NEW YORK —
One presidential candidate speaks in favor of gun ownership and promises tough border security measures. The other promises to cap credit card fees and force insurers to cover in vitro fertilization.
Which is the Democrat and which is the Republican?
The lines that have long defined each party’s policy priorities are blurring as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump seek to expand their voter bases in the final weeks of a fiercely competitive election. The contest could well hinge on how many disaffected suburban Republicans vote for Harris and how many of the traditional Democratic base — Blacks, Latinos, young people and union members — migrate to Trump.
That’s prompting both candidates to adopt positions that would once have been anathema to their bases, upending long-held assumptions about what each party stands for.
“There are a whole host of issues that draw people to support President Trump, and frankly, these are issues that used to be central pillars of the Democratic Party,” Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who has emerged as a top Trump ally, said in an interview.
Barbara Comstock, who co-chaired Republican Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign earlier this year, is now backing Harris. The former Republican congresswoman from Virginia marveled at feeling more aligned with Democrats this year, pointing to Harris’s call for an expanded child care tax credit, support for a tough bipartisan immigration bill and a foreign policy stance that Comstock said contrasted with Trump’s admiration for leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“As a Republican, I feel like, hey, the Democrats are on my side now,” Comstock said in an interview.
18/”>Trump has broken with the traditional values of the Republican Party
Of course, Trump has broken with traditional conservative GOP values on issues like trade and foreign policy for much of the past decade. But he has gone further this fall, testing the loyalty of social and small-government conservatives with an agenda that downplays his opposition to abortion and calls for significant government intervention in health care and the economy.
Trump said last week that he wants the federal government to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, a move that quickly angered fiscal conservatives. Last month, he said he supports a federal law that would require insurance companies to pay for in vitro fertilization, frustrating some social conservatives who believe the embryos used in the process should be protected. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly voted against the issue.
Gabbard declined to say whether she views Trump as a conservative and considers his political approach to be “common sense.”
In addition to IVF, the former Republican congresswoman highlighted Trump-backed judicial reform that reduced sentences for many inmates. She also highlighted a foreign policy philosophy that seeks to prevent U.S. involvement in international conflicts such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Many independent politicians and many Democrats don’t recognize the Democratic Party today, where not a single Democrat in the House or the Senate stands up and says we must end the war in Ukraine,” Gabbard said.
Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both former Democrats, have become the most visible national poster children for Trump’s campaign as it tries to win over undecided Democrats and independents. The campaign has been slow to embrace other potential allies, including Haley, who made her first fundraising appeal on Trump’s behalf last week.
18/”>Harris has an organized program to attract Republicans
By comparison, Harris has adopted a more organized agenda to connect with Republican voters.
In recent days, her campaign has hosted events on abortion rights, border security and small business creation that featured Republican officials. Seven Republicans got a chance to speak at the Democratic National Convention last month. And a host of outside groups are spending millions of dollars to help Harris connect with disaffected Republicans, including Republican Voters Against Trump and Anti-Psycho, a political action committee.
At the same time, Harris has adopted a much more muscular foreign policy. She has promised to add a Republican to her Cabinet if elected. And she is speaking more openly about owning a gun and her willingness to use it.
“I have a gun,” Harris told Oprah Winfrey in an interview earlier this week.
“I didn’t know that!” the television star, who is a supporter of the Democratic candidate, responded in surprise.
“If anyone breaks into my house, they’re going to get shot. I’m sorry,” Harris replied, laughing.
Harris’s support for strong U.S. leadership on the world stage has already helped her win the support of more than 100 Republican national security and foreign policy officials who served in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush and Trump himself. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is one notable convert.
18/”>Both candidates remain aligned with their parties
While Harris and Trump are both embracing policies that appeal to the other side, their priorities still largely align with their party’s tradition.
Trump opposes abortion and says he’s proud that the Supreme Court — which the former president transformed with conservative judicial appointments — struck down the nation’s right to abortion in June 2022. He says abortion laws should be left to states, but he plans to vote this fall to uphold a Florida law that bans all procedures after six weeks of gestation, before many women even know they’re pregnant.
The Republican former president has promised the largest deportation in U.S. history and vows to finish a massive border wall to stop illegal immigration. He calls climate change “a hoax” and has outlined an energy plan that offers strong support to the fossil fuel industry. He wants to expand tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans. He opposes nearly all restrictions on gun ownership. And he flatly rejects diversity and inclusion initiatives designed to promote civil rights.
Still, his team believes his policy platform offers much to persuade Democrats.
Trump spokesman Brian Hughes said the Republican candidate has appeal among African Americans, Hispanics and union members. In particular, the Teamsters union, which has long supported Democrats, announced last week that it would not endorse either presidential candidate, which was seen as a major victory for Trump.
“We are already demonstrably inside their base, no matter how much they insist we are not,” Hughes said.
Harris, for her part, has only just begun to articulate specific policy plans, after just eight weeks in the presidential race. But her record and recent statements make it clear that she favors liberal policies in most cases.
Harris supports abortion rights as protected by law before Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. She backs a ban on assault weapons and wants to extend to all Americans the $35 limit on insulin and the $2,000 annual limit on prescription drug spending enacted for seniors under President Joe Biden. She has called for a ban on price gouging for groceries while seeking a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally.
He has promised bold steps to combat climate change, though he says he supports fracking — a shift from his position in 2020. He supports unions and voting rights legislation designed to combat racial discrimination.
“Vice President Harris’ focus on opportunity and freedom speaks to core American values that transcend party lines,” said Harris spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg. “Any American looking to turn the page on Trump’s chaos and division and chart a new path forward for America has a home in Vice President Harris’ campaign.”
