Opinion: Trump might win this election. What does that say about the Democratic Party?
If Democrats aren't panicking yet, they might want to start. The Kamala Harris honeymoon is over, and the glow has dissipated.
In six of the seven battleground states, former President Donald Trump now shows a slight lead in the polls. An NBC News poll released Sunday shows Harris and Trump tied in the national vote.
We are three weeks out from Election Day and one thing has become clear: Trump might actually win.
A Trump win would raise a lot of questions for Republicans. He's an objectively bad candidate who doesn't represent conservatism well.
However, it would raise even more questions for Democrats. How could they have lost to such a uniquely awful opponent?
Democrats chose poorly ? twice
If Trump wins this election, it will expose the Democrats' weakness in choosing a nominee and relaying party ideas. In that case, they'll have backed inept candidates not once but twice this year. How embarrassing.
President Joe Biden barely won the 2020 election with 7 million votes. Since then, he has declined physically and mentally. Propping him up as the Democratic nominee earlier this year was not just unwise but unscrupulous.
Opinion: What did Kamala Harris know about Biden's deteriorating health? And when did she know it?
The Democratic Party knew Biden was unwell and hoped no one would notice. In June, the presidential debate against Trump exposed his decline.
Democrats then hastily replaced Biden with his vice president. Never mind that she had not won a single primary, that their collective approval ranking was tanking and that her politics are much more extreme than Biden's.
It was either pick Harris or go on with Biden, who Democrats feared would lose in a landslide.
Democrats are too extreme
If you listen to Democrats and the news media, the GOP is the party of extremists and idiots. There are fringe folks on the right, to be sure. But far-left extremists have found a home in the Democratic Party as well.
In the past couple of decades, the Democratic Party has built its foundation around far-left ideas. If Trump wins reelection, it will be yet another indication that much of the nation has rejected such progressive policies.
Harris' economic plans center on government handouts and government control. What other candidate espouses giving away billions of taxpayers' dollars for down payments for first-time homebuyers? Not even the Obama administration did that.
Opinion: Harris riffs with Stern and cracks a beer with Colbert while Americans suffer
Harris and her running mate's social policies are no better: As governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz signed legislation that allows abortion essentially without restrictions, made Minnesota a sanctuary state for transgender youth and expanded access to driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.
Sophistry is common among politicians. We've gotten used to it. But Harris and Walz have taken dishonest campaigning to a new level.
A Trump win might reveal that voters, including some who usually support Democrats, are tired of the party's extremism. It also could demonstrate that voters may not support identity politics as much as the Democratic Party wishes they would.
The GOP could win a trifecta
Republicans could very well come out of this election in strong shape, controlling not only the White House but also both houses of Congress. They appear to be on track to win the Senate.
Control of the House looks like a toss-up for now, but the GOP might retain the majority after Election Day.
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With a Republican majority in the Senate, Trump could enact solid reforms and end Biden policies that have wreaked havoc on Americans.
Trump also might be able to extend his soon-to-expire tax cuts, rescind Biden's executive orders on his obscene student loan forgiveness plan and start to enforce federal laws on border security and migration.
Trump seems like an easy candidate to beat
Of all the candidates who Republicans could have nominated, one would think that Democrats could most easily defeat Trump again. Embarrassingly easy.
Trump is a childish, narcissistic buffoon who wants power more than he loves his country. He's a dishonest misogynist who happily defies political norms. He's a charlatan who has captured a sect of Republicans in a way that's alarming. He can't speak without rambling about nonsense. He refuses to seek advice, admit wrongdoing or work to improve himself.
Nonetheless, I do believe that conservative policies are always better for Americans. In fact, they're so good, Democrats like former President Bill Clinton espoused them.
If Trump wins, it won't be because of his stellar candidacy. It will be because the Democratic Party ? its candidates and its ideas ? was much weaker than expected.
And if Trump could enact a few decent conservative policies while in office, thanks to a GOP majority in the Senate, it would be a massive improvement to the past four years. A few policy changes might steer America back in the right direction.
Trump's success on Election Day would showcase just how weak the Democratic Party really is in America.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Opinion: Trump is awful, but Harris shows Democrats are worse