‘A danger to the well-being and security of the United States’: Kamala Harris unwaveringly locks into the idea that Donald Trump is a fascist

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her most pointed critique of Donald Trump yet, declaring him “a fascist” during a CNN town hall Wednesday night, doubling down on a terse assessment from John Kelly, Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff.

Kelly’s revelations in The New York Times and The Atlantic painted Trump as an admirer of Adolf Hitler’s generals and leadership style. Harris made use of these eye-opening accounts, effectively warning that Trump would immediately punt his Constitutional duties and everything that came with them into the Mariana Trench for personal loyalty if reelected.

“I believe Donald Trump is a danger to the well-being and security of the United States of America,” Harris declared, rightfully suggesting his potential return to office would lack the restraints of his first term, given her own words and those of his handlers.

Yet polling data reveals a complex electoral landscape. The CNBC All-America Economic Survey shows that Trump leads Harris at 48%-46% nationally, within the margin of error. More telling, voters believe by an 18-point margin (42%-24%) that they would fare better financially under Trump despite his economic policies primarily benefiting the wealthy.

This cognitive dissonance extends beyond economics. Trump maintains a 35-point advantage on immigration concerns and a 19-point edge on crime and safety, even as he faces multiple criminal indictments and promotes increasingly authoritarian positions. Harris leads substantially on issues like abortion rights (31 points), climate change (60 points), and protecting democracy (9 points). Interestingly enough, she also holds advantages on broad presidential fitness, with double-digit edges on mental and physical health and on honesty and trustworthiness, per the report.

No matter the positive metrics Harris has at present in this poll and others— and despite Trump’s own unsettling behavior and rhetoric—nothing has translated into a commanding overall lead for the vice president. This is critical because it suggests that many likely Trump voters either discount, do not care, or will be willing to accept his authoritarian tendencies, and it will not be wielded against themselves. The data indicates Trump’s base remains unmoved by his documented hostility toward marginalized groups, democratic institutions, and the rule of law.

This steadfast support persists despite Kelly’s assertion that Trump “certainly falls into the general definition of fascist” and would “love to be just like he was in business”—able to issue commands without legal constraints.

The polling suggests a deeply fractured electorate where significant segments appear willing to trade broad democratic principles for perceived economic gains that have no basis in a firm economic plan— even as Trump’s actual policies will predominantly favor the wealthy and propagate inequality.

This dynamic reveals a violent disconnect (and dissonance) between voter perception and policy reality, particularly among Trump’s working-class supporters, which he demeans without penalty on a regular basis. Trump’s voters have misrecognized their rivals and become junior partners with their destroyers. Trump’s economic agenda and policies, historically, have meant and will likely continue to mean the same destruction for his own voters as it would for those already disenfranchised/marginalized.

Harris’ stark characterization of Trump as a fascist, while supported by his former chief of staff’s testimony, faces an electorate where such concerns appear secondary to immediate economic anxieties – even if those anxieties are being channeled toward policies that may exacerbate them.