US Scientists Question Presidential Candidates

The upcoming U.S. election could take an interesting turn, thanks to the participation of several scientific organizations. These organizations have invited the Democratic Party candidate, Hillary Clinton, and the Republican standard-bearer, Donald Trump, to respond to 20 questions on topics involving science, technology and innovation in the United States.

Last Wednesday, the organization behind this experiment, ScienceDebate, sent a letter and questionnaire to the presidential candidates, requesting their responses before Sept. 6. They also asked the candidates to participate in a forum to discuss their understanding of scientific issues around the topics included in the questionnaire. This forum would be broadcast at a time yet to be decided, on a television network chosen by mutual agreement.

To gauge the importance of this initiative, it is relevant to know the identities of the signers of the letter. The list includes the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the world’s most prominent scientific organizations, and the editor of the journal Science, as well as a number of important U.S. scientific organizations in the areas of chemistry, geography, geophysics, agronomy, robotics, biological sciences, biophysics and botany.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine are also on the list of organizers, as well as 56 organizations dedicated to science.

Although the questions are of a very general type, they may be helpful in showing how those who aspire to the presidency of one of the planet’s major scientific and technical powers understand scientific issues. The questions touch on U.S. leadership in innovation, the future of long-term research projects, climate change, conservation of biodiversity, cybersecurity, mental health and addiction, energy, education, health, water, food, nuclear energy, global changes, science in public policy, vaccinations, space research, the oceans, immigration and scientific integrity.

The challenge the organizers pose is directed not only at the presidential candidates, but also at the U.S. press. They believe the issues included in the questionnaire affects the lives of all voters, as much as or more than the topics typically covered by the media during political campaigns, like foreign and domestic policy, or religion.

This is not the first time something like this has happened (something similar occurred in 2008 and 2012). However, in my opinion, the initiative is very relevant, because it shows the movement of a fundamentally new force on the political scene in the United States. It forces the candidates to take a stand on pivotal issues that affect citizens as never before and in which science plays an increasingly decisive role, such as water, food, health, education, energy, the environment and so forth.

Although the questions are framed in a very polite and pleasant way, in my opinion, if the Democratic candidate and the Republican agree to participate, it will be a massacre, because Donald Trump will fall flat on his face. …In the short term, at least, his advisors might have him do a turnabout on his scientific ideas, which would be considered a defeat in the eyes of some voters.

I say this because in the political campaign to date, Trump has already weighed in on several of the issues raised in the letter. For example, he has denied climate change and has raised objections to childhood vaccination, subjects about which he has demonstrated total ignorance. The same can be said of his proposals on immigration (which would affect talented scientists who have studied or are working in the United States). If to this we add the fact that his running mate, the governor of Indiana, Mike Pence, denies the theory of evolution and is a proponent of creationism, it is possible to think that the best advice Donald Trump’s advisors could give him would be to not participate in this exercise (Creationism attempts to explain the emergence of the universe and of human beings with reference to Biblical texts).

We hope it won’t turn out that way, so we can enjoy what could be an extravaganza completely without precedent in the race for the presidency of the United States.