CONTACT: Anna Schumann, Communications Director
aschumann@clw.org
(AUGUST 10—WASHINGTON) For the first time in its 58-year history, the Council for a Livable World is endorsing a candidate for President of the United States: former Vice President Joe Biden.
The Council has historically raised funds only for Congressional candidates who support common-sense arms control and non-proliferation policies. Two critical factors led to this unprecedented endorsement decision: former Vice President Biden’s consistent support, in both word and deed, for reducing the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction, and the existential risk to the country and the world posed by a second term for President Donald Trump.
The Council made its first endorsement of Biden during his run for Senate in 1972. The Council was the first organization to endorse the young underdog, because his passion and commitment to keeping this nation safe was apparent right from the start. Over the course of his career, he has been an extraordinary champion for nuclear risk reduction efforts, even when other leaders lost interest and focus.
“As a nation, I believe we must keep pursuing the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons—because that is the only surety we have against the nightmare scenario becoming reality. This was a problem created by human ingenuity. So it can be solved with human ingenuity and a belief in our better angels. Our capacity for destruction must always be balanced by the weight of shared responsibility. That’s a belief I have held for more than 40 years. It’s one I have fought to make real time and again.” – Vice President Joe Biden, Jan. 11, 2017
Every single nuclear challenge facing the United States has grown worse over the course of the Trump Administration. From threats of fire and fury, to sadly failed attempts at nuclear negotiations, to the trashing of Republican-legacy international agreements, President Trump has proven that he cannot be trusted with America’s security or its nuclear weapons. The Council’s founders, many of whom helped to create the first nuclear weapons and were among the first to urge constraints on their use, would recoil in horror at the thought of such power in the hands of such an incompetent and reckless man.
Vice President Biden has the discipline, patience and expertise to repair and rebuild America’s standing in the world, including its rightful place as a leader in nuclear threat reduction.
Executive Director and former nine-term Congressman John Tierney said the Board’s decision to break with precedent was an easy one.
“When it comes to nuclear weapons issues, the difference between former Vice President Biden and President Trump is crystal clear. Former Vice President Biden has spent his career fighting to rid the world of the most dangerous weapons ever created; President Trump has spent his presidency increasing the chances those weapons might be used. Former Vice President Biden has spent his career championing diplomacy that keeps Americans safe; President Trump has spent his presidency ruining our alliances and ripping global agreements to shreds.
Exactly 75 years after the dawn of the nuclear age, the American public is faced with a choice. The man who takes the oath of office on January 20, 2021 will have control over an active arsenal of about 4,000 nuclear weapons and be faced with a world full of nuclear challenges. The Council’s Board of Directors was unanimous in its view: there is only one candidate who possesses what our founder, Manhattan Project nuclear physicist Leo Szilard, referred to as ‘the sweet voice of reason’ and who can set this nation and the world on a path away from nuclear catastrophe. Understanding that, the Council emphatically endorses Vice President Joe Biden for President of the United States.”
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