Why I’m Voting for Kamala Harris as a former Republican Operative

Kamala Harris accepts the nomination for Democratic Candidate for President of The United States

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

I haven’t written a political article in quite some time. Mostly, it was because I have felt that others, such as Dave Frum and Sarah Longwell, have been able to better articulate my own feelings on the issues of the day to a much larger audience than I will ever have. Partially, because I felt the need to focus on my career, music, and newborn son, and I’d spent years on the front lines of the NeverTrump movement. NeverTrumpers, while birthing the influential and necessary publication The Bulwark, felt floundering in our fight to save the GOP and more or less subsumed into the larger Democrat political machine. It was a time to focus on myself for a few years while Biden did the work of restoring America’s soul.

But most personally, I stopped because I spent my entire high school and college careers building a life in the GOP, only to see the party elect the worst person imaginable to the presidency. Then over my 20’s, I watched the deaths of George HW Bush and John McCain. Following that, there was the isolation of Romney and the excommunication of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. After a brief stint trying to ride out the storm in Texas state politics, I saw firsthand how Trump twisted and corrupted the Abbott team in real time, and watched in despair as they willingly resigned themselves to Trumpism. I realized the GOP was absolutely beyond salvaging, and the base wanted the poison of Trump more than they ever wanted the examples of McCain or Romney. Even the Mayor of Dallas switched parties from the Democrats to the GOP the week I was interviewing with him for a position with the mayor’s office. As long as I lived here in Dallas, my political aspirations and ability to meaningfully affect change for my community would be limited unless I got into lockstep with Trump.

Swearing fealty to Trump is something I refused to do at 21 when presented with opportunity and a guaranteed career, and it has been the single wisest thing I’ve ever done. But this awful, evil man just won’t go away. So now here we are, nearly a decade into the Trump era, and I’m sitting at home with my newborn son. Once more, I have to get up and use the few skills and small political clout I have in defense of America against a conman, a rapist, and a convicted felon. I don’t know about you, guys, but I am so tired. I am just so, so, so, tired. What am I tired of? Donald Trump. I am so done with this fucking guy. So, for one last time, I will present a case as to why Donald Trump is uniquely unfit to hold the office of presidency, and why anyone, even a conservative, must vote for Kamala Harris.

My earliest political memory came when I was four. It was a conversation my family was having regarding the Monica Lewinsky scandal. I don’t remember the specifics, but I do remember my mother and my late Uncle Charlie discussing the issue of character, and the example being set for me, my siblings, and my cousins if the President would do “that” to a young woman. What was impressed upon me from then was a truism that kept me allied to the GOP through 2016: Character matters, especially in a leader, and most especially for leaders given power to shape the lives of others. I saw this character manifest in men like John McCain and Mitt Romney, and I was proud to work and vote for those two men. And while I’m proud that my family and I never voted for Trump, too many of the adults who shaped my character and taught me the basic lessons of life were willing to vote for a rapist and a man who called for the death penalty for five innocent Black boys because “he wasn’t a liberal.” Character only mattered when the person was a political foe.

But this isn’t true. Character is destiny, and this is true regardless of job or position. Now, my only major litmus test for a politician is: Can I trust you to work in good faith? I know Mitt Romney passed this test. I know Barack Obama passed this test. I know Kamala Harris passes this test. Donald Trump does not. You can never trust Trump to keep his word, operate with integrity, or look out for any person other than himself. He’d sell his own family down the river if it meant he’d make an extra buck or avoid the consequences of his actions.

Speaking of his actions, let’s roll the tape back and look at some of the things that happened under his watch.

1. He unleashed a new torrent of hate from the KKK and Neo Nazi’s and mainstreamed the Neo-Nazi “Great Replacement Theory”, which culminated in the shameful night in Charlottesville and the death of Heather Heyer.
2. Multiple race-based mass shootings, most notably Synagogue of Life and El Paso. Each of these shooters directly traced their manifestos to talking points and speech lines DIRECTLY spoken by Donald Trump.
3. The valorizing of his favorite world leaders, Vladimir Putin and Kim-Jong Un. Most shamefully, he dishonored the men and women of the FBI and CIA and sided with Putin over America at Helsinki.
4. Putting 3 SCOTUS justices on the courts who overturned Roe V Wade, leading to second-class citizen status for half of the American population, a surge in miscarriages and pregnancy-related deaths, and the prosecution of doctors trying to perform life-saving operations.
5. Lying about the existence of Covid-19, leading to the excess deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans, his own citizens.
6. An armed insurrection at the capitol on January 6th, leading to the deaths of several officers and the first violent transfer of power in the history of the United States. Even during the Civil War, the transfer of power between administrations was peaceful.

