Donald Trump has just accomplished the most stunning political comeback in the history of the United States. The former president, who lost his bid for re-election in 2020, was impeached twice, convicted on multiple (flimsy) felony counts, investigated, sued, harassed without end, denounced as a fascist, blasted as too old, "deranged" and "unstable," not only won another four years in the Oval Office but pulled Senate and House candidates along with him. Though we don’t know for sure, it looks like the GOP may win control of all three branches of the government.

How did the former president pull off such a resounding victory? We can point to three reasons:

1. Some 70% of Americans, according to exit polls, thought the U.S. was on the wrong track and wanted change. Kamala Harris promised none;
2. Trump broadened his appeal and his outreach, eating into the so-called "Obama coalition" by winning sizable numbers of minorities and young people;
3. Harris ran a lousy campaign.

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In 1980, Ronald Reagan, running to unseat Democrat incumbent Jimmy Carter, famously asked voters, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" The answer to that question has always been consequential, and so it was this year. A telling Gallup poll conducted just weeks before the election showed 52% of the country felt they were worse off under the Biden-Harris administration than they were under Trump; only 39% indicated they were better off. In addition, Gallup reported that their economic confidence indicator, at negative 26, was a bad sign for Democrats. That low a reading normally has shown up only during recessions, signaling deep unease about the economy.

Numerous surveys showed voters, fed up with inflation, unchecked immigration and rising crime, wanted a change; Harris was unable to say how she would "turn the page" as she put it. When asked on "The View" what she would do differently than Joe Biden, she could not think of a "single thing." More than any other utterance made on the campaign trail, that unprepared and unimaginative response cooked Kamala’s goose.

DEPRESSED MEDIA REACT TO TRUMP VICTORY: HOW COULD THIS POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED?

She could have reversed some of the policies infuriating to common sense voters, by, for instance, promising to ban men playing in women’s sports or saying she would roll back the EV mandates that will force Americans to buy cars they don’t want. She could have vowed to secure the border, and promise she would not again open the gates to millions of migrants, criminal gangs and hundreds of people on the terror watch list. But she didn’t.

By contrast, Trump campaigned with purpose, promising to reduce inflation, roll back harmful regulations, deport criminals in the U.S. illegally, dump unpopular climate mandates and lower taxes. Moreover, he held rallies in Democrat-run New York City and California in defiance of political norms, helping down-ballot races but also expanding his appeal and his reach.

He won over a shocking 54% of Hispanic men compared to 44% who went for Harris; four years ago, Joe Biden won that group by a 23-point margin. Trump also greatly improved his standing with Black voters, and especially in key swing states. In Wisconsin, for instance, NBC exit polls show Trump doubled his share of the Black vote, winning 20% of that contingent, up from 8% in 2020. He also attracted more than 40% of Jewish voters in Florida, New York and Nevada.

Trump campaigned for all Americans, instead of the "slicing and dicing" favored by Kamala Harris.

Meanwhile, Kamala’s campaign relied on joy and "vibes," rather than substance. She coasted initially on Democrats’ relief that Joe Biden was no longer their candidate, and then, when that approach stalled, turned savagely negative on Donald Trump. She shunned interviews and unscripted appearances because she couldn’t handle either. She was flummoxed by even the mildest of inquisitions, such as that posed by CBS’ Bill Whitaker, who reasonably asked why she flip-flopped on issues she embraced in the 2019 Democratic primary, like "Medicare-for-all" and banning fracking.

Harris always appeared caught in the headlights with such questions, even though she should have seen the car coming from miles away. How could she not be ready with answers?

The most consequential campaign decision made by Kamala Harris was her pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, instead of popular Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Choosing one of the most progressive governors in the country confirmed that she remained the far-left San Francisco liberal who showed up in 2019, embracing the Green New Deal, banning fracking, and decriminalizing illegal immigration. Shapiro was not only a political moderate, who would have balanced the ticket, but also would have appealed to Jewish voters. And, he might well have delivered key swing state Pennsylvania. It was a critical mistake made by an insecure candidate.

Harris warned that Trump was a threat to democracy, but voters saw his opponents weaponize the Department of Justice and try to lock up their political adversary, stiff the 14 million Democrats who voted for Joe Biden to be their candidate in the primaries, propose to "reform" the Supreme Court and do away with the filibuster, and persuade social media companies to censor their opposition. 

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Ultimately, voters repudiated not only Kamala Harris but also the decades-old Democratic leadership. Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and other longtime Democrat power brokers pretended that President Joe Biden was just fine, even though his steady mental decline was obvious. Only after the entire nation witnessed the extent of that deterioration during his disastrous debate with Donald Trump in late June, did they acknowledge that he was not capable of governing for four more years. Because they hid the truth, the party then had no time to hold a primary contest; they were stuck with Kamala Harris. As one of our country’s most unpopular vice presidents ever, political analysts had long considered her unfit to run. That view proved correct.

Ultimately, voters did defend democracy; they elected Donald Trump.

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