'Authoritarianism at bay': Analyst says Harris caught Trump napping on key campaign issue

Former President Donald Trump was supposed to be driving into Election Day with an advantage among voters on the economy — but Vice President Kamala caught him sleeping at the wheel, according to a new analysis.

A New Republic editorial released Tuesday combats the notion that Harris fell short on economic messaging as she called out Trump's abortion policies and increasingly authoritarian promises.

"The Harris campaign and the Democratic Party have poured immense amounts of resources into economic messaging — to the tune of well over $200 million, according to figures provided to me by AdImpact, which tracks political advertising" wrote Greg Sargent.

"Harris and the Democrats have actually outspent Trump and Republicans on ads about the economy by around $70 million, according to the firm."

Sargent argued this presented an interesting question about Trump and his 2024 reelection campaign.

"What if Trump actually got caught napping on the economy, due to his campaign’s hubristic certainty that he can’t lose the argument over it?" Sargent asked.

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Other analyses have suggested Trump blew his lead on the economy with his promises to enact aggressive tariffs — which Harris' campaign turned around on him by reminding voters this would raise prices on almost everything they buy.

Harris' campaign actually ran the gamut on a wide range of issues when it came to the economy, Sargent reported.

"One spot leads with Trump’s vow to persecute his enemies, then pivots to a point-by-point series of promises on Harris’s economic agenda: Curb corporate price gouging, lower housing costs, cut middle class taxes, and protect social insurance for the elderly," wrote Sargent.

Other ads attack Trump as an out-of-touch billionaire handing tax cuts to his cronies, while others emotionally discuss the struggles of the working class and vow to protect their way of life.

"If the election goes well for Harris, it will demonstrate that holding the forces of rising authoritarianism at bay requires appealing to numerous voter groups spanning the center-left and center right—and that a multiplicity of messages is required to reach them," Sargent argued.

Ultimately, wrote Sargent, "This election remains a toss-up, and none of this is to suggest that the Democratic Party has solved its problem with working-class voters. But if Harris does win, a recognition of the need to combat growing authoritarianism with a broad, multiracial, cross-class, economically diverse, pro-democracy, pro-rule of law, pro-choice, and pro-human-decency coalition will be a key reason why."