AOC is characterizing Republican political strategy as deliberately fear-based, arguing that when voters feel secure they recognize wealthy interests harming them financially rather than scapegoated groups. This reflects her consistent framing of Republican messaging as misdirection — a political analysis rather than a falsifiable claim. The underlying observation about Republican campaign rhetoric emphasizing threats (immigration, crime, inflation) is well-documented across multiple election cycles, though 'constantly' is somewhat absolute framing. The metaphor about pickpocketing implicitly references wealth inequality and corporate influence, connecting to her documented focus on class politics.