Opinion: I'm voting for Kamala Harris. Donald Trump will harm people I care about.

I’m voting, proudly and loudly, for Vice President Kamala Harris, and the simplest reason is this: As president, Donald Trump will harm people I care about.

We’re at a twisted place in American history when voters must consider a presidential candidate we know will hurt others, will tear communities apart, will take the rights of people we love. We know it because he has said so, proudly and loudly.

But that’s where we are on the eve of Election Day – a twisted place.

Harris is an easy choice over Trump – he will do real harm to many

To be sure, I’m ideologically aligned with Harris, and the policies she and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have put forward push America in the direction I think it should go. Toward greater compassion. Toward fairness. Toward inclusivity.

But setting aside policy and qualifications and even personalities, ignoring entirely what I think Harris will do as president, I choose her for what she won’t do.

Mass deportation is unacceptable, inhumane and un-American

She won’t implement a draconian mass deportation plan. Trump will, and it will involve dragnets through communities across the country that will undoubtedly sweep up immigrants who are here legally.

It will involve detention camps filled with human beings, most of whom were working and contributing to their towns and cities, people who came here looking for a better future. People Trump has so wrongly demonized as criminals and terrorists.

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Knowing the inhumane chaos Trump created with his family separation policy when he was president, there’s every reason to believe his mass deportation plan will be a humanitarian disaster. Families who’ve been in this country for years will be torn apart, and the fabric of communities will be shredded with cruel intent.

I’ll be fine. I won’t be deported. But I’ll be damned if I’ll support someone who would even consider such a thing.

Trump has targeted transgender children with hate

I choose Harris because she won’t dehumanize America’s transgender community. She won’t make life hell for transgender youth and their families, something Trump, with repeated transphobic attacks, has made clear he will do.

A marginalized community that already has a staggeringly high rate of depression and suicide has been targeted by Trump and denounced for political gain. Who does that?

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How could I possibly look at friends whose children are transgender, or at my own children who have friends who are transgender, and say I would tolerate such a thing?

I won’t tolerate it. It disgusts me. And I sure as hell won’t vote for someone who has already, with hateful words and language, damaged children who only want to be who they truly are.

Abortion rights are on the ballot, and Trump will harm women

I choose Harris because she’ll fight to help women regain the rights they lost when Roe v. Wade was overturned. Trump won’t do that. He has bragged about getting the law overturned.

At best, he’ll allow the states to maintain a reckless hodgepodge of laws that put the lives and well-being of women in jeopardy.

At worst, he’ll follow the path many in his party have promoted – a national ban on abortion.

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I won’t be part of any such thing.

I won’t support a man who thinks women’s rights can be curbed – anywhere.

Health care, veterans' benefits, LGBTQ+ rights – all at stake

I choose Harris because Trump and the Republican Party will again try to do away with Obamacare, putting millions at risk of losing health care or going back to a time when preexisting conditions kept them from getting decent insurance.

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I choose Harris because, frankly, the reasons listed above are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the harm a second Trump administration would cause people. Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a second Trump term, proposes cuts to veterans’ disability benefits, guts the social safety net and attacks LGBTQ+ rights.

Your vote doesn't just impact you. Choose thoughtfully.

If Trump wins, chances are I’ll be just fine. I’m a white guy. I’m straight. I was raised Catholic. I’m not poor.

But being fine personally doesn’t matter much when good people get hurt. And make no mistake, good people will get hurt if Trump is elected.

That alone is more than enough reason for me to support Harris.

This election, distilled down, is decency vs. indecency. The choice could not be more clear.

Follow USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: I'm voting Harris. Trump's cruelty will harm people. Again