The magazine Scientific American backed 2020 Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden in its first-ever presidential endorsement in the magazine’s 175-year history.
The editors wrote that they felt “compelled” to support Biden in his effort to defeat President Donald Trump, citing Trump’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and his skepticism on issues such as climate change.
“The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its people — because he rejects evidence and science,” the editors wrote in the magazine’s October issue.
“That is why we urge you to vote for Joe Biden, who is offering fact-based plans to protect our health, our economy and the environment. These and other proposals he has put forth can set the country back on course for a safer, more prosperous, and more equitable future,” the magazine’s endorsement continued.
The editorial focuses primarily on Trump’s response to the pandemic and his attempts to downplay the situation. At least 194,700 Americans have died of the coronavirus as of Tuesday afternoon, according to a New York Times database.
The endorsement comes with fewer than 50 days until the presidential election and the country dealing with multiple crises other than the coronavirus pandemic, including deadly wildfires on the West Coast and a heavy hurricane season in the Atlantic — especially around the Gulf of Mexico.