There are plenty of important issues in the 2024 elections, but by most measures, the state of the economy is the dominant electoral concern, and voters’ attitudes about the economy will very likely dictate the outcome.

With this in mind, Republicans desperately want Americans to believe that the nation is on the brink of economic collapse. Reality is telling a very different story. The New York Times reported:

Fresh employment data for September showed that hiring picked up strongly, the unemployment rate dipped and wage growth came in strong — adding to a string of recent data pointing to economic resilience. And the incoming evidence points to a clear conclusion: The economy is robust. Data revisions released last week showed that growth has been stronger and incomes have been more solid than previously understood. Retail sales data are holding up. And now, employers appear to be meeting resilient consumer demand by continuing to expand their work forces.

The Times’ report added, “[B]y many measures, the job market is as healthy as it has ever been.”

That’s “ever,” as in, the American job market is as healthy in 2024 as it’s been in the history of the United States.

What’s more, the encouraging job numbers came the week after a surprisingly good report on U.S. economic growth, which led White House National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard to note in a written statement, “We learned this morning that the economy has grown by 3.2% per year during Biden-Harris Administration — even stronger than previously estimated — and better than the first three years of the previous administration.”

The GDP data coincided with encouraging news on inflation. As NBC News reported two weeks ago, “The personal consumption expenditures price index, a gauge the Fed focuses on to measure the cost of goods and services in the U.S. economy, rose 0.1% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.2%, down from 2.5% in July and the lowest since February 2021.”

On a related note, after the job numbers were released, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time high — roughly two months after Republicans labeled a brief Wall Street downturn the “Kamala Crash.”

And did I mention that a port strike, which appeared likely to do meaningful harm to the economy, was averted last week? Because that happened, too.

It was against this backdrop that a reporter asked Donald Trump on Friday, “Jobs are up, the stock market hit an all-time high. Do you acknowledge that the economy is improving?”

“No,” the former president said. “It’s not.”

Trump’s 2024 campaign meanwhile, is running ads in battleground states telling voters that “a recession” is “now headed our way,” which isn’t even close to being true.

But it’s not just the GOP’s national nominee. His running mate, Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, told the public last week that the economy — the one that has created one of the best American job markets on record — is “an unmitigated disaster.”

Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, meanwhile, called the job numbers “fake,” parroting a Trump line from eight years ago. In case that weren’t quite enough, the House GOP conference described a 4.1% unemployment rate as “high,” which is just a dumb thing to claim given everything we know about the history of the U.S. jobless rate.

One of the most frustrating things about the 2024 election cycle is the Republicans’ willingness to simply create an alternate reality that voters are supposed to embrace. When new data shows crime rates falling, for example, Republicans tell the public that crime rates are climbing. When data says the planet is getting hotter, Republicans tell the public that it’s getting cooler.

And when the evidence leaves little doubt that the U.S. economy is on strong footing, Republicans tell voters not to believe their lying eyes.

If reality were a stronger force in this year’s elections, Trump and his party would be in real trouble.