This post is not for those of you who wear MAGA hats — those of you who, as Trump bragged about eight years ago, would still vote for him even after he shot someone in the middle of the street.

This post is not for those of you who willingly believe blatant lies that are so easily debunked if you only take a few minutes to look them up.

This post is for those of you who support Biden, whether enthusiastically or reluctantly, and who are now panicking because of his disastrous debate performance last night.

This post is for those of you who support Biden, but are now calling for him to step down.

Okay. Look.

Let’s chill for a minute, yeah?

Now is not the time to call for Biden to step down. Quite the opposite, in fact. Now is the time to double-down on your support for him.

Now is the time to have faith in our fellow Americans.

If you support Biden, but are now panicking, keep in mind that you’re panicking not because you think his debate performance means he will no longer make a good president.

No, you’re panicking because you think his debate performance means other Americans will no longer think he’d make a good president. And because of your lack of faith in your fellow Americans, you believe that he will lose a ton of votes — enough now to throw the election to Trump.

Well, I disagree.

I disagree because I have faith in my fellow Americans …

I haven’t written about politics in eight years now, because the last time I did, I made an eerie prediction and have basically spent the last eight years regretting both my cynicism with not getting what I wanted and my naivete in the actual harm Trump could cause.

I’m speaking back up now. And I’m holding onto my faith that enough of my fellow Americans do actually care about policy, that enough of my fellow Americans follow current events to know that nothing about Biden’s performance last night has any actual bearing on his ability to lead our nation.

Because that’s what presidential elections really should be about, right? Policy.

I don’t support Biden because he’s young and spry. (Let’s be clear, the guy is an old geezer.)

I don’t support Biden because he can get up in front of an audience and trash talk and get everyone riled up. (Let’s be clear, the guy is kind of a dud when it comes to riling people up.)

I don’t care about Biden’s age or his public speaking skills, because neither of those impact his ability to be President of the United States.

I support Biden because he has demonstrated over the past four years that he genuinely cares about the American people, that he will enact policies to help all of us.

I support Biden because he surrounds himself with experts in their relevant fields and defers to their expertise.

I support Biden because I know that every piece of legislation he ever passes will be done only after careful consideration of what is best for the American people, after weighing the facts, after listening to the experts.

This last part is, at its core, what I believe an American President needs to do. President Biden has demonstrated this. And literally nothing about these qualities has changed since before the debate.

We need to remember that when we support Biden, it’s not actually Joe Biden we’re supporting. I mean, come on, nobody is out there walking around wrapped in Biden memorabilia in the same way you see people walking around wrapped in Trump memorabilia. Biden is no celebrity.

Joe Biden doesn’t have supporters. It’s his policies that have supporters.

So yeah, let’s talk about policy …

If you actually follow political policy, if you actually dig into what Biden has accomplished over the past four years, you’ll realize, sadly and ironically, that the vast majority of Americans should support him. In fact, the only people who might reasonably not support him on a policy basis — the only people who might reasonably stand to lose under a second Biden administration — are 1) the ultra-wealthy, 2) single-issue voters whose single issue is anti-abortion, and 3) white supremacists.

Note that I haven’t included evangelical Christians in my list. That’s because, contrary to what so many evangelical Christians believe, they’re not — nor have they ever been — in danger of losing their rights. They’re only in danger of losing their ability to oppress people. So no, they don’t actually stand to lose under Biden.

And even if you’re of the super-wealthy, you may want to consider that increased wealth in the middle class increases spending, which will increase profits in the corporations that you likely hold stakes in, thereby increasing your wealth as well. Call it trickle-up economics.

So really, it comes down to two groups only that stand to lose ground under a second Biden administration: white supremacists and pro-lifers.

Well, fuck white supremacists.

And fuck misogynists (I’m not even gonna sugarcoat that).

And that’s what this all comes down to …

I support Biden’s policies. And so should the vast majority of you, if you take the time to dig into them. Nothing about his policies has changed since last night.

The only thing that has changed is your perception that the American people care more about on-camera charisma than public policy, your fear that his debate performance means he will lose voters he still had the day before yesterday.

Well, I have faith in my fellow Americans …

Okay, I have faith in enough of my fellow Americans. Enough to win a consequential election.

And that’s why I have this simmering optimism that come November, we’re going to see the results of our collective faith in each other.