It’s nonetheless the financial system, silly, and we noticed that tonight. Within the first, and perhaps solely, debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the financial system was on the high of the hour—and the 2 candidates touched on points from housing to taxes to tariffs to inflation.
In a debate that began with financial points, each candidates fiercely defended their data. Trump and Harris pointed the finger at one another over the present state of the financial system, whereas concurrently claiming their insurance policies both helped rebound from the fallout of the pandemic or the previous’s presidency.
Harris was the primary to talk, and proper off the bat she talked about her childhood in a middle-class household and being the one particular person on the stage with a plan for working Individuals. She immediately distanced herself from Trump, a as soon as actual property scion and billionaire, who she argues will solely minimize taxes for the wealthy. She, however, will create what she calls an “opportunity economy,” partly by way of tax cuts for households and small companies, Harris defined.
Trump, too, mentioned he’ll minimize taxes and “create a great economy,” which he touted he’s executed precisely earlier than. He denied what Harris referred to as a “Trump sales tax,” that may price American households 1000’s of {dollars}, as an alternative emphasizing that he’ll implement tariffs on different international locations. By how a lot will differ, nevertheless it’s clear China would take successful. “Other countries are going to finally, after 75 years, pay us back for all that we’ve done for the world,” Trump mentioned, later pushing again on a declare from Harris that his plan for tariffs would end in increased costs for Individuals. The back-and-forth about tariffs even touched on chips; Harris claimed Trump offered American chips to China and Trump mentioned she purchased chips from Taiwan.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spar over the financial system at their first presidential debate. pic.twitter.com/8Lmt77bGAf
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 11, 2024
“I had tariffs, and yet I had no inflation,” Trump continued, pointing the finger on the Biden-Harris administration, which he claimed fueled “inflation like very few people have ever seen before, probably the worst in our nation’s history.” In fact that isn’t true, however inflation did attain a four-decade excessive roughly two summers in the past and has cooled considerably since, to the extent that the Federal Reserve is predicted to chop rates of interest as quickly as this month.
So whereas Trump blamed Harris for a horrible financial system riddled with excessive inflation that’s holding households from shopping for eggs and bacon, Harris mentioned she and President Joe Biden cleaned up his mess, and that she’d be a president for all Individuals, one thing she’s mentioned earlier than on the marketing campaign path. Harris additionally touted her proposal to extend the little one tax credit score from its present $2,000 to $6,000 a 12 months, and provides a $50,000 tax deduction to small companies, which she referred to as “part of the backbone of America’s economy.” She pushed again on Trump’s claims of financial greatness whereas he was helming the nation, arguing his administration resulted in “trade deficits” and “trade wars.”
Harris touched on housing as nicely in a approach the yes-in-my-backyard crew would respect, acknowledging the nation’s scarcity of properties and the way it sends prices up, whether or not or not it’s dwelling costs or rents. At that second, when given the possibility to reply, Trump didn’t point out his plan for housing, he as an alternative tried to distance himself from Challenge 2025 (after it was talked about by Harris), which certainly has a housing chapter written by none aside from Ben Carson, his secretary of Housing and City Growth.
And unsurprisingly, Trump targeted on immigration and what he suggests is hundreds of thousands of individuals pouring into the nation and stealing jobs from the African American and Latino communities and unions.
To that finish, there have been after all private assaults. Trump mentioned Harris doesn’t have her personal plans, that they’re as an alternative Biden’s; he referred to as her a Marxist; and he mentioned she destroyed our nation. Harris, however, at one level referring to Trump’s upbringing, mentioned: “I know not everybody got handed $400 million on a silver platter and then filed bankruptcy six times.” The 2 additionally exchanged blows about their rallies.
Voters will get their probability to weigh in on the talk efficiency on the poll field, with the primary early ballots going out simply hours after the talk. And we’ll get a greater image of what Wall Avenue thinks post-debate as soon as the markets open Wednesday morning.
