Both the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times have attracted significant attention for their decisions not to endorse a presidential candidate this election cycle.

Washington Post staffers announced they had already drafted an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, and that owner Jeff Bezos halted its publication. Bezos’s sudden decision resulted in the departure of editor-at-large Robert Kagan, who made it clear he was very disturbed by Post publisher William Lewis’s announcement the publication would discontinue the practice of endorsing presidential candidates.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two reporters who broke the iconic Watergate scandal for the paper and brought down Richard Nixon’s presidency, referred to Bezos’s decision as “surprising and disappointing.” Former top Post editor Marty Baron chided the move as “cowardice.”

The Times’ decision led three staffers – editorial board leader Mariel Garza, Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Greene, and columnist Karin Klein – to resign in protest of owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s refusal to support a candidate.

Presidential endorsements tend to have limited influence. They are distinct from local or statewide endorsements for office and provide a different purpose: to emulate a specific institution’s spirit and underlying ideals. This is particularly the case regarding the upcoming election.

Donald Trump is one of the worst presidential candidates in recent history. His bone-deep dishonesty, hypocrisy, and avarice make him unsuitable for office. He has routinely demonstrated he is xenophobic, vengeful, triflingly contemptuous of democracy, and enamored of autocrats and dictators.

Trump and his supporters have described a Project 2025 agenda that would give him power to execute the most extreme of his promises and threats. He has announced he will weaponize the federal government and the Justice Department into political tools to exact revenge on his political enemies. In several instances during his presidency, he did exactly that, leaning on federal agencies and prosecutors to punish people he felt had wronged him, with scant reason to prosecute them.

Fortunately, some members of his cabinet spared the nation from having to deal with his dangerous inclinations. Learning from such experience, an even more devious Trump intends to populate his administration with men and women willing to carry out his orders unconditionally. He will have virtually unrestrained power to enact his agenda, which would likely result in irreconcilable harm to democracy.

Several prominent Republicans,  such as former Vice President Dick Cheney  and his daughter Liz Cheney, have refused to support Trump given the serious threat he poses. Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump, called his former boss a “fascist.” Again, these are charges coming from people who actually served with hm in the White House and had a front-row seat to such unrestrained antics.

Since Vice President Harris moved into the political spotlight following Joe Biden’s exit, her campaign has been a textbook in political jujitsu, deftly transforming Trump’s supposed strengths into glaring weaknesses. With a focus on joy, the vice president sharply contrasted with Trump’s grim narrative of U.S. decline. In their sole televised debate, Harris skillfully manipulated Trump, who fell into her traps, coming across as angry and disheveled. She was confident, collected, and composed, he was unrestrained.

What is most tragic for American politics is Trump has morphed the Republican Party, a party that supposedly prided itself on its staunch support for the law and constitution, into his personal dictatorial instrument as he attempts to regain power.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused Trump of re-enacting a famous 1939 Nazi rally by holding an event in Madison Square Garden this weekend. Even by MAGA Trump standards, the event was a cesspool of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. This is why Republicans who support Harris recognize this election is about something more basic than simple partisan interest. It is about absolute principles that extend beyond party.

Donald Trump wants to rule the nation under an autocracy. Kamala Harris wants to represent a diverse nation where everyone has access to opportunity, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or socioeconomic background. That’s why she is the only feasible choice for president.

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Copyright 2024 Elwood Watson, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate

Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. He is also an author and public speaker.