The toxic political instincts of Kamala Harris have been on full display this election cycle. In many ways, she is the embodiment of what many loathe in a politician: a radically inauthentic coastal elite who uses her intersectional identity as a crutch in times of desperation.

Whether it be her chronic question-dodging, vacillating accents depending on the crowd, economic bribes designed to entice target demographics, or abject fear of ever attaching herself to a single policy position (outside of abortion on demand), Harris utterly lacks even a semblance of conviction within any given set of principles.

Criticize President Biden as you will (I certainly have), but at a time when it was politically fashionable to abandon Israel after October 7, he didn’t. Although the president’s criticism of Israel’s prosecution of the war and threats to condition support are disconcerting, these seem to be largely cosmetic gestures meant to placate his left-wing base. We can’t be sure Harris has even Biden’s level of commitment to . . . well, just about anything.

Donald Trump’s brand never required that he present himself as the most refined figure in public life — hers does. Harris’s theatrical and obviously rehearsed responses to simple questions frequently have the viewing audience shouting “annnd scene!” from the couch. The confidence she exudes in expressing views she argued against with equal vigor just a short while ago has voters concerned. Is she simply on the team of the highest bidder — another plug-and-play cog in the system? Or a Trojan horse for something far more radical?

Republicans should celebrate the fact that Democrats have been forced to retreat from their more outrageous policy fads. But from BLM to prolonged Covid lockdowns and the Green New Deal to transgenderism, Democrats haven’t quite moderated so much as they’ve just stopped talking about it at all. Conservatives mustn’t confuse avoidance with reconciliation. An unreckoned conversion still warrants an explanation. And we’re still waiting for one.

By wedding herself to the spirit of 2020, Kamala may have found herself an electoral widow in 2024.