Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign event at Carnegie Mellon University, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Donald Trump is losing his lead on the economy, while Kamala Harris makes her pitch to help everyday people and not, you know, billionaire cronies and corporations.
- The economy is what matters most to voters this election, hands down. Being strong on the economy has always been former President Donald Trump’s big sales pitch — he’s an experienced businessman (who ran numerous companies into the ground). But data shows that Trump was not decisively better on the economy than President Joe Biden, and Americans are starting to feel more optimistic about the economy heading into November. While voters still favor Trump’s handling of the economy over Vice President Kamala Harris, his advantage is dramatically slipping, according to a Washington Post analysis of several polls.
- “For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers — not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floors. I have a very different vision,” Harris said in an economic speech in Pennsylvania hours ago. “We have an extraordinary opportunity to make our middle class the engine of America’s prosperity, to build a stronger economy where everyone everywhere has a chance to pursue their dreams and aspirations.” If she wins in November, the veep says she’ll push for middle-class tax cuts and tax hikes on wealthy people and corporations, while Trump has pitched corporate tax cuts for companies that make products in the United States.
- Earlier this afternoon, Trump spent much of a North Carolina rally promising to use tariffs to boost American manufacturing and saying that Harris will be soft on China. One of Trump’s recent fixations has been promising to slap 200 percent tariffs on Mexican-made John Deere tractors, an idea that economists and business leaders including billionaire Mark Cuban have said would “destroy” the company. Even hardline Republicans aren’t on board with Trump’s grand vision. “I’m not a fan of tariffs. They raise the prices for American consumers,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told reporters.
Economists are coming out in droves to back Harris, warning that a second Trump administration would implement policies that haven’t worked.
- I don’t pretend to understand how the economy works, what high tariffs will do to a company, or why my oat milk feels weirdly expensive some weeks. Instead, I listen to nerdy-types who know this stuff inside and out — like the more than 400 economists who are endorsing Harris: “The choice in this election is clear: between failed trickle-down economic policies that benefit the few and economic policies that provide opportunity for all. It is a choice between inequity, economic injustice, and uncertainty with Donald Trump or prosperity, opportunity, and stability with Kamala Harris.” Most of the endorsers are left-leaning, but it’s not the first time accomplished economists have warned about a Trump return.
- No, Harris is not a “communist,” no matter how often Trump and billionaire conspiracist Elon Musk call her one. You’ll also often hear the convicted felon claim that the economy is weak, but inflation is easing and the unemployment rate is at 4.2 percent, which is considered healthy. No matter how he tries to spin it, the numbers point to a strengthening economy, a good sign for the working class — especially if Harris is able to implement the policies she’s proposing.
If hundreds of engineers told you one plane will likely crash into the sea and another will fly safely, which would you board?
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- Al Gore, on the fossil fuel industry’s influence in politics, particularly among Republicans
NEWS NEWS NEWS
Many Secret Service failures led to the close-call assassination attempt against Trump in July, which was “foreseeable” and “preventable,” a Senate investigation released Wednesday found. There wasn’t a clear chain of command among the Secret Service at the event, investigators found, and there was no coverage planned for the building that the shooter climbed.
Israel’s military said it shot down a missile from Hezbollah aimed at Tel Aviv on Wednesday, which marked the first time the Iran-backed group has fired directly at the city. Israel is continuing its bombardment of Lebanon, where the militia is based, striking about 280 sites by Wednesday afternoon. Israeli airstrikes this week have killed hundreds of people in Lebanon, as President Joe Biden warned that “all-out war is possible.”
The Trump campaign said it was briefed on efforts by Iran to kill the former president, and Trump said he believes the country “will try again.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called on New York City Mayor Eric Adams to resign following a federal corruption probe into his inner circle. She’s the highest-profile politician to call for him to step down.
CFR Spotlights Foreign Policy in the U.S. Presidential Election
In the run-up to the November presidential election, the Council on Foreign Relations has launched Election 2024, an initiative that offers a wide range of resources–including a content hub, candidate tracker, podcasts, videos, and more–to help voters better understand the critical international issues at stake.
Elections matter. Leaders matter. The world matters.
