I think you missed the most salient point in a Trump candidacy.
In 2016 mainstream media exposed Trump for what he is. He is a narcissist, who is also a sexual predator, a terrible businessman, and most importantly a bigot. None of that mattered to the Republican BASE, because Trump became the voice and animus of their bigotry, so his unfitness didn't matter to some 45% of the electorate. This number is baked in a kiln, never to change.
Thus the Harris strategy was constrained by an invariant base of support for Trump. In normal times when issues were important, the strategy would have been different. The Harris campaign has to rely on huge sympathetic turnout of key voter blocks, nibble away on low propensity and fence line independents, and hope a message of the existential threat to Democracy could attract a few center right Republicans.
at this point I will include a much better account of the mechanism Trump will most likely use to (should he lose outright) illegitimately gain power.
The Very Real Scenario Where Trump Loses and Takes Power Anyway
