With contrasting views on taxation, abortion, immigration, climate change, global alliances, and democracy itself, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are engaging in a true intellectual duel in this year’s presidential race.
Harris, who took over for President Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate, has promised to pave a fresh path forward while simultaneously adopting many of Biden’s policies. Among her many positions, she advocates for a government that takes a strong stand against climate change, restores abortion rights, increases taxes on the rich and businesses, and cuts taxes for the middle class.
If Trump is successful in his bid for reelection, he will be able to complete many of the tasks that the worldwide epidemic prevented him from doing during his first term. The Republican’s manifesto calls for a number of changes to the tax code, including the continuation and expansion of the tax cuts he instituted in 2017, a dramatