A leading scientific journal has entered the political arena after making a presidential recommendation, only the second time in the journal's 179-year history.
“Vote for Kamala Harris to Support Science, Health, and the Environment,” read the headline Scientific American on Monday, announcing the publication's official endorsement of the Democratic presidential candidate.
Harris is Scientific Americanthe second time in history that the magazine has endorsed President Joe Biden, after the magazine endorsed President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
“The United States faces two futures,” the editors wrote, putting forward one candidate who “will offer the country a better future by relying on science, solid evidence and a willingness to learn from experience.”
They continued: “In an alternate future, the new president endangers public health and safety and dismisses evidence, preferring instead to indulge in nonsensical conspiracy fantasies.”
Scientific Americanwhich has six million readers worldwide, cited Harris' record as vice president, senator and presidential candidate as reasons for supporting her.
They acknowledged that Trump “also has a past — a disastrous past” during his time in the White House.
The magazine focused primarily on the candidates' health care policies and proposals, with a particular focus on comparing health insurance.
The editors praised the Biden-Harris administration for strengthening the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which expanded the number of adults eligible for health insurance. They noted that while Harris has said she would expand the program, Trump has promised to repeal it but has not indicated what he would replace it with.
“I have an idea of a plan,” he told Harris during the Sept. 10 presidential debate.
The article references the debate several times, and it appears that many across the political spectrum (including some of Trump's closest allies) agree that Harris won.
The article highlights Trump's unsubstantiated claim during the debate that some states allow a woman to have an abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy, calling it “execution after birth.”
“No state allows this,” Scientific American clarified. The magazine also highlighted that Trump refused to answer a question about whether he would veto a national abortion ban.
Meanwhile, Harris was praised as a “strong advocate for reproductive rights” for pledging to improve access to abortion care and for co-sponsoring a package of bills to curb rising maternal mortality rates while she was a senator.
Speaking of technology, editors highlighted the CHIPS and Science Act, signed by Biden in 2022, which brought more money to the chip industry to boost domestic manufacturing and research.
They said the legislation “will boost the chip industry and semiconductor research while expanding the workforce.”
The magazine argued that a second Trump administration would “quickly” undo this progress under a conservative framework, Project 2025, set up to guide his potential second term.
“Under the devious and divisive Project 2025 framework, technological safeguards for AI would be overturned,” the editors wrote. “AI is impacting our criminal justice, employment, and health care systems.
“As is now rightly complained, there would be no knowledge about how these programs are developed, how they are tested and whether they work at all.”
The article concludes: “One of two futures will materialize, depending on our choices in this election.”
The editors concluded by underscoring their point: “We urge you to vote for Kamala Harris.”
Scientific American isn't the only show of support Harris has received after the debate. Taylor Swift posted her support on Instagram almost immediately after the confrontation.
According to polls, Harris currently has a 2.6 percentage point lead over Trump.
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