And that’s just the top of the list. Any one of those incidents happening under the watch of any other president would be disqualifying. Would you accept those incidents under the leadership of Clinton? Bush? Truman? Washington? The answer is self-evident: No. None of these stains of America’s character are acceptable.

The character of our leaders is infectious, and it permeates us all with ideas of what the times are about. Washington gave us the confidence to stand on our own two feet as a nation, and modeled service by refusing power when given the opportunity. Lincoln taught us a house divided cannot stand, and held the union together as we fought a war to end the evil of slavery. FDR taught us to be fearless in the face of unspeakable evil, and helped defeat the greatest evil the world has ever known in the Nazi’s. Ronald Reagan brought us the optimism of a Shining City on a Hill, and orchestrated the defeat of authoritarian communism in the USSR. Obama instilled hope and change and delivered universal healthcare for millions of uninsured Americans. Donald Trump? Donald Trump insisted on American Carnage, grievance, pettiness, smallness, and ruin.

Do you trust Trump to stand with Ukraine against Russia? With Taiwan against China? With Black Americans against the forces of systemic racism? With women as they fight for their lost rights? Hell, do you trust Donald Trump to run a Wal-Mart? I wouldn’t trust Donald Trump to flip burgers, let alone have control of our nuclear arsenal.

Let’s look at the most important jobs the presidency has: 1) Implementing and enforcing the laws passed by Congress 2) Using the position of the presidency to advocate for a vision for the future of the country and 3) Be our chief ambassador and our leader in foreign policy. We know that Trump has no respect for implementing and enforcing laws, because he routinely breaks them and is a convicted felon on 34 counts, with multiple trials still to be undertaken. We know Trump has no vision for the future for this country because his whole campaign is pitched around a return to an imagined past that never existed. MAGA imagines a past constructed out of 1950’s Mad Men ads that took place 75 years ago. He’s looking to the past instead of the future. And do you really trust Trump to be the leader of the free world when he’s already looking to sell off Ukraine to Russia? The guy whose best friends internationally are all thugs and dictators, like Orban, Putin, and Kim Jong Un? The guy who actively disdains all our democratic friends and allies? The guy who wants to undo NATO?

Given the facts as laid above, I say that anyone, be they conservative or liberal, must vote for Kamala Harris. I say must, because in 2024, it’s not a choice, but a moral imperative. It’s about upholding the American Ideal: the idea that all people, regardless of race or religion, are owed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Donald Trump doesn’t believe anyone can be an American. He doesn’t believe we’re all entitled to pursue happiness. He doesn’t even believe in liberty. All he believes in is himself. And this creates poor judgment and leadership. The crisis has become so bad in his party that they couldn’t even elect a speaker of the house without months of disarray, leading to the least productive Congress in American history.

Speaking of poor judgment, let’s not forget the fact his own vice president has refused to endorse him, as has the majority of his previous cabinet. Instead, he’s got JD Vance, a man who makes a mockery of the Catholic faith we both share and actively despises women and liberal democracy. A man who actively wants to wage cultural and legislative war on anyone who doesn’t fit his narrow, insecure worldview.

America doesn’t have to be like this. We don’t have to live like this. There’s a bright future for America. One where all rights are respected, where people have the opportunity to pursue happiness, to turn dreams into reality, and to create a better life not just for us, but for the entire world. That’s the America that took in my family as political refugees from Cuba and gave my Argentinian grandmother the ability to raise three children on her own. That’s the America that took in the refuse of the rest of the world and proved that anyone, regardless of class or race, could succeed if given the tools and opportunities to do so. That’s the America that has been a leader in alleviating human suffering globally and championed human rights for all.

Now, let’s take a brief look at the alternative to Trump in Kamala Harris. Kamala built a career hunting down sexual predators like Trump. Kamala has a plan to tackle the most pressing needs of average Americans like housing prices, grocery prices, and childcare. Kamala is actively courting all Americans, from conservatives like Geoff Duncan to democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders. She has a future vision build on expanding access to the American Dream for all Americans, both old and new. She chose as her vice-president a salt-of-the-earth Midwestern teacher and veteran who successfully worked in a bipartisan manner while being unapologetic in his own principles and policy goals. Kamala can be trusted to stand strong with our international allies against the aggression of China and Russia. Kamala Harris is the only choice for president that a sensible, responsible adult can choose given the alternative.

Donald Trump is a cancerous blight upon humanity. His every action demeans the character of our nation and makes us less as people. I’ve had to live my entire 20’s in the shadow of his malice. I refuse to let my son grow up in an America where men like Trump are idolized and valorized. Kamala Harris will restore dignity to our nation and move us forward, to a more perfect union. And from there, the responsibility falls to us as citizens to do the hard work of healing the country one kitchen table at a time.

Christián Thrailkill is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and University of North Texas, musician, and columnist. He lives in Dallas, Texas. Follow him on Threads @Wolvie616