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Harris presents her economic ideas in an exclusive interview with MSNBC. She sees Trump’s rhetoric in the US election campaign as threatening.
Washington – Donald Trump likes to present himself as a friend of the economy. In the race for the 2024 US election, he repeatedly portrays Kamala Harris as a supposedly naive communist who wants to harm the market. In a business-focused interview with MSNBC-moderator Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday (September 25th), Harris has now publicly presented her visions for the US economy.
Former President Trump’s economic plans were also the focus of the interview – and at the center of Harris’ criticism. Above all, the incumbent vice president attacked Trump’s idea of introducing tariffs. It is dangerous to unsettle international trading partners with populist blanket rhetoric about punitive tariffs. “That’s part of the problem with Donald Trump,” Harris said when Ruhle asked about the former president’s plans to expand import tariffs.
Trump is threatening US companies with tariffs if they outsource production to Mexico
“He’s just not very serious about his opinions on some issues,” Harris said. Election campaigns are one thing, but the political ideas also have to be realistic. Trump repeatedly threatened to expand tariffs if elected during a speech in Pennsylvania this week. How The Hill reported that he directly threatened the Illinois-based company John Deere with massive tariffs on its products if the company outsourced part of its production to Mexico as announced.
Harris tries in that MSNBC-Interview to explain their specific visions and presents their plan of the so-called “opportunity economy”. This includes, among other things, a housing plan to support first-time home buyers, a tax plan for children that provides for an expansion of credits to families, and a plan to support small businesses through tax deductions for entrepreneurs. “If you are hardworking, if you have dreams, ambitions and aspirations, I believe then you are in my plan,” she said.
For example, Ruhle asked Harris about how she would like to finance such proposals and how the federal government would reduce the bureaucratic burden in order to reach out to municipalities on issues such as the housing shortage or the expansion of public transport. Harris responded that such proposals could be paid for with increases in corporate taxes, but did not elaborate on how such increases could get through Congress. “I know we need to cut through the red tape and speed up what we need to do in construction, and that requires collaboration at the federal level, with state and local governments,” she said.
Harris counters that 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost because of Trump
Ruhle also asked Harris about polls that showed many voters think Trump is better for the economy. “Donald Trump left us with the worst economy since the Great Depression,” Harris countered, pointing to data showing about 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during the Trump years.
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Harris also defended her opposition to Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel after Ruhle mentioned the possible consequences of a blockade. US Steel warned earlier this month that it would cut staff and move its headquarters from Pittsburgh if the company’s planned sale falls through. Nippon Steel announced in December that it would oblige US Steel, prompting an outcry from lawmakers including Biden and Trump who argued the deal could undermine national security and industrial capacity.
Harris defends opposition to US Steel sale
“It is extremely important that we do so for several reasons Sustain America’s ability“to enable American steel production by American workers,” Harris said, defending the opposition. “I can’t imagine a new industry that doesn’t require steel,” she added. “And having American workers in an American company making that steel for those industries will be critical.” (lm)
