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Harris Campaign Leader Admits VP Plans to ‘Keep a Lot’ of Biden’s Economic Policies

September 25, 2024

According to the co-chairman of the Harris-Walz campaign, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris has a plan to fix the American economy — and that plan is almost identical to what she and President Joe Biden are already doing with their White House tenure. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), one of the chairmen of Harris’s presidential campaign, addressed Americans’ financial worries in an interview on Tuesday, claiming that Harris has a plan to “open up the door to economic opportunity.”

CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Coons, “Do you think that the American public … deserve to know specific details about her economic plan?” In other words, “Should you know what your tax rate is going to be or at least what she believes your tax rate should be before you go to the polls? Should you know what the regulatory sort of regime in her perfected world would look like?”

Coons replied that Harris has “laid out a broad vision for what are her priorities” in terms of the economy. After suggesting that Americans “look at the chaos, the unpredictability, the sort of careening around the field of the former president,” the Delaware Democrat did admit that Harris intends “to keep a lot of the same policies and agendas” put in place by the Biden-Harris administration.

But those same economic policies and agendas have proven wildly unpopular. For years now, Americans have been worrying about skyrocketing inflation and sharply-increasing housing prices while going into debt just to fund day-to-day necessities like school supplies for children. Noting these concerns, CNBC’s Joe Kernen said, “Americans still don’t feel like it’s a great economy and they prefer Trump — maybe it’s narrowing a little, but they prefer Trump and the way he managed the economy more than the current administration.”

Coons responded, “Part of it is that Americans — when you ask the question, ‘Are you better off today than you were four years ago?’ — many Americans misremember just how bad the economy was four years ago and how strong our economic recovery from the pandemic has been.”

But Americans do remember being able to afford gas and groceries. Immediately following the presidential debate earlier this month between Harris and her rival, former President Donald Trump, undecided and Independent voters overwhelmingly aligned with Trump, largely citing the strength of the U.S. economy under his administration. One voter told The New York Times, “When Trump was in office — not going to lie — I was living way better. I’ve never been so down as in the past four years. It’s been so hard for me.”

In fact, according to voter analysis from Fox News, even Democrats preferred Trump’s vision and plan for the economy, jobs, and inflation over Harris’s. A CNN poll found that Trump maintains a 20-point lead over Harris on economic issues, which have been consistently ranked the most pressing concern for voters ahead of November. He also holds a 23-point lead over Harris on immigration, which voters rank as a close second for crucial issues.

A number of voters also expressed dissatisfaction with Harris’s failure to clarify her plan for the economy. Many said that the vice president was too vague and offered few details. Those complaints have persisted in the succeeding weeks, as Harris has failed to offer specifics in interviews. Even when asked point blank, Harris has opted to reminisce about her “middle class” childhood rather than detail her vision for the economy.

Coons was confronted on this point on Tuesday. Sorkin said that he could only name five specific policies Harris has mentioned over the past months and noted that most voters would prefer to hear of 10 or 15 proposals. Coons grinned and, instead of offering answers, simply asked, “And what do you know about Donald Trump’s tax and regulatory agenda?”

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.