'A matter of life and death': America's top science magazine gives Biden its first-ever presidential endorsement

America's top science magazine has broken 175 years of tradition and has made its first-ever endorsement for president of the United States.

In an editorial published on Tuesday, Scientific American endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden over President Donald Trump by arguing that the current president's attacks on science make this election "a matter of life and death."

"The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its people -- because he rejects evidence and science," the magazine's editors write. "The most devastating example is his dishonest and inept response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost more than 190,000 Americans their lives by the middle of September."

The magazine goes on to recount Trump's many failures in handling the disease.

"Trump repeatedly lied to the public about the deadly threat of the disease, saying it was not a serious concern and “this is like a flu​” when he knew it was more lethal and highly transmissible," they write. "His lies encouraged people to engage in risky behavior, spreading the virus further, and have driven wedges between Americans who take the threat seriously and those who believe Trump's falsehoods."

The magazine also takes Trump to task for his denial of climate change science, which it says will do more long-term damage to Americans' health than the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Although Trump and his allies have tried to create obstacles that prevent people from casting ballots safely in November, either by mail or in person, it is crucial that we surmount them and vote," the editors conclude. "It's time to move Trump out and elect Biden, who has a record of following the data and being guided by science."

Read the whole editorial here.