Much of Donald Trump’s 2024 pitch is rooted in fantasy. The former president, for example, wants people to believe the economy is dreadful, despite reality. He wants voters to believe crime rates are soaring, despite all evidence to the contrary. He expects Americans to believe conditions at the U.S./Mexico border are getting worse, even as they get better. He insists that the White House is failing to respond to natural disasters, even as other Republicans set the record straight.

But there’s another dimension to this that often goes overlooked: Trump’s fantastical pitch also includes preposterous claims about Kamala Harris’ agenda for the future.

To be sure, given the unusual circumstances surrounding the vice president and how she became the Democratic nominee, Harris did not initially have much of a policy blueprint. But as the campaign has progressed, she and her team have crafted a credible governing vision and presented it to the electorate.

It does not include a ban on cows.

Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be worth mentioning, except her GOP rival has shared some curious thoughts on the subject. The Hill reported:

Former President Trump joined “Fox & Friends” on Friday for an in-person interview where he told a 6-year-old child the U.S. “won’t have any cows” if Vice President Harris is elected.

In a recorded video, a child asked the former president about his favorite farm animal. “I’ll tell you what I love, I love cows,” the Republican responded, “but if we go with Kamala, you won’t have any cows anymore.”

As part of the same answer, Trump went on to emphasize his belief that Harris will somehow ban cows. “If you like cows,” he concluded, “you have to vote her out.”

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This was odd, but it was not a one-time thing: The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank noted that the GOP candidate has warned voters in a variety of events recently that his Democratic opponent “wants to get rid of your cows.” Trump added at one recent gathering, “You know, this is serious.”

No, it’s really not.

What is serious, however, is the Republican’s desperation to concoct a Harris agenda that bears no resemblance to reality whatsoever. Trump and his campaign team, for example, have attributed tax policies to the vice president that she has never endorsed and does not support.

He’s said Harris wants to “legalize fentanyl,” which was bizarre. He’s said Harris supports car confiscation, which is equally absurd. He’s said Harris is trying to ban windows in new buildings, which is kind of funny, but also ridiculous. Trump has even argued that Harris wants to “bring back the draft,” which he made up out of whole cloth.

Of course, the larger question is unavoidable: If the Democratic candidate’s vision is so awful, why does her Republican opponent feel the need to make stuff up?