Dear President Harris,
I have never in my life donated money to a political campaign, bought campaign merchandise, made an explicit point of telling everyone I know to vote, helping them get registered if they needed it, and then even feeling disgusted with my country when a candidate I love lost. It was THAT important to me that you won this race.
My wife is Nigerian, our two kids are bi-racial, and I felt it was just as important you were elected President (and Doug as 1st gentleman) as it probably was for Catholics when JFK was elected so many decades ago. It would mean we were FINALLY accepted in an America that can be quite cruel towards us. Of course, there were endless other reasons I wanted you to win so badly like healthcare access, not wanting the obvious recession that tariffs will bring, long term economic stability, knowing the environment can’t take 4 more years of doing nothing, caring about democracy abroad and at home, abortion rights (my 5 year old daughter now has less freedom than my mother had in Alabama a half-century ago), not wanting LEGAL immigration to get harder (Trump wants to ban immigration from Nigeria altogether, if not the entire continent of Africa), and the fact that Trump just simply scares the shit out of me. I guess I’m old-fashioned, but I don’t believe the POTUS should be a convicted felon who’s also had their charity disbanded for fraud, and might deliberately try to wreck the dollar so Bitcoin replaces it as the world currency.
My vote in 2004 was more a vote AGAINST W. Bush, and my vote in 2008 was more a vote FOR Obama, but this is one of the rare times where I was voting both because I loved the Democratic candidate and also can’t look at the Republican candidate for another four years. When Trumpolini is on TV, I try not to let my daughter watch him, because I think it could be THAT destructive towards her image of the world. Frankly, I don’t know how so many fathers (and mothers) can look their daughters in the eye knowing they voted for a rapist who hates them instead of a qualified, capable black woman with more government experience than Trump and Vance combined and multiplied by two.
I know the odds are slim that you’re actually going to read this, but I really hope somebody does tell you about it, because I want you to know that you ran a GREAT campaign (destroying him at the debate in a way no Republican primary opponent or Democratic general election one has EVER done, loads of terrific rallies, fantastic energy, a superior ground game, an excellent DNC). I really, truly don’t think there’s anything you could’ve done differently–even if the media is doing their predictable thing and pretending otherwise so they can avoid hard truths about American voters.
Personally, I wish Biden had stepped down from office when he decided not to run again (or would do so RIGHT NOW so you’d count as POTUS 47) and you could’ve been running as an incumbent or somebody who’s already broken that barrier (“See America, the Earth didn’t explode…not bad right?”). Even if he is unlikely to move fast enough for that to happen before Inauguration Day, I still want to encourage you to run for Governor of California in 2026: 1. You are still the best possible hope of a black woman being elected to Governor anytime soon, 2. The 2028 LA olympics (which free countries may boycott if Trump does half of what he’s promising) really and truly needs you as Governor overseeing it, 3. You will know how to keep Californians safe if Trump truly does attempt to punish the state in some way reminiscent of the recent movie “Civil War.” I am not confident AT ALL that the leading 2026 candidates will be able to fill a true leadership role should some military crisis arise within the states.
Thank you so much for being a great Vice President (holding the record for tie-breaking votes in the senate is very cool), running a genuinely terrific Presidential campaign with no time at all, and (possibly) continuing your great work inside the state of California.
Your longtime fan,
Alabama Liberal