Opinion | Are Democrats Right to Unite Around Kamala Harris?

The transcript of this audio essay has been edited.

Last week, the Republican Party held its quadrennial convention in Milwaukee. My colleague Elias Isquith described it as a megachurch service held in a Vegas casino under the ever-watchful gaze of its living god. All that week, I heard: America First, America First, America First. But it was clear who came first: Donald J. Trump. This was a party that had persuaded itself that one man’s ambition, his insatiable, unquenchable lust for power, was self-sacrifice. That Trump cared not for himself, that he only cared for you.

Throughout that convention, Trump was spoken of in religious terms. He was a man persecuted on behalf of all who put their faith in him. A leader on a divine mission, chosen and protected by an almighty God. If you did not believe in him, you did not believe in America.

On the final night, shortly before Trump spoke, Hulk Hogan took the stage wearing a shirt emblazoned with the American flag. He sent the crowd into a frenzy as he ripped that shirt, tearing the flag on it in half, to reveal a Donald Trump campaign shirt beneath. It was all so unbearably literal.

In 2020 and early 2021, Donald Trump tried to overturn an election he lost. He used the power of the presidency to pressure state election officials. He whipped up a mob that stormed the Capitol and endangered the lives of the men and women he served with, including his own vice president. People died on that day. How did the Republican Party react to that? Ultimately, by submitting to Trump’s fantasies and resentments. Where was Mike Pence, the vice president from Donald Trump’s first term? He was in exile, replaced by JD Vance. Pence certified the 2020 election. Vance has said he would have backed Trump’s challenge.

There was no price Trump would not have paid to cling to power, and the message of the 2024 Republican convention was that there was no price the Republican Party would not pay to give Trump that power. The message of the 2024 Republican convention was simple: Donald Trump first.

What President Biden did on Sunday — that is what it looks like to put country first. What the Democratic Party did over the past few weeks — that is what it looks like to put country first. The catastrophe of the debate, for Biden, was that he couldn’t draw the true contrast between him and Trump: Instead of highlighting Trump’s narcissism and illiberalism, Biden highlighted Trump’s relative energy and vigor. On Sunday, though, Biden upended that. In one decision, he drew a very different contrast between him and Trump: Trump would not peaceably step aside even after losing an election. Biden stepped aside before the election because he understood that the party and the country are bigger than he is. Putting your own ambitions second — that’s what it looks like to actually put America first.