The 2024 Presidential Election has and will likely continue to dominate the news cycle as we march towards November. It can sometimes be difficult to analyze how Wellesley students feel about the continual ins and outs of the historic match-up between Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump. This column will attempt to keep score by analyzing quotes from anonymous Wellesley students to keep tabs on how each candidate sits in the Wellesley community. While some of the quotes will be pulled from daily life, all Wellesley students have the opportunity to submit their thoughts on the election or editions of this column using the form below.
“Wait, I thought they were fighting over who supported Israel more?”
This quote was in response to the presidential debate between both major candidates. While this column generally intends to explore specific statements related to the election, this question is more nuanced than it first appears. On the one hand, Trump has historically offered significantly less criticism of the state of Israel. While he has expressed a desire for the violence in Palestine to end, most of his criticism of Israel arises from its failure to end the war quickly and for “losing the PR battle”. Harris, on the other hand, has made much more substantial criticisms of Israel. She has publicly called for a ceasefire throughout her campaign and at the most recent Presidential debate. However, Harris has also continually noted Israel’s “right to defend itself”, a phrase which has functionally come to mean that she will not hold Israel accountable for its violence against Palestinians. Harris’ continued support for Israel is also underlined by her continued support of President Biden’s decision to supply bombs to Israel. Harris has defended her support for Israel by claiming the United States would do the same if put in Israel’s position; however, considering the way history now reflects on the United States’s invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan following 9/11, this is a weak support to stand on.
It is critical to note that I still believe that the reelection of Trump would be fundamentally destructive to the negotiation of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine and justice for the Palestinian people. Trump has continually expressed unwavering support for Israel’s actions, and his first term was marked by a United States that pulled away from leadership on the international stage. Nonetheless, this does not mean that the current vice president should escape meaningful criticism for her failures to condemn the genocide of the Palestinian people.
As always, if you are a member of the Wellesley community and have thoughts on the presidential election or on this most recent article, Please fill out this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSef4OPkKeLkFOmbzIIouB5Jk6LIVccyS20RFNx17EtBJDo58g/viewform?usp=sf_link
Contact the editors responsible for this story: Riannon Last
