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Elliot Benjamin is a philosopher, mathematician, musician, counselor, writer, with Ph.Ds in mathematics and psychology and the author of over 230 published articles in the fields of humanistic and transpersonal psychology, pure mathematics, mathematics education, spirituality & the awareness of cult dangers, art & mental disturbance, and progressive politics. He has also written a number of self-published books, such as: The Creative Artist, Mental Disturbance, and Mental Health. See also: www.benjamin-philosopher.com.

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United States Election Drama

Integrative President Kamala Harris
or Fascist President Donald Trump?

Elliot Benjamin

The 2024 United States presidential election drama is nearing the end of its first stage. It has been a while since I wrote anything on Integral World, but Frank Visser gently encouraged me to write about my perspectives on the election and it hit home for me. It is now just 3 days until the November 5th election, which is the initial culmination of the tremendous angst and anxiety that has been especially rampant in America for nearly the past 4 years, since the infamous January 9th, 2021 insurrection. I say “initial” culmination because if Kamala Harris wins the election, then there is absolutely no doubt that Trump will try to “steal” the election by holding up the certifying of the state electors in enough swing states to prevent her from reaching the magic number of 270 electors, whereby the vote gets sent to the House where it is extremely likely that Trump would get elected [1]. But one step at a time, and we only get to Step 2 if Harris “initially” wins the election, and Harris “winning” the election is nerve-racking enough for me to warrant writing something, so here goes.

3 Days Before the Election

The chance that we now have in the United States to prevent another Trump presidency is only possible because of Joe Biden's stepping down and enabling Kamala Harris to electrify millions of women and young people to come out and vote for her [2]. But even with most Americans thinking that Harris won her one and only debate with Trump [3] and the endorsements of legendary superstars like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Harrison Ford, Bruce Springsteen, Barack and Michelle Obama, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many others, the polls are at this point calling the race essentially a dead heat, with the betting odds in Trump's favor [4]. The race can essentially be described as a race between gender—males predominantly for Trump and females predominantly for Harris, with the wildcard of how much of a percentage Harris is able to get with the Black and Latino vote, and young people [5].

And there are also some fascinating developments that have taken place in this election, not the least of which is the comedian making the joke at Trump's New York City Madison Square Garden rally about Puerto Rico being an ”island of garbage,” [6] and Harris courting a number of influential Republicans, with Trump adversary Liz Chenney at the top of the list [7]. The comedian's Puerto Rico joke has woken up Puerto Rican voters all over the country, and hopefully Latin voters as well, and can make the difference of Harris winning Pennsylvania and consequently the election [8]. While on the other end of the spectrum, Harris has been bending over backwards to make herself more appealing to Republicans, inclusive of stating that a Republican would be on her cabinet, fracking would still be an available option, being tougher on immigration and the border, etc. [9] She has been trying to walk the tightrope of appealing to Republicans while not alienating Democrats, and it is for this reason that I refer to the possibility of her getting elected as “Integrative President Harris,” where I use the term “integrative” as I have done in a number of my previous Integral World essays to refer to putting together various contradictory perspectives [10]. I don't think my reference to Trump getting elected as “Fascist President Trump” needs much explanation, as even Trump's former chief of staff John Kelly has used this term to describe Trump [11], and “fascist” goes along with the horrifying Project 2025 document that Trump is desperately trying to distance himself from but that has much in common with what Trump has promised he would do if elected [12].

Harris portraying herself as an integrative candidate has had her work cut out for her, as she has needed to find a balance in how she has stated her views on the Israel/Gaza war, with recent developments involving deadly conflicts in Lebanon and Iran [13]. And her support for continuing to give Israel weapons that they use in killing innocent Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon is putting her at risk of losing much needed votes of Palestinian Americans in the crucial swing state of Michigan [14]. Speaking personally, I have an aversion to President Biden's extreme support of Israel and continuing to give Israel weapons that they use to kill hordes of innocent Palestinians, and Vice President Harris is certainly part of this policy [15]. But I also must say that my dominant perspective is to do whatever it takes to defeat Trump, and I am in agreement with Bernie Sanders that Trump would cause more damage and death and destruction in the Arab world than Harris would, and that we need to get Harris elected first and then do all that we can to reach her to end the war by no longer giving Israel these weapons of destruction [16].

It is a welcome change of pace for me this morning to put on hold my daily study of the polls and watching to see if anything is looking better for Harris in the swing states. I will do so soon enough, but writing about my thoughts and feelings as we approach the election is therapeutic for me and I very much value being able to do this so let me continue for a little bit here. My wife and I sent out 100 postcards to Pennsylvania, which is the crucial swing state that Harris absolutely needs to win to secure the election, assuming she is able to hold on to Michigan and Wisconsin [17]. I also revised my not voting 3rd Party or Independent Candidates petition to focus specifically on not voting for Green party candidate Jill Stein or Independent candidate Cornel West instead of voting for Harris, which now has over 280 signatures [18]. But I know that there is virtually nothing I can do change what will happen in the election, and like nearly everyone else in America, including long-term successful election predictor Allan Lichtman, who has predicted that Harris will win [19], I am on pins and needles as we approach the final stretch of this election. And I think this is as good a place as any to end for now and continue as we get even closer to the election.

2 Days Before the Election

The anxiety resulting from watching the polls is reaching its peak for me. The polls are all over the place, from Harris and Trump now being tied in Michigan and Pennsylvania to Harris being ahead in North Carolina and Georgia to all of a sudden Harris actually being ahead in Iowa, which significantly increased the betting odds in Harris' favor [20]. Anything is possible—Harris could lose Michigan because of the Israel/Gaza war and compensate for it through winning North Carolina. But if she also loses Pennsylvania then Trump could pull off winning the election. Needless to say, my stress level is over the top. I am trying to remember that the polls may very well not be reflecting the election reality, as hopefully hordes of Puerto Ricans who are not accounted for in the polls will rescue Harris in Pennsylvania. I am trying my best to cope, and tomorrow is another day as the countdown to the election is coming to its close.

1 Day Before the Election

Virtually no change in the polls from yesterday—still all over the place and anything can happen. And it is quite likely that we won't know the results of the election at the end of the day tomorrow. But my own inner state is calmer, and I think this largely is due to my expressing my thoughts and feelings about the election through writing this essay. Yes Trump can win and if this happens then I need to find a way to make the best of the situation and continue finding value in my own life. And if Trump “loses” then as I have described above, he has only lost the “first round” and then we go into the agonizing second round: Trump trying to “steal” the election through getting enough state electors not being certified in the swing states so that the vote goes to the House to elect Trump [1]. If this happens, then the question mark in the title of this essay is still relevant, but I would at least feel a sense of preliminary closure.

I was initially thinking that I would wait until after the election results before sending this essay to Frank Visser to post on Integral World. But given that I have already described my relevant thoughts and feelings about the election and that it might actually take a few days after the election before the results are definitively known, I have decided to consider this essay as just my first installment and send it in.

References

1) See Kyle Chenedy, Heidi Przybyla, John Sakellaraiadis, & Lisa Kashinsky (October, 2024), The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway. www.politico.com

2) See Stephanie Perry, Marc Trussler, & Mara Haeger (October, 2024), Poll: Women Drive Big Advantage for Harris Among Young Voters, with Men Divided. www.nbcnews.com; and Jennifer Gerson (November, 2024). How Kamala Harris Got More Popular. 19thnews.org

3) See Ariel Edwards-Levy (September, 2024), Majority of Debate Watchers Say Harris Outperformed Trump Onstage. www.cnn.com

4) See Alicja Hagoplan (November, 2024), The Latest Betting Odds on Trump vs Harris. www.the-independent.com

5) See Elena Moore (October, 2024), Harris Needs Young Voters of Color to Win. A New Poll Finds Cracks in Her Support. www.npr.org

6) See Phil McCausland & Christal Hayes (October, 2024), Backlash After Comedian at Trump Rally Calls Puerto Rico “Island of Garbage.” www.bbc.com

7) Megan Messerly & Meridith McGraw (October, 2024), Harris is Courting Moderate Republicans. Liz Cheney is Helping. www.politico.com

8) See Madaleine Rubin (November, 2024), In a Tight Race, Pennsylvania's Puerto Rican Voters Are Newly Energized. www.post-gazette.com

9) See Zoe Richards (August, 2024), Harris Says She Would Appoint a Republican to her Cabinet If Elected. www.nbcnews.com; and Sahil Kapur (September, 2024), Kamala Harris' Tough-on-Migration Pitch at the Border Points to a Shifting National Mood. www.nbcnews.com

10) See my Integral World essays at the Reading Room of Integral World

11) See Eric Bradner & Kate Sullivan (October, 2024), Trump's Former Chief of Staff Says He Fits “Fascist” Definition and Prefers “Dictator Approach.” www.cnn.com

12) See Simon J. Levien (September, 2024), What is Project 2025, and Why Did Trump Disavow It at the Debate? www.nytimes.com

13) See Halah Ahmad (August, 2024), US Elections: Where does Kamala Harris Stand on Gaza? www.opendemocracy.net; Jaclyn Diaz (August, 2024), Harris Says Israel "Has Right ot Defend Itself," Palestinians Need "Dignity, Security." www.npr.org; and Keren Setton (November, 2024), Israel Is at a Crossroads as Gaza and Lebanon Operations Reach limit—Analysis. www.jpost.com

14) See Jerr Mordock (November, 2024). Harris Attempts to Appease ArabVoters in Michigan with Olive Branch on Gaza War. www.washingtontimes.com

15) See Tovah Lazaroff (October, 2024), Harris Campaign Rejects Claim Vice-President Thnks There Is a Genocide in Gaza. /www.jpost.com; and see my Integral World Israel/Gaza essays.

16) See Bernie Sanders (October, 2024), Why I'm Voting for Harris Despite Her Stance on Gaza—and You Should Too. www.msnbc.com

17) See Rick Klein & Ivan Pereira (November, 2024), What Are the Swing State Paths to 270 Electoral Votes for Harris, Trump. abcnews.go.com

18) See my petition at Change.org

19) TOI World Desk (October, 2024). Allan Lichtman Predicts Harris Win Despite Anxieties Over Election: US Election Predictions. timesofindia.indiatimes.com

20) See Flynn Nicholls (November, 2024), Donald Trump Ahead in Just One Swing State; Final NYT—Sienna Poll. www.newsweek.com; Lloyd Lee & John L. Dorman (November, 2024). Kamala Harris' New Lead in Top Iowa Poll Could Bode Well For Her in Some Key Swing States. www.businessinsider.com; and Mikhaila Friel (Noember, 2024), Election Betting Odds Tighten As Polls Show Harris Has Momentum. www.businessinsider.com