Hamparian: ANCA’s Harris/Trump Non-Endorsement in the 2024 Presidential Elections Explained

WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Executive Director Aram Hamparian explains the ANCA’s non-endorsement in the 2024 U.S. Presidential elections, in this commentary shared widely on social media.

Neither US presidential candidate has earned the ANCA’s endorsement.

Both tickets bear responsibility for arming Azerbaijan, enabling genocide, and abandoning Artsakh. Neither has in any way renounced or reversed these reckless, irresponsible, and genocide-aligned policies.

We remain engaged with both parties and welcome their WORDS of support for Armenian American policy priorities – recognizing that campaign statements do help set a rough benchmark for the framing of our issues in Washington, DC moving forward but – given our own experience – clearly do not represent any sort of contractual commitment for actual policy once in office.

We must remember, however, that these statements – made by the Americans seeking to lead our nation – are, in fact, the result of our work – the standing and respect we have earned through relentless grassroots fieldwork in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and other swing states.

Politicians are seeking to earn our votes, which is how our democracy is supposed to work.

While we are encouraged by the competition for our support, the bottom line remains that words are not enough. Neither major party candidate has delivered the concrete results that they are capable of delivering BEFORE election day. For we are long past the day when we will place our faith in all too often hollow campaign pledges about what candidates will do AFTER they are elected.

There are actions that can be taken today:

REPUBLICANS: For example, President Trump can publicly call on Speaker Johnson to pass H.R.7288 – enforcing the Section 907 restriction on U.S. aid to Azerbaijan. JD Vance, as a sitting U.S. Senator, can cosponsor S.Res.540 – scrutinizing Azerbaijan’s use of U.S. aid to commit anti-Armenian war crimes.

DEMOCRATS: Vice President Harris can announce the Administration’s official enforcement of Section 907, the application of Magnitsky sanctions against Azerbaijan, and a refusal to participate in COP29 until all Armenian hostages are released.

All this being said, we are profoundly proud and encouraged by our community’s robust participation in this year’s election cycle and gratified to see the candidates competing for our votes – seeking to earn our trust. That is a tribute to our fellow Americans of Armenian heritage – who have emerged as a pivotal electoral constituency – able to act strategically – leveraging our collective resources – to center Artsakh’s survival and Armenia’s security in the national political arena.

If you’re frustrated about how your favored candidate is being perceived by Armenian American voters, do your best to bring your candidate around – to have them hold Baku accountable, deter renewed Azerbaijani aggression, secure the release of Armenian hostages, and pave a pathway for the return of Armenians to Artsakh.

Acting without fear or favor, the ANCA will not lower our community’s standards to embrace or endorse any candidate, but will, rather, bring increased vigor and devotion to the noble cause of raising the candidates to our fair standard.

Keep up the pressure. It’s working.