Protesters against Trump rallying in New York City on April 14, 2016 (photo by mal3k/Flickr)

People protesting Trump in New York City on April 14, 2016 (photo by mal3k/Flickr)

Some 470 US writers — including big names like Dave Eggers, Stephen King, Phillip Lopate, Rebecca Solnit, Cheryl Strayed, Amy Tan, and Pulitzer Prize–winner Junot Díaz — have signed an online petition to oppose the candidacy of Donald Trump for president. Co-written by novelists Andrew Altschul and Mark Slouka and released on the website Lit Hub on Tuesday, the “open letter to the American people” has since gathered more than 15,000 additional signatures.

“The rise of a political candidate who deliberately appeals to the basest and most violent elements in society, who encourages aggression among his followers, shouts down opponents, intimidates dissenters, and denigrates women and minorities, demands, from each of us, an immediate and forceful response,” the letter says.

Although it’s not clear what the end goal of a statement like this is, Altschul, author of the novel Deus Ex Machina, explained to BuzzFeed News what he hoped it might do: 

What we hope to accomplish, most of all, is to loudly express the voice of our community. The statement is an expression of what we see as uncontroversial American values — and so we hope those who read the statement will ask themselves whether Donald Trump is a suitable representative of those values. Maybe we’ll change some minds.

Some writers took to social media to gather support for the petition, tweeting with the hashtag #WritersOnTrump.

Stephen King did not, sticking with his self-imposed moratorium on tweets about Trump.

The open letter reads, in full:

Because, as writers, we are particularly aware of the many ways that language can be abused in the name of power;

Because we believe that any democracy worthy of the name rests on pluralism, welcomes principled disagreement, and achieves consensus through reasoned debate;

Because American history, despite periods of nativism and bigotry, has from the first been a grand experiment in bringing people of different backgrounds together, not pitting them against one another;

Because the history of dictatorship is the history of manipulation and division, demagoguery and lies;

Because the search for justice is predicated on a respect for the truth;

Because we believe that knowledge, experience, flexibility, and historical awareness are indispensable in a leader;

Because neither wealth nor celebrity qualifies anyone to speak for the United States, to lead its military, to maintain its alliances, or to represent its people;

Because the rise of a political candidate who deliberately appeals to the basest and most violent elements in society, who encourages aggression among his followers, shouts down opponents, intimidates dissenters, and denigrates women and minorities, demands, from each of us, an immediate and forceful response;

For all these reasons, we, the undersigned, as a matter of conscience, oppose, unequivocally, the candidacy of Donald J. Trump for the Presidency of the United States.

View or sign the public petition here.

Carey Dunne is a Brooklyn-based writer covering arts and culture. Her work has appeared in The Guardian, The Baffler, The Village Voice, and elsewhere.

5 replies on “472 US Writers Sign Open Letter Against Donald Trump”

  1. I was just at the border in Mexico visiting my family. I grew up in AZ and really miss going on hikes in parts where it is now too dangerous. People are getting their heads chopped off and loads of drugs and violence have hurt communities on both sides very badly. Trump hangs out with Kissinger now and I won’t support him. His wall idea, which sounds ridiculous and dangerous, will just put illegal operations more underground. It would be better to put up some more resistance in parts where it is very hard to patrol and call out the mega banks for laundering billions for the cartels. Maybe hyper should cover that issue. The Mexican and American governments seem to hurt more than help. It got way worse after operation fast and furious. Wake up people. Clinton and ‘Drone man’, as Cornel West likes to call him, are a joke. Cartels don’t give a f*ck about pluralism or reasonable debate. The incompetence in leadership we have has been a huge part of the rise of idiot Trump and his bizzaroland authoritarianism.

    1. I was about to ask sarcastically if the drug cartels have a Clinton super PAC pushing for Hillarybot. But they do: Citigroup and HSBC have both been caught money laundering for cartels and give to the Clintons in (1) speeches-which-are-legal-bribes, (2) Clinton Foundation contributions, and (3) top donations to her campaign. I don’t know that that’s so bad given that Hillary brokered $29B in arms sales to Saudi Arabia after they became Clinton Foundation donors, but it’s still bad. [Hillary is a “feminist” while selling military weapons to men who rule countries where women have to dress like ghosts in public and aren’t aloud to drive. F*ck her and her fake progressivism.]

      When Hillary loses to Trump (if she’s not jailed first by the FBI now that the State Dept has outed her illegal use of a private email server) she’ll blame Bernie. But the real reason Trump became president, after all, is the DNC pushed the weaker candidate through by all means necessary. They built a Voltron of power and corruption with her and Bernie would have taken it apart.

      Also, this letter is f*cking stupid. It’s just hashtag activism by self-important writers saying nothing every dope on Twitter hasn’t already said 1,000 times.

  2. hating Trump. Boring and predictable. as artists they should be more clever. BTW, if Trump wanted to buy your work, would you refuse??

  3. you think Trump is bad??? how about a 17 yo Egyptian girl who just died from female gentile mutilation. not a word, clinton loves the aaay rabs

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