During the debate on Tuesday night, Donald Trump proved one thing over and over again: he only cares about himself. He has no regard for those around him, whether that be women, people of color or the middle and lower classes. Sugarcoating is not working and has never worked — this is a life or death election.
It is already a scary enough thing to be a woman, as it is drilled into us for as long as we can remember to be on guard, carry pepper spray and never walk alone. It has also been drilled into us to stay polite and ladylike, to not dress like we’re “asking for it” and to help the men around us in every way possible. The current political climate has only made it scarier.
The overturning of Roe v. Wade was a turning point in women’s history and a turning point in how scared we, as women, spend every day being. What if we are in need of maternal care but doctors in our state are too afraid to examine us for fear they go to jail? What if we are a victim of rape but have no professional to turn to? Trump has instilled fear in medical professionals, thereby exacerbating the fear women have had our entire lives. Enough is enough.
Trump’s dangerous capabilities certainly span beyond the scope of women. Project 2025, a plan he claimed to have no affiliation with during the debate, holds a multitude of policies and goals for the next Republican president. While Trump’s name isn’t associated with the plan specifically, many people who worked for him during his presidency play large roles in it.
The website reads, “The next conservative President will enter office on January 20, 2025, with a simple choice: greatness or failure.” Some of the policies the plan focuses on are limiting both protestor’s and journalist’s abilities to speak freely, essentially banning the administration of mifepristone, building the wall and prohibiting “biological males from competing in women’s sports.”
Trump can say all he wants that he has nothing to do with Project 2025, but when push comes to shove, I can almost guarantee that he, if elected, would put the majority of these policies into place.
Harris and Trump’s closing statements during the debate made clear each of their priorities. Harris reiterated her care for and promises to the people, while Trump, unsurprisingly, spent his last two minutes attacking Harris and President Joe Biden.
Harris wrapped up her closing statement with very clear intentions regarding how she would lead the country, with a personal anecdote that drew everyone in, saying, “And I’ll tell you, as a prosecutor, I never asked a victim or a witness ‘Are you a Republican or a Democrat?’ The only thing I ever asked them, are you okay?”
Trump, on the other hand, ended with calling Biden and Harris “the worst President, the worst Vice President in the history of our country.” He could have reiterated his plan for if he was reelected, or, more accurately, his “concept of a plan.”
Election season is upon us, and it is extremely easy to feel like we are drowning. It can also feel like there is no middle ground, as the candidates become more and more polarized. The one thing that keeps my head above water in this tumultuous election is that I have a voice.
You may not think your one vote does anything, but it does. As a woman, as a human, I am pleading for you to use your voice, to be a voice for the voiceless, to keep us safe. You can register to vote and check your registration here.
Though Project 2025 is a mostly abominable platform, they made one good point — the choice between greatness and failure. The choice is between two candidates, both with their own issues, but one is clearly more prepared than the other. The choice is between, at this rate, life and death. I ask you, as a woman who does not own her body, as a journalist who wants to speak her mind and as a human who is terrified for the nation: which will you choose?
