Just to be clear, I’m not a fan of Donald Trump.[1] I pretty much agree with Paul Graham’s assessment:
Why Moderates Should Vote for Harris
People on the far left and the far right have already decided who to vote for in the next election. Voting for the other party would be unthinkable. But what if you’re a moderate?
I’m a moderate, and I’m voting for Harris. The reason is not that I love the Democrats’ policies. Both parties’ policies seem a roughly equal mix of good and bad. The reason I’m voting for Harris is that this election is about character.
As far as I can tell, Harris is a typical politician. That may not seem much of a recommendation. But Trump is something far worse. He seems to be completely without shame.
We saw that the last time he was president. He ran the White House like a mob boss, choosing subordinates for loyalty rather than ability. No one knows that better than the people who worked for him. Almost half the cabinet-level appointees from his previous administration have refused to endorse him. They’re warning us what he’s like.
The worst thing he did, in my opinion, was when he tried to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election. He knew he’d lost, but he called Mike Pence and tried to get him not to certify the election. Thank God Pence had the character to stand up to him. I don’t like to think what might have happened if he hadn’t.
Trying to remain in power after losing an election is banana republic stuff. You don’t do that in America. Conceding gracefully when you lose an election is more important than any policy a politician might have, because it’s only this principle that allows us to get rid of politicians whose policies don’t work.
So sure, Harris is a typical politician. But Trump is a crook. You can’t have that sort of person as president. It’s too risky.
I quoted that in full because it accurately summaries how I feel and I really wish he’d used text rather than in image. If you don’t know, Paul Graham is an incredibly influential figure in Silicon Valley. He also writes interesting essays that have inspired some of my writing. I don’t always agree with him, but I appreciate the logical approach he takes to writing.
The title of this post comes from the increasingly relevant Simpsons episode: “Treehouse of Horror VII: Citizen Kang” (S08 E01):
Aliens decided to enslave earth by taking control of the president of the United States. It plays off of Invasion of the Body Snatchers but instead of replacing humanity one town at a time, the aliens cut to the chase by taking over the bodies of Bob Dole and Bill Clinton. One of them will be president, so the aliens will become the most powerful person on either either way. (They don’t bother replacing Ross Perot because who would waste their vote on a third party?)
Donald Trump, like all long-term celebrities, is essentially an alien to normal people. He might have some concept of what it’s like to wait in line to pay for groceries or pump gas, but that’s not part of his life. So it’s to his advantage to serve fries at McDonald’s and go on Joe Rogan. He can just barely fake being a normal person so that people can forget he’s not.
Kamala Harris seems to have taken on the role of an alien. It’s odd because you can tell sometimes (when she lets her guard down?) that she has her own personality. But her career in Democratic politics (especially here in California) seems to have conditioned her to use the stilted, cramped, and self-censoring language of the deeply online. I almost feel like she’s avoided interviews because they might accidentally reveal she’s not an alien afterall.
I haven’t watched it myself, but Trump’s 3-hour interview hit 38 million views today. Many of those are likely already planning to vote for him. From what I can tell, Rogan’s audience overlaps significantly with Trump’s. Harris’ doesn’t. From what I gather, many strongly dislike him.
On Twitter this morning, I noticed these competing headlines:[2]
Whatever the real story, it seems to me that Harris has a lot more to lose than Rogan. Her team might be too risk averse here. If she bombs the interview, I don’t think it’ll cost many votes. If she does moderately well, she’s got a shot of picking up some votes in key states.
The election is a coin flip. To speak the language Tim Walz would resonate with, it’s 4th down with time ticking off the clock and a tied game. Nobody will complain if you punt. But your odds of winning go way up if you go for it. Go for it!
See my post from September 2016: To Christians who support Donald Trump. ↩︎
The are from the “Explore” widget in the right sidebar, which is marked “Beta”. ↩︎