The Great Talon'd One does about as good a job as you can in 20 minutes making the argument as to why you shouldn't vote for Trump regardless of your politics:
I'd like to think that if the Left put a charismatic person on the ticket, that people who are moderate Republicans would feel ok voting for a Dem but yeah, you're probably right. *sad face* I get Trump's popularity in 2016 but I cannot understand the grip he still has on people 8 years later. I could also get people voting for him because he's a Rep and they would never vote for a Dem but it's not even that. They look up to him as some sort of savior and give him a free pass on all the batshit crazy shit he says.
That's true for the people who are Trumpers (which is a cult) but there are plenty of moderate Republicans who would have willingly voted for a good Democratic nominee. I agree with GTE on Newsom, he would have killed Trump in this election because he's charismatic and slick as hell. Kamala is going to lose votes because of her race and gender. It's sad as hell, but it's absolutely a fact. Add in that she's not a popular candidate (just like Hillary) and this is how we get a tight race despite one side having a complete POS candidate who is a threat to our democracy.
Newsom needs a full campaign; I don't believe he could have done it on the abbreviated timeline Harris had to work with. The dude just gives off such "sleezy car salesman" vibes that he glows in the dark. You really have to watch him beat the stuffing out of Republicans at debates/interviews for a while before you come around on him. It would take him a while to penetrate the national electorate (the double entendre there being exactly why he needs the time).