BUT, again, the truth is that Trump mostly won because of the economy and Harris being tied to the incumbent administration. Incumbents losing isn't just an American thing right now--it's been happening internationally--and when the exit polls were examined, the economy was pretty much the number 1 or number 2 issue for people.
The pertinent question becomes what, precisely, is wrong with the economy.
The big problem with the economy is that the vast majority of people, including the voters and the politicians, are absolutely certain that they understand it, and simultaneously are absolutely wrong.
The macroeconomic experts have been playing a careful game of trying to do the things that are good, but widely believed to be bad; While telling the politicians things that they can pass on to their voters, which give the (false) impression that they are trying to do the things widely believed to be good, but which would actually be disastrous.
The voters and the politicians want: a balanced federal budget, a return to the gold standard, ultra low income taxes, high tariffs on imported goods, deflation, and low interest rates.
Economists recognise that sustainable long term growth and prosperity in the US (as she continues to become an advanced service driven economy) requires: a budget deficit and ever growing "national debt", fiat money, moderate and highly progressive income taxes, the lowest possible import barriers (including zero tariffs), constant low inflation (just enough to ensure that deflation is not a risk), and interest rates set at a level appropriate to keep inflation in that target range.
This is a microcosm of the wider problem with America (and the rest of the OECD) - The public have a vote, but are committed simpletons. They want to overrule the experts, and they want to understand the subjects on which they are expressing opinions, but they do NOT want to learn anything about those subjects.
Instead they demand that the subjects be made sufficiently simple as to be comprehended by uneducated non-experts such as themselves.
This is, of course, impossible. But they don't understand that (and don't want to
learn), so they are total suckers for any politician who tells them that reality really is as simple as they demand it should be.
The Democrats come across as shifty on the economy,
because they are. They want to give the impression of being in control, and of doing what the voters demand; But they also understand that they need to follow the opposing advice of the actual experts, and enact the policy that those experts recommend, if they are to avoid disaster. So they promise one thing, and do another. Honesty is a vote-losing strategy for them.
That's why Trump won. He's a simpleton, but more importantly, he can sell the idea that all this complexity is just "them" trying to confuse "us", and that reality is actually simple enough to understand without effort.
This doesn't only apply to the economy. Every part of his platform takes a complex problem and applies a simple (but disastrous) solution.
Immigration? Send them all home.
Defense? Secure Americas borders.
Foreign Policy? Isolationism.
Healthcare? Homeopathy is cheap, so use that.
Education? A scam by the elites to keep the ordinary simpleton down.
Politics? All that bickering and interminable debate? Replace it with absolute loyalty to the President.
The world is simple. If it's not, we will pretend it is anyway. If you don't like that, you are a dangerous intellectual and need to be imprisoned for your treasonous attachment to 'expertise' and 'knowledge'.
No wonder the Evangelical Christians love him so much.
