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..Something I hear in Trump’s rhetoric is an effort to convince people there will be no place for them in Kamala Harris’ America. It is the same strategy he has always used: Divide people. Stoke hate. Stoke fear. 

And all too often, it seems to work, especially in an era where changing demographics mean that instead of a majority-white country, we are rapidly becoming a majority-minority country. Along with that, we have the emergence of strength in the LGBTQ+ community, with women, people with disabilities, religious minorities, immigrants, and others. 

All of that seems to be a concern for people who fear change, especially when those fears are enflamed by Donald Trump, who doesn’t hesitate to use lies to his own benefit.

In this moment, people need to be assured that with the changes, there will still be a place for them in America, that they are welcome. I’m always a little taken aback by people who support Trump even though it’s not in their own best interests to do so. But they are the people who need this reassurance the most. 

It’s easier to understand the political types—they want power. Or, they want relevance. In his new book, On Heroism: McCain, Milley, Mattis, and the Cowardice of Donald Trump, the editor of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, tells a story about Lindsey Graham that’s illustrative. 

After John McCain died and Lindsey Graham attached himself to Trump, Goldberg had the opportunity to ask Graham why he was doing it, especially after Trump had initially refused to lower the flags at the White House to half-mast in the Senator’s honor following his death. Goldberg writes that Graham said to him, “Jeff, if you know about me, you know that I need to be relevant … You know who I was just on the phone with … Donald Trump is the president of the United States. That’s the truth. You think I’m going to go into exile?”

The people who can’t live without power and relevance are one thing, but what about the cashier at your local grocery store or the group of people traveling for a church ministry I chatted with in the airport today who were all Trump voters? What about family members, friends? Do they want their daughters to die from tubal pregnancies because they can’t get a lifesaving abortion procedure? Do they want to miss out on the joy of having grandchildren because IVF is unavailable? 

There are no easy answers. Maybe some of them don’t believe Trump will really do what he says he’ll do because it sounds so crazy—that’s what they will tell you. These are the folks who are in denial about Project 2025. It won’t be that bad, they say. 

That’s hard to comprehend since we all lived through the Muslim ban, family separation policy, and bleach and lights for Covid. At bottom, it’s hard to believe that anyone with a modicum of common sense supports Trump because of his policies, like this week’s “childcare is childcare” hold promise for the future.

Trump is a racist. He used anger and white grievance about change to attract his base, and he continues to use it to persuade people that there won’t be any room for them in America if Democrats win. That means it’s important for Kamala Harris to reassure people that there is room for everyone, that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that her America is one with space for everyone to enjoy life and to succeed. Trump's policies don’t make sense, so I’m forced to conclude it’s fear and hate that he successfully peddles. 

But our strength as a country has always been in our diversity and our ability to embrace diversity, and especially new immigrants, and to emerge better, stronger, more successful, and more interesting. We can do that again.

That’s the message I’m hoping to hear from Harris in the debate Tuesday night when the folks who are committed to neither Trump nor Harris will be listening. We need a joyful warrior who can help people understand that they don’t need to be afraid of change and that it can work for them. 

What we should fear is going back or treading water, particularly in a world that requires us to evolve if we are going to compete successfully in a new global economy. 

This is a moment for a leader who offers compassion and inspiration, the kind of courage that John F. Kennedy evoked in Americans, so that the country can finally reject the malignant cancer Trump injected into the body politic. 

Harris really means it when she says, “for the people,” and her record proves it. The debate is a chance for her to explain that to people who need to hear it. So, despite the polls, don’t get discouraged. Get to work. Don’t despair. Vote.

-Joyce Vance