Biden was not my first choice, but I’m voting for him

Sen. Bernie Sanders ended his presidential campaign last Wednesday, making Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee. 

When Bernie announced that he was dropping out of the presidential race, I knew the political world would turn itself upside down. Shortly after Sanders announced the suspension of his campaign, people took to Twitter. The hashtags #NeverBiden, #WriteInBernie and #DemExit2020 were trending that morning. 

Seeing these tweets flood in has genuinely scared me. In the last week, I’ve become more scared of the 2020 election than I was before. 

Biden was not my first choice. Biden was not my second choice. He wasn’t even my third. But when it comes down to it, I will be voting for him in the 2020 election. 

At the end of the day, it’s Biden or it’s Trump. I don’t know how adamant people are about not voting for Biden in November, but I’m wondering: are you really going to sit at home and refuse to vote when the alternative is another four years of Donald Trump? 

And no matter what everyone is saying, Joe Biden is simply not as bad as Donald Trump is. 

Sanders himself said in an interview with Associated Press not voting for Joe Biden in the election would be irresponsible. 

“Do we be as active as we can in electing Joe Biden and doing everything we can to move Joe and his campaign in a more progressive direction? Or do we choose to sit it out and allow the most dangerous president in modern American history to get reelected?” 

Joe Biden isn’t without his flaws. He struggles with debates, and his support of the Iraq war was disappointing. But no candidate is perfect. No candidate has the answers to every problem that will ever come up. No candidate is going to make the exact right decision in every situation because in politics, there hardly ever is a right answer. 

Please don’t use this election as an experiment or a protest. Please don’t refuse to vote at all. I’m tired of division and hate. I’m tired of hearing about the president’s incompetence every day on the news. 

Please don’t let this election be a repeat of the 2016 election. We can not take another four years of Donald Trump.