Scientific American makes second-ever endorsement, backs Kamala Harris
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Kamala Harris during the presidential debate on Sept. 10. Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Scientific American magazine announced Monday that it was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race, citing her plans to improve the nation's health care system, fight climate change and support reproductive rights.
Why it matters: This is only the second time in the magazine's 179-year history that it has made an endorsement in a presidential race, the publication's editors wrote in an op-ed.
- The magazine made its first-ever endorsement of President Biden in 2020.
Zoom in: Harris "offers the country better prospects, relying on science, solid evidence and the willingness to learn from experience," the magazine's editors wrote.
- "She pushes policies that boost good jobs nationwide by embracing technology and clean energy. She supports education, public health and reproductive rights" and "treats the climate crisis as the emergency it is."
- Trump, they added, also has a "disastrous" record from his term in office.
Zoom in: The editors went on to compare Harris and Trump's records and proposed policies across health care, gun safety, reproductive rights, climate and technology.
- While Harris hopes to expand insurance access by expanding the Affordable Care Act — and pay for it by taxing the wealthy — Trump proposed cuts to Medicare and Medicaid during his presidency.
- Trump has spread "misinformation about abortion" and supported the rollback of federal protections for the procedure, while Harris has vowed to expand access.
- Harris would build upon the Biden administration's efforts to reduce power plant emissions and expand tax credits for clean energy, while Trump believes climate change to be a "hoax" and his administration "abandoned more than 100 environmental policies and rules."
Between the lines: The editors cited as an exception the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed to rapidly develop COVID vaccines during the crisis' early months.
- But they noted he's planned significant budget cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health if elected to another term.
State of play: The Scientific American is just the latest influential endorsement for Harris.
- A number of prominent celebrities have endorsed her — chief among them Taylor Swift, whose support for Harris infuriated Trump.
Go deeper: Trump lashes out: "I hate Taylor Swift"
