Presidential elections: Trump and Harris avoid details

“Newspaper Report”Wall Street JournalRecently, the two presidential candidates for the US elections, Kamla Harris and Donald Trump, avoided detailed policies to present big ideas, and left the main proposals ambiguous, which allowed voters to have different assumptions and opinions to do

The newspaper believes that the recently concluded Democratic convention made one thing clear about the presidential race, namely that these are not elections based on a political card.

According to the newspaper, Harris, who accepted the Democratic Party nomination on Thursday, provided in her brief campaign a set of ideas and encouragement about the path she will follow as president, but in less details than many candidates have previously presented.

She explained that this approach could frustrate policy-oriented voters as they consider how to take forward her economic proposals, including expanding the child tax credit. and support for first time home buyers. He also did not specify how he would deal with pressing foreign policy issues, such as countering the rise of China and dealing with the war between Israel and Hamas.

For his part, the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump, was also short on details, according to the newspaper, which explained that he proposed ending taxes on Social Security benefits. , but he did not say how he would cover the cost, which independent analysts. estimate at $1.6 trillion or more, or deal with the cost With the additional volatility that may result from software customization.

“I’ve been analyzing presidential programs since the 2008 election, and with a few exceptions there seems to be less detail and less interest in explaining how many things received,” the newspaper said Mark Goldwein, senior vice president. at the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, says.

Some analysts told the newspaper that a significant group of voters in particular want more information. The remaining 10% to 15% of undecided voters are more focused on the economy and inflation, and have yet to hear enough details to satisfy them, said David Winston, a former pre- Republican invention.

He said: “They’re looking for substance, and what they’ve heard so far are the mistakes of the other candidate, and maybe one or two elements of what will be presented.

But the Wall Street Journal finds that presidential campaigns view policy details not as winning messages in themselves, but as elements of a larger story about who their candidate is and why. his credibility needed to deliver what he has promised.

This case, the newspaper explained, is one of the reasons why the Democrats at their convention gave a great influence to the work of Harris as the Attorney General of California to force banks to reach a settlement. was aimed at keeping distressed homeowners in their homes after the financial crisis. in 2008.

According to the newspaper, Harris’ campaign is asking voters to look at her resume as evidence that she has the experience needed to make her promise, if elected president. , to fight an alleged monopoly of food companies and push for tax cuts aimed at helping home buyers. and new parents, among other things.

John Anzalone, a pollster for President Biden’s 2020 campaign, told the newspaper that those comments and others put forward by Harris were “signs” and “points of proof” the economic plan a week ago for her argument that she would fight for the middle class while she was. Harris says Trump will favor wealthy Americans like him.

Harris said she would raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, from the 21% rate Trump set in a tax law that reduced it from 35%, but the newspaper said this would only partially cover the cost of tax cuts and other provisions suggested by her. last week to make life more affordable for many households, which the Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates will increase the deficit by at least $1.7 trillion over ten years.

In addition to the increase in corporate taxes, the newspaper pointed out that Harris supported the proposals that Biden included in his latest budget, including tax increases to increase incomes for the wealthy, but the Wall Street Journal reported that she was not specific about what she intended. to recommend promotions.

According to the newspaper, Harris’ advisers felt very angry with the pressure in Washington to reveal more policy details. They claim they only had five weeks to come up with an agenda. They say they are held to a higher standard than Trump.

Meanwhile, the newspaper reported that Harris’ team is working on additional policy plans that could be released in the coming weeks, including policies that aim to boost small businesses, according to people familiar with the talks.

Harris’ advisers have privately acknowledged that releasing more detailed plans would give Trump more ammunition to attack her. Trump echoed Harris’ announcement last week that she would impose the first-ever federal ban on price increases on food and groceries, saying the proposal amounts to Soviet-style price controls.

But Harris’ supporters countered that the plan would overturn anti-price tag laws in dozens of states.

For his part, Trump has largely avoided policy details even though he launched his current campaign nearly two years ago. Among other things, he said he would work to improve the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, which he tried to repeal as president. But he did not say what he would do to change, according to the newspaper.

The newspaper pointed out that the heart of Trump’s agenda in his second term is his promise to make the biggest export in history. In interviews, Trump has offered suggestions on how to implement the plan, including relying on the National Guard to deport immigrants and its efforts was based on Eisenhower-era export operations.

But his campaign did not release a detailed plan explaining how the proposal would work, according to Al-Shajazat

The newspaper believes that Trump has distanced himself from the most comprehensive attempt to create a political agenda for his second term, Project 2025 The group run by the Heritage Foundation published a book on 900 pages outlining conservatives’ wish list for government. run by Trump.

But the plan has become a source of criticism, with Democrats using the group’s recommendations to portray Trump as dangerous and radical.

The 2025 project has troubled Trump and his advisers, who insist that policy proposals are not official unless they come directly from the campaign.

For months, Trump’s campaign website offered broad policy proposals on everything from education to energy, the newspaper said. He promised to take a series of steps in his first days in office, including signing executive orders and making efforts to roll back proposals put forward by Biden.

Trump’s campaign website now directs voters to the Republican platform, which party officials approved shortly before last month’s convention. Trump and his advisers stripped the platform of many policy details that had been included in previous platforms.