This issue, 75 percent of our staff (48/56) would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris for the next president of the United States. There were 6 votes for former President Donald Trump, one abstaining vote and one vote for a third-party candidate.

Speechless, completely speechless. The feeling we are left with after watching the 2024 presidential debate is simply indescribable. It made us forget what an actual, civil debate is supposed to sound like, without the yelling, laughing and name-calling. We were indeed left with two questions. One, what self tanner does Donald use? And two, how much could he possibly be using that it seeped into his body and killed all of his viable brain cells. Not only does Harris have actual political experience, unlike her opponent, Donald Trump, a lifelong businessman (with no experience before his term in office) who wants to rip the country apart, she is the one who actually cares about the people in it.

Let’s take the economy, for example. Harris grew up in a working-class neighborhood with immigrant parents, she gets what it’s like to be middle class. Her plans include tax cuts for parents, financial support for people buying their first home and banning “price gouging” which is when businesses raise their prices significantly during high demand. Sure, Trump’s plan includes tax cuts too, but only for the richest of the rich, similar to former president Ronald Reagan’s policy called trickle down economics AKA Reaganomics, which failed. Harris’ “opportunity economy” based on improving the lives of the middle class was endorsed by hundreds of economists and policymakers (CNN).
For preventing gun violence, TKC agrees with many high schoolers across the country about the fear of access to guns. In our class discussion, we talked about having a larger ban on assault rifles and stricter laws that would make school safer. During the presidential debate, Harris acknowledged she is a gun owner, and still wants to enact a red-flag gun law. The goal of red-flag laws is to prevent people who are a danger to themselves or others from accessing guns. Notice how she still cares about the second amendment and wants students and teachers to be safe at the same time? See, it is possible! Trump prefers to let whoever wants to own a gun do whatever they would like without regulation. He received an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association which shows his dangerous views on gun control that leads to people getting killed.
On to immigration. Trump doesn’t seem to know basic facts about how the government works. For example, Harris’ role as VP doesn’t give her any control over the border so he needs to stop blaming her for things that aren’t her fault. Seriously, AP Gov students know more about the power of government officials than he does. Also, if Trump has such a good plan to fix immigration, why didn’t he solve the issue while he was president like maybe the border crisis? Not to mention, his VP pick claimed that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH were eating cats and dogs with no actual proof.

For abortion rights, Harris aims to restore the Dobbs decision giving women and their doctors the ability to make decisions about their own body. She understands the importance of women making those decisions as opposed to Trump who has a different background and can’t relate to struggles women face at all. Her opponent is one of the main reasons that women across the country are dying, including Amber Nicole Thurman who died when she couldn’t get necessary healthcare to save her life, after abortion pills failed and led to infection, according to ProPublica. Trump’s decision to appoint three very conservative Supreme Court Justices helped lead to the decision of Roe v. Wade because of the strong pro-life beliefs of conservatives, instead of having a wider political range and spectrum.

Because of the importance of this election, TKC has decided to include the dissenting staff opinion (6/56) to give all students a voice.

The economy seems to be Trump’s strong suit (especially as he is a businessman) as he wants to make manufacturing based in the US. He plans to implement a four year plan to ultimately phase out imports from China and add a ten percent tariff on imported goods. Stephen Moore, who served as Trump’s senior economic advisor during his 2016 presidency, said that the added tax for other countries would hinder foreign products from coming in which would be a positive for the US. This allows the US to manufacture more products and creates jobs for American citizens, boosting the economy.