'Trends won’t save Trump': Analyst says 3 core MAGA claims against Harris are crumbling

Former President Donald Trump's attempts to slow Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign momentum rely on three political attacks that are all falling apart, MSNBC columnist James Downie wrote Monday.

Trump's three political grenades — crime, immigration and inflation — have each exploded in his hands as the U.S. continues its recovery from the global pandemic that hit the nation under his administration, Downie reports.

"Not since the early years of the Great Depression has news cut so uniformly against one party’s case for power," Downie writes. "Republicans’ 2024 case has three pillars. All three are collapsing."

Crime rates fell in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and recent Justice department data show that trend continuing with a 15 percent drop in violent crime in the first three months of 2024, according to Downie.

The murder rate in nearly 70 major U.S. cities dropped more than 8 percent since Trump's administration ended, Downie reports.

Immigration became a weak point for conservatives after GOP lawmakers rallied against a bipartisan border bill that gave Republicans nearly everything they wanted but might have hurt Trump's campaign, writes Downie.

President Joe Biden circumvented Congress by enacting portions of it via executive action and now the Border Patrol is reporting the lowest number of apprehensions since the fall of 2020, Downie writes.

ALSO READ: Harris has figured out Trump’s greatest liability

Inflation remains the most important in the trifecta as polls show economic concerns plague Republican and Democratic voters alike, Downie argues.

Again, the numbers make problems for Trump, Downie writes.

"Though polls show voters trust Harris far more than Biden on the issue, the GOP would like to change that," writes Downie. "With each passing month, the case has weakened."

Downie cites drops in inflation, the consumer price index and mortgage rates, which last week reportedly hit a 15-month low.

"As of now, real-world trends won’t save Trump," Downie writes. "Given his tenuous relationship to reality, that’s entirely appropriate."