Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who are continuing their fierce competition in the US presidential election, clashed over economic policies on the 15th (local time).
Vice President Harris, who inherited ‘Bidenomics (President Joe Biden’s economic policy),’ announced a pledge to stabilize people’s livelihoods by increasing taxes and strengthening punishments for the wealthy and large corporations.
On the other hand, candidate Trump, who has proposed tax cuts for the wealthy and increased tariffs on foreign countries including allies, criticized Vice President Harris’s pledge as a communist policy and called it the “Maduro (Venezuelan President) plan.”
● Harris pushes to ban food price increases for ‘people’s livelihood’
“No president has done more to expand health care than President Joe Biden,” Vice President Harris said at a livelihood event in Maryland that day. “We must now take the next step.” “Too many seniors are struggling to afford their medications,” she said. “America should not have to deal with a situation where a senior cannot afford to pay rent in order to buy prescription drugs.”
Vice President Harris announced today that she and President Biden have reached an agreement with big pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of the 10 most expensive prescription drugs. Lowering prescription drug prices is a key policy of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Biden cites as his greatest achievement.
Contrary to speculation that Vice President Harris would seek to differentiate herself from the Republican Party, which has recently focused its attacks on President Biden’s economic policies, including Trump’s, she has indicated her intention to continue the Biden administration’s economic policies, including the IRA. Before withdrawing from the presidential race, President Biden had pledged to expand healthcare and welfare by raising taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.
Vice President Harris is also expected to announce a pledge at a campaign rally in North Carolina on the 16th to ban federal food price hikes if large corporations collude to gain excessive profits. Vice President Harris is also expected to announce a policy to provide up to $25,000 (about 34 million won) in assistance to first-time homebuyers.
President Biden has campaigned for Vice President Harris for the first time since dropping out of the Democratic presidential race. He called Harris an “amazing partner,” and said, “She’s going to be a great president.” He added, “Harris and I are going to take on Big Pharma,” and “The Republicans are trying to gut the IRA that we passed.” He then crudely criticized Trump, saying, “The guy we’re competing against, what’s his name? Donald Dump.”
![Harris-Biden: “Donald is trash” vs Trump: “Harris’s economic policies are communist” Harris-Biden: “Donald is trash” vs Trump: “Harris’s economic policies are communist”](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/08/16/126553081.1.jpg)
●Trump: “Communist policies, I have the right to personally attack”
Candidate Trump held a press conference at his golf club in Badminster, New Jersey, on the same day and criticized Harris’s platform, saying, “It’s communism.”
Trump placed eggs, cereal, and butter on the press conference podium and said, “All Harris can do is cause horrendous inflation, facilitate mass crime, and destroy the American dream,” adding, “Now Harris has come up with a communist price control policy.” He continued, “We call it the Maduro plan. It’s a policy straight out of Venezuela and the Soviet Union.”
Trump called the Biden administration’s plan to raise taxes on the wealthy a “wealth confiscation tax,” and said Harris “said a 70-80% tax rate would be an idea worth discussing.”
On this day, Trump brought out his speech materials, which is unusual for his usual style. It is interpreted that he was aware of the fact that, as Vice President Harris’s approval ratings have recently risen and she has surpassed Trump in some battleground states, the Republican Party has pointed out that Trump should reduce his personal attacks on Vice President Harris and focus on economic policies.
But former President Trump said he was “outraged that she’s weaponizing the justice system against me,” adding, “I feel entitled to make personal attacks.”
Washington = Correspondent Moon Byeong-gi [email protected]
2024-08-17 08:31:57