As the 2024 election speeds to a close, Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’s closing argument against former President Donald Trump is this: He’s a fascist, a threat to democracy, and too dangerous to elect.

That argument holds a lot of weight, but it has two big problems. One is that Democrats have been making this argument for nine years, with mixed results at best. Two is that Trump served as President for four years and did not become a full authoritarian — though not for lack of trying.

With the election apparently so close, it may feel like political malpractice to trot out the same unpersuasive argument and allow Trump to come so close to the White House again. But in all the furor and focus on his latest politically incorrect outrage, it can be easy to lose sight of the simple truth: This man is extremely dangerous and corrupt, and he must not be allowed back into the White House.