It’s still in regards to the economy, silly, and we saw that tonight. In the primary and maybe only debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the economy took center stage — with the 2 candidates touching on issues from housing to taxes and tariffs to inflation.
In a debate that began with economic issues, each candidates vehemently defended their records. Trump and Harris pointed fingers at one another over the present economic situation, but at the identical time claimed that their policies contributed either to the recovery from the results of the pandemic or to the previous’s presidency.
Harris spoke first, opening by mentioning her middle-class upbringing and the way she was the one person on the stage with a plan for working Americans. She immediately distanced herself from Trump, a former real estate billionaire who she said would only cut taxes for the wealthy. She, then again, would create what she calls an “economy of opportunity,” including through tax cuts for families and small businesses, Harris said.
Trump, too, said he would cut taxes and “create a great economy,” which he said he has already done. He denied what Harris called a “Trump sales tax” that might cost American families 1000’s of dollars, stressing as an alternative that he would impose tariffs on other countries. How high those can be will vary, however it’s clear China would suffer. “Other countries are finally going to pay us back after 75 years for everything we’ve done for the world,” Trump said, later rejecting a claim by Harris that his plan for tariffs would result in higher prices for Americans. The back-and-forth over tariffs even touched on chips; Harris claimed Trump sold American chips to China, and Trump said she bought chips from Taiwan.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump argue in regards to the economy of their first presidential debate. pic.twitter.com/8Lmt77bGAf
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) 11 September 2024
“I had tariffs, but I didn’t have inflation,” Trump continued, pointing the finger on the Biden-Harris administration, which he claimed has fueled “inflation like few people have ever seen before, probably the worst in the history of our country.” Of course, that is not true, but inflation hit a four-decade high about two summers ago and has cooled significantly since then, a lot in order that the Federal Reserve is anticipated to chop rates of interest later this month.
While Trump blamed Harris for a terrible economy with high inflation that keeps families from buying eggs and bacon, Harris said she and President Joe Biden cleaned up his mess and he or she can be a president for all Americans, something she has said earlier on the campaign trail. Harris also touted her proposal to extend the kid tax credit to $6,000 a 12 months from the present $2,000 and to provide a $50,000 tax deduction to small businesses, which she called “part of the backbone of the American economy.” She rejected Trump’s claims that he achieved economic greatness during his time in office, arguing that his administration led to “trade deficits” and “trade wars.”
Harris also addressed the problem of housing, in a way that the “yes, in my backyard” faction would appreciate. She acknowledged the housing shortage within the country and the way it drives up costs, whether in real estate prices or rents. When given the chance to reply at that moment, Trump didn’t mention his housing plan, but as an alternative tried to distance himself from Project 2025 (after it was mentioned by Harris), which actually has a chapter on housing written by none apart from Ben Carson, his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
And not surprisingly, Trump focused on immigration, suggesting that tens of millions of individuals are pouring into the country and taking jobs away from African-Americans and Latinos and unions.
There were, in fact, personal attacks on this issue. Trump said Harris had no agenda of her own, but Biden’s; he called her a Marxist; and he said she destroyed our country. Harris, then again, referring to Trump’s upbringing, said: “I know not everyone was handed $400 million on a silver platter and then had to declare bankruptcy six times.” The two also traded blows about their rallies.
Voters could have a probability to judge the controversy’s performance on the ballot box, with the primary ballots being mailed out just hours after the controversy. And we’ll get a greater picture of what Wall Street thinks after the controversy when markets open on Wednesday morning.
