For many voters, the character of the candidates for U.S. President is as important as their position and track record on the issues. So is the candidates’ mental and psychological fitness, and their sense of integrity about holding the highest office in the nation.
If that describes you, here’s what you need to know. As you read, keep in mind these six traits that define leaders of good character: Integrity, Honesty, Loyalty, Self-Sacrifice, Accountability, and Self-Control.
Trump
- Is a felon, convicted unanimously on 34 counts by a jury of ordinary Americans approved by lawyers from both sides. In that case, Trump fraudulently faked records in order to hide payments to keep porn star Stormy Daniels quiet about their sexual relationship while he was married. Trump was also found guilty of assaulting New Yorker E. Jean Carroll and must pay $88 million in damages. He has been accused of assault by 26 other women in all.
- In a separate case, he was found guilty in 2022 on 17 charges of knowingly running his own real estate business using illegal, fraudulent practices and will pay $176 million in penalties.
- Is described as a threat to the United States and “unfit” to serve as President by his own closest, hand-picked appointees during his four years in the White House. His longest-serving Chief of Staff, General John Kelly – deeply respected by Republicans and Democrats alike – said in October 2024 that Trump is a fascist, defining the term this way: “a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy.”
- Lied, openly and publicly, more than 30,000 times while serving as President of the United States. That is 21 false statements every day of his Presidency.
- Refuses to commit to accepting the results of this Presidential election, promising a likely “bloodbath” if he loses. He is alone among all major-party Presidential candidates across 235 years of American history in taking this stance. His choice for Vice President, JD Vance, likewise refuses to commit to fulfilling his duty in that office to certify the Presidential Election, saying that he would have acted differently than former Vice President Mike Pence on January 6, 2020 – a step without precedent that would have thrown the United States into a Constitutional crisis.
- At 78, Trump would be the oldest President ever elected, if he wins. He has refused to release complete sets of his medical records, unlike all recent Presidential candidates including Kamala Harris. This fall, Trump has been increasingly rambling and incoherent in his campaign appearances, prompting widespread speculation that he is experiencing a form of mental decline – and concern that America would essentially be elevating JD Vance to the White House. (Vance is a historically unpopular candidate for Vice President whose views lie very substantially outside of majority American opinion.)
Harris
- Has a spotless record during her 34 years of public service as a federal prosecutor, state attorney general, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Vice President. There has never been a legitimate question raised about her integrity in these positions, despite recent Republican efforts to find one or invent one.
- Has been endorsed by more than 200 former staff members of the past four Republican presidential nominees – including Trump. “Another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership,” the signers warn, “this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions.” They also warn: “Broad, democratic movements will be irreparably jeopardized as Trump and his acolyte JD Vance kowtow to dictators like Vladimir Putin while turning their backs on our allies.”
- Turned 60 in early October 2024 and is in excellent health – as documented by her release of full medical records.
- Promises to govern, if elected, “for all Americans.” “You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power.” All of this is in direct contrast with Donald Trump, who has promised, if he wins, to use the U.S. military against American citizens he views as his enemy.
Think about that last point. This is the kind of thing people live with who are unlucky enough to reside in the nations ruled by leaders Donald Trump admires – Russia, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, China. These are fascist, autocratic dictators who govern nations in which the citizens do not have the basic rights Americans are long accustomed to having, and that are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. That does not matter to former president Trump. He has called, in the past, for the “termination” of parts of the Constitution and has explicitly promised to lead like a dictator on Day One of his next term, if he is elected.
There will be no one, including the Supreme Court after its recent decision on Presidential immunity, to stop him from deciding that he likes that dictatorial role, and from leaning into it for his entire term. America will learn, in that event, what it’s like to live without fundamental, deeply American rights in a nation under an autocrat’s rule, rather than under the rule of law.
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