Honestly. The Green monster is burning down the house.
There are only two ways to interpret Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s insistence on running in the US election: Either she wants to help Donald Trump, or she is an imbecile. The European Greens seem to get it. But Americans don’t listen to Europeans, of course.
A coalition of Green parties from 16 European countries has issued a compelling call for Stein to withdraw from the race and endorse Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. This appeal reflects a profound and practical recognition of the risks associated with a divided political front in the face of an authoritarian threat. It is, really, about the math of the US system.
GRAB US ELECTION DEAL FOR MY NEWSLETTER!
It is certainly conceivable that many Green Party voters would otherwise not vote, and so in their case it changes nothing. That’s basically the Greens’ argument. But it is also utterly conceivable that some, in the absence of a Green candidate, would vote Democrat. Given that both the 2016 and 2020 elections were decided by just tens of thousands of votes in a handful of states, Stein could swing the election.
Indeed, she is on the ballot in Pennsylvania and Michigan, the two states that will decide the whole election in 2024. The polls in these states are even.
Why??
Consider what happened in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush won Florida, and with it the election, by about 500 votes (though if the recount had been allowed to proceed by the shamelessly partisan Supreme Court, that gap would have been wiped out).
Green Party candidate Ralph Nader, who deserves a place of honor in the roll of political goats of all time, won about 100,000 votes, or about 1.6%, in the state. If just one in 20 of his voters there had chosen Gore — an extremely reasonable assumption, for the Democratic candidate was a huge environmentalist — the result would have flipped.
So what on Earth is Stein thinking? Does she think she will be president? Does she think it doesn’t matter if she gets Trump elected?
The coalition of European Green parties, which includes influential parties from nations such as Germany, Ireland, Belgium, and Spain, has articulated an urgent message: there is no issue more important than blocking Trump and his associated anti-democratic policies. Their appeal reveals a striking ideological divide between the US Green Party and the broader global Green movement, which has long championed cooperation to protect not just climate issues but also democratic institutions. Put your ego aside, they say.
The Green Party’s defensive response so far underscores an insular approach that resists the necessity of broader coalitions in challenging times. The party is undermining the very goals it claims to champion.
While a Harris administration may not be perfect, it’s committed to climate action — a commitment Trump openly mocks. His record is clear: dismantling environmental protections, denying climate science, and favoring fossil fuel expansion. A Trump return to the White House would likely roll back international climate agreements and further endanger efforts to mitigate the global climate crisis.
The US Green party must accept a stark reality: they could aid the return of an authoritarian administration with policies that contradict the party’s core principles — or not. A strategic withdrawal would represent an act of solidarity that strengthens the progressive cause, preserves democracy, and ensures environmental issues remain on the agenda.
This decision isn’t about abandoning principles; it’s about prioritizing them. If Stein truly values the Green Party’s mission, getting out of the way is a necessary act of responsibility that safeguards the country’s democratic institutions and paves the way for future progress. I’d say this even if I was a die-hard Trump supporter: It is crystal clear that she is helping the GOP.
I don’t necessary think Stein is a nihilist. Stupidity, I fear, explains much of what goes on in the world.