The Atlantic is endorsing Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, marking its fourth endorsement in the magazine’s 163-year history.
“Biden is a man of experience, maturity, and obvious humanity, but had the Republican Party put forward a credible candidate for president, we would have felt no compulsion to state a preference,” wrote Editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
He added, “Donald Trump, however, is a clear and continuing danger to the United States, and it does not seem likely that our country would be able to emerge whole from four more years of his misrule. Two men are running for president. One is a terrible man; the other is a decent man. Vote for the decent man.”
Goldberg argued concerns about Trump’s ability to defend the United States in 2016 were “hypothetical, though grounded in his long and terrible record as a human being.”
He called Trump the “worst” president the United States has seen since Andrew Johnson or James Buchanan, or “perhaps ever.”
Goldberg accused Trump of dividing Americans, pitting race against race, corrupting democracy, showing contempt for American ideals, aligning himself with dictators, opposing free speech, and more.
He pivoted to how Trump has handled the coronavirus pandemic.
“Trump is not responsible for all of the 220,000 COVID-19-related deaths in America. But through his avarice and ignorance and negligence and titanic incompetence, he has allowed tens of thousands of Americans to suffer and die, many alone, all needlessly,” Goldberg said.
He continued, “With each passing day, his presidency reaps more death.”
Goldberg claimed his “countless sins and defects” are rooted in “mental instability, pathological narcissism, and profound moral and cognitive impairment.”
He challenged Americans to judge Biden and Trump on whether they are a trustworthy steward of America’s nuclear arsenal and if they pose less of a threat to America’s collective existence.
He noted the only three candidates The Atlantic has endorsed in the past were Abraham Lincoln, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Hillary Clinton.