Is Democrats’ Anxiety Justified?

Apalpable panic has settled over Democratic partisans. The race for the White House is, at best, a tossup, with Donald Trump seeming to regain some lost ground in recent polling. Despite the Harris campaign’s spending advantages, her ads that attempt to cast Trump as anathema to all civically minded Americans aren’t working. “Trump speaking often helps him, not us,” one pained Democrat told The New Republic. Harris is parking herself in the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and devoting conspicuous attention to what should be core Democratic constituencies like African-American men. The Beltway’s most reliable expostulators of conventional wisdom seem like they’re coming to terms with a Trump victory in November. The lay of the land suggests that, with just three weeks to go before the vote, the Harris campaign is imploding.

At least, that’s the impression any political observer would take away from the behavior of both campaigns’ supporters. Never the sort to project anything other than the utmost self-confidence, Donald Trump and his backers are leaning into triumphalism. If you survey the bombast that passes for discourse on social media, the only outstanding question among Trump’s advocates is the scale of his victory. By contrast, Democrats are either beset by anxiety or succumbing to resignation. But is their trepidation justified by anything tangible, or are they just “bedwetting”? That depends on whom you ask.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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Apalpable panic has settled over Democratic partisans. The race for the White House is, at best, a tossup, with Donald Trump seeming to regain some lost ground in recent polling. Despite the Harris campaign’s spending advantages, her ads that attempt to cast Trump as anathema to all civically minded Americans aren’t working. “Trump speaking often helps him, not us,” one pained Democrat told The New Republic. Harris is parking herself in the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and devoting conspicuous attention to what should be core Democratic constituencies like African-American men. The Beltway’s most reliable expostulators of conventional wisdom seem like they’re coming to terms with a Trump victory in November. The lay of the land suggests that, with just three weeks to go before the vote, the Harris campaign is imploding.

At least, that’s the impression any political observer would take away from the behavior of both campaigns’ supporters. Never the sort to project anything other than the utmost self-confidence, Donald Trump and his backers are leaning into triumphalism. If you survey the bombast that passes for discourse on social media, the only outstanding question among Trump’s advocates is the scale of his victory. By contrast, Democrats are either beset by anxiety or succumbing to resignation. But is their trepidation justified by anything tangible, or are they just “bedwetting”? That depends on whom you ask.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.