Comment on Trump Edges Ahead of Harris on the Economy

This article is part of The D. C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. With almost $2 billion in advertising in the rearview mirror, millions of doorbells rung, and a half-million early-vote ballots requested, it all may add up to a presidential campaign season that is leaving voters unmoored from reality. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] It’s a disquieting notion, but one that hit me last week during a stop in a Detroit magnet school’s gym to hear the pitch being made by Vice President Kamala Harris’ allies to first-time voters and seasoned activists.

As Nov. 5 approaches, former president Donald Trump has left little room for doubt about his intentions. He will almost certainly declare victory on election night, as the votes are still being counted. He may turn out to be right. But if Vice President Kamala Harris wins, Trump will reject the result as corrupt and launch a scorched-earth campaign to overturn it. This plot is so well telegraphed that it barely counts as a prediction.

This is the last editor’s letter we plan to publish prior to Nov. 5, Election Day in the United States. If you have been feeling apprehensive, you are not alone. When asked recently, barely half of Americans said they were confident that their vote would be accurately counted. It is no wonder, given the rhetorical and physical attacks on our democracy these last few years, that many voters share the same fear.

She takes the voters for fools, easily distracted by baubles thrown their way about wicked food suppliers and the badness of Trump.

So why does Kamala Harris have so much trouble giving details about her alleged fast food stint in 1983?

Let’s look at what Kamala Harris really means when she refuses to allow conscience protections in the abortion debate.