Politico | Scientific American magazine backs Joe Biden in its first-ever White House endorsement
- Editors say they feel ‘compelled’ to back Democratic candidate’s effort to unseat Trump in coming election
- Move prompted by US president’s scepticism of scientific experts and handling of pandemic
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Nick Niedzwiadek on politico.com on September 15, 2020.
Scientific American backed Democrat Joe Biden for US president on Tuesday, the magazine's first-ever White House endorsement in its 175-year history.
The magazine's editors wrote that they felt “compelled” to back Biden in his effort to unseat President Donald Trump. Scientific American cited Trump’s handling of Covid-19 and his scepticism of expert opinion and mainstream science on issues such as climate change as the impetus for its decision.
“The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the US and its people – because he rejects evidence and science,” editors wrote for Scientific American’s October issue.
“Joe Biden, in contrast, comes prepared with plans to control Covid-19, improve health care, reduce carbon emissions and restore the role of legitimate science in policymaking. He solicits expertise and has turned that knowledge into solid policy proposals.”
The editorial focuses much of its attention on the pandemic response and Trump’s repeated attempts to minimise the severity of the situation, which has killed nearly 200,000 Americans to date.