genocide in Gaza if elected.
Harris has expressed concern over the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties but has not indicated that her foreign policy on Israel would differ substantially from Biden’s. She has called for ending the war in Gaza, meanwhile the Biden administration continues to send billions of dollars of military aid to Israel. Given the horrific suffering in Gaza and the West Bank, we recognize that Harris’s support for Israel is justifiably deal-breaking for some voters.
In the aftermath of the DNC’s failure to platform a Palestinian American speaker, the Harris campaign must elevate the voices of Palestinian Americans who are calling for Harris to “help us help you” and show that, as president, she will tangibly—not just rhetorically—differ from the Biden administration.
While Harris and Trump both support a strong U.S. alliance with Israel, their approach to navigating this alliance is notably different. While Harris, in her DNC speech, stressed the Palestinian “right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination,” Trump has threatened to violently crack down on pro-Palestine protests, continues to support illegal West Bank settlements, and his advisors promised to not place “any handcuffs or limitations” on Israel. He has expressed no concern for Palestinian civilians, instead telling Israel to “finish up” its war.
Undeniably, Harris’s and Trump’s rhetoric and policy stances differ in key ways. But voters who care about Palestinian liberation deserve more than a candidate who frames pro-Palestine activism as helping the Trump campaign. When setting an official policy platform, the Harris campaign should listen to protesters’ demands, support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and stop the flow of arms to Israel.
We also urge the Georgetown community to consider the other issues crucial to our generation on the ballot this November.
Project 2025
While Trump’s views on many issues have been erratic, the Heritage Foundation’s far-right Project 2025 platform will inform his administration’s first 100 days in office by providing a roadmap to legislate a Christian nationalist and white supremacist agenda that will erode civil rights, essential government services, and bedrock checks and balances in the U.S. government. It includes plans to slash funding for climate change research and eliminate terms from all laws and federal regulations, including “sexual orientation,” “gender equality,” “abortion,” and “reproductive rights,” which would have devastating impacts on LGBTQ+ communities and pregnant people.
Trump also supports disenfranchisement in other ways. By casting doubts about election integrity, he encouraged Republican state legislatures to enact stricter voting laws; since 2020, 28 states have enacted new voting restrictions, making it harder to vote this year than four years ago. We urge Georgetown students to visit resources like VOTE411 and Can I Vote to see what’s on their ballot, check their voter registration, review their state’s mail-in voting requirements, and request a mail-in ballot.
Climate change and the environment
Trump has historically denied the science behind the global climate emergency, and his administration is known for its rollbacks on fighting the climate crisis, including his decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. Under Project 2025, Trump would not only reshape U.S. energy policy and dramatically increase offshore drilling but also jeopardize Biden’s climate legacy by potentially repealing the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)—the United States’ largest investment in green energy subsidies.
Harris, on the other hand, has shown that she is seriously committed to addressing the climate crisis as a member of the Biden administration. In 2022, she cast the tiebreaking vote for the IRA, and if elected, she will likely continue to build on this legislation. While smaller, left-leaning climate organizations have refrained from endorsing Harris until she releases a clearer climate policy, we see Harris as a candidate that will lead a continued fight against global climate change.
Healthcare and public health
As president, Trump unsuccessfully attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would have eliminated health insurance coverage for millions of Americans. Though he recently said he would no longer seek to end the ACA, he has proposed lifetime Medicaid caps, which would threaten benefits for millions of low-income recipients. Trump has also refused to address gun violence—the leading cause of premature death in America. He has promised to protect gun rights—even after surviving an assassination attempt—and he blames mental health for civilian shootings, despite the U.S. having the highest gun deaths of any developed nation, including those with a right to bear arms.
Trump has long used harmful anti-trans rhetoric, and as part of his healthcare policy, he seeks to eliminate access to gender-affirming care for transgender people. Project 2025 would allow healthcare professionals to deny gender-affirming care and punish doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors.
On the other hand, Harris’s public health approach emphasizes affordable healthcare access for all Americans. She will continue the Biden administration’s work of empowering Medicare to negotiate drug pricings, forgiving medical debt, and capping the price of insulin. Harris also takes the U.S. gun violence epidemic seriously—as vice president, she oversaw the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and has called for the passage of redflag laws, universal background checks, and a ban on assault weapon sales. Amidst an environment of virulent anti-trans legislation, Harris will continue the Biden administration’s strong record of opposing state-level anti-trans policies and mobilizing federal agencies to protect LGBTQ+ rights.
Reproductive freedoms and abortion access
Trump is responsible for appointing the ultraconservative Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and while he has refused to endorse proposals for a national abortion ban, he openly supports the Dobbs v. Jackson decision. Since Dobbs, 22 states have instituted abortion bans and many are attempting to restrict access to birth control. These bans threaten the health and safety of pregnant people and disproportionately impact low-income and Black pregnant people, and the Trump-Vance platform supports leaving these harmful measures in place.
In contrast, since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Harris has played a central role in spotlighting abortion access for the Biden administration. Her policy platform goes beyond Biden’s call to restore Roe v. Wade and proposes legislation that would not only restore abortion access nationally but also limit state restrictions. Protecting reproductive freedoms has earned Harris the support of most pro-choice organizations, and we, in turn, urge you to vote for Harris to strengthen reproductive freedoms.
Racial justice
Trump has been at the center of countless racism controversies. Most recently, he suggested that Harris lied about her ethnicity to voters in an attempt to gain support from Black and South Asian Americans. Not only has Trump made headlines for blatantly racist remarks but also for blatantly racist policies that jeopardize the safety of immigrants and communities of color across the United States.
Harris’s policies on racial justice are vague, but under the Biden Administration, she supported key legislation like the American Rescue Plan, which aided Black families disproportionately affected by economic downturn during the pandemic, and the Housing Supply Action Plan, aimed at increasing housing supply and combating trends of gentrification and redlining. Harris has a strong track record of pushing for student debt relief and supports expanding free community college. She has also consistently advocated for subsidizing students attending minority-serving institutions.
Justice reform and immigration
Trump promises that under Project 2025, he will take a “tough on crime” approach by militarizing the police, accelerating mass incarceration and deportations, and expanding the death penalty. These policies would extend his administration’s legacy of militarizing the U.S. southern border and separating thousands of migrant children from their families.
As prosecutor and attorney general, Harris’s track record on criminal justice reform is complicated. By taking a law enforcement approach to social issues, she embraced controversial anti-truancy laws that overwhelmingly targeted Black families for their children’s school attendance. She has since tried to pivot away from her “tough on crime” and “top cop” past: she’s advocated against the death penalty and pushed for youth diversion programs and police bias training.
On immigration, Harris has not used Trump’s blatantly racist language, but she does support the bipartisan border security bill negotiated under Biden, proclaimed by its drafters as “the most conservative border security bill in four decades.” Executive actions on immigration by the Biden-Harris administration have also been similarly harmful to migrants as Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. Thus, if Harris wins the bid for president, she must commit to a new and just policy that genuinely improves the immigration system while protecting migrants.
Autocracy and foreign policy
Political violence has continued to surge in the U.S. with global ramifications. Trump’s baseless election denialism after losing the 2020 race also resulted in a massive spike in violent threats against election workers nationally, and a bipartisan committee found him the “central cause” of a violent insurrection storming the U.S Capitol to overturn election results on January 6, 2021. Law enforcement in the District is again preparing for post-election violence in 2024.
Continued Republican challenges to election integrity and the chaos of a Trump presidency would be disastrous for U.S. global leadership. It could inflame political extremism in other countries and encourage autocrats abroad to continue to violate basic international norms. By contrast, Harris has promised to support Ukraine’s defense against Putin’s illegal war, continue strengthening global alliances, and challenge China’s human rights violations. We believe she will far more pragmatically manage global issues that directly impact students in the Georgetown community.
Bottom line
Harris and Walz have yet to release their official policy platform. Thus, the policy evaluation above is based on Harris’s track record, as well as the Democratic party’s policy platform draft. In many cases, Harris will likely continue policy agendas set by the Biden administration. However, with the election still several months away, Harris also has the opportunity to listen to activists and adopt more progressive and empathetic policies than the Biden administration on issues like the genocide in Gaza, immigration, and justice reform.
As we began by saying, the editorial board strongly disagrees with several of Harris’s policy stances. But based on a broad evaluation of her likely policy positions, we agree that she is the clear choice for president. So, this November, make a plan to vote and cast your ballot for Harris-Walz.
The editorial board is the official opinion of The Georgetown Voice. The board’s editorials reflect the majority opinion of the board’s members, who are listed on the masthead. The editorial board strives to provide an independent view on issues pertinent to Georgetown University and the broader D.C. community, based on a set of progressive institutional values including anti-racism, trauma-informed reporting, and empathetic and considerate journalism. The editorial board operates independently of the Voice’s newsroom and the General Board.
