Divided We Fall

When pondering how to complete this blog post, my fingers led me back to the New York Times and Nicholas Kristof. I had followed Kristof's articles last year for nearly 5 months for an English class and remember agreeing with many of his articles—just as I do with the article I will find. Crossing my fingers, I searched Kristof's articles in hopes of finding a political piece and came across Sanders, Clinton, and er, President Trump?

Kristof clearly displays his support of Bernie Sanders, but then declares that Sanders has lost. Kristof then turns to critique Sanders and his supporters, stating that it's "time for him [Sanders] and his followers to stop sniping and start uniting." Kristof believes that although Sanders has lost, Sanders will support the Democratic ticket, but at the moment, Sanders is not following through. 

Kristof argues that Democratic warfare must cease to keep Trump, a man antithetical to everything they stand for, away from the title of president. Kristof utilizes the results from a New York Times/CBS poll last month to not only fuel his argument, but also to show that he has the knowledge and credibility to address the presidential elections. Kristof emphasizes that because a fourth of Sanders's supporters would vote for Trump over Clinton in a Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump matchup, Sanders is not effectively uniting his followers to support Clinton. Although a fourth may not seem like a large portion, it is enough to give Trump the advantage over Clinton. Kristof asserts that even though Sanders and Clinton are not the same candidate, they have mostly similar views, especially in comparison to Trump, suggesting that Sanders' followers, his intended audience, should unite and support Clinton. 

Furthermore, Kristof expresses his disapproval of how Sanders is defying his own values by not uniting his supporters. Not only did Sanders state that he would support the Democratic ticket, he also stated that he would do whatever it took to keep Trump out of office. Yet here he is, not following through on his statements and perhaps even aiding Trump gain the presidential throne. Despite this truth, Kristof still believes that defying history is what this campaign has been about and hopes that the Anti-Sanders does not become the face of the United States.