The United States is currently without a competent leader. Roughly four in 10 adults say they or someone in their household has lost their job to COVID-19,  over 700 Americans have died in 2020 at the hands of police, and over 220,000 Americans have died due to the Coronavirus.

The pandemic has revealed President Donald Trump’s inability to run this country and it is time for his immediate removal in order to save what little integrity this country has left.

On Oct. 8, The Dispatch editorial board anonymously held a mock Presidential election. The Dispatch unanimously elected to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden.

Joe Biden isn’t a savior.

He’s not going to save this country from climate change or end systematic racism.

What Joe Biden does have is policies to avoid the inevitable and at least the acknowledgment that both of these issues actually exist.

At least Joe Biden acknowledges that the majority of Coronavirus deaths could have been prevented if the President took proper precautions. The Dispatch is endorsing Joe Biden not because he is the candidate we want but because he is, and will always be, better than Donald Trump.

The major criticism of the Democratic party is their hesitancy to embrace progressive policy. How long can the Democrats run on being the slightly better choice? Democrats constantly criticize those who don’t vote or vote third party but never ask those people what they can do to earn their vote.

This strategy will not last the party much longer. The hope for change in the party towards more progressive policies like Medicare-for-all, which 87% of Democrats support but Joe Biden doesn’t.

Regardless of personal feelings towards Biden, this country needs a leader who believes in systematic racism, who believes in climate change, who believes in a national mask mandate, and someone who is at least allowing a public option for health care.

This is the bare minimum but it’s a bare minimum that Donald Trump doesn’t reach.

In 2020 and going forward, we can’t afford to have someone in office who doesn’t have a clear plan for combating climate change, when scientists predict that damage will be irreversible in less than ten years.

We need someone who is committed to reversing the extremely harmful Trump administration immigration policies, such as denying asylum to those escaping violence, as well as the separation of families. These are a few of the policies that are destroying the United States.

Once again, Joe Biden isn’t going to change the current rise in nationalism but getting Trump out of office is necessary for the future of America.

Who you vote for shouldn’t just stop with the Presidential election either, voting in local elections often has a more immediate effect on your everyday life. There are 23 million eligible Gen Z voters this election year. We have the ability to make a difference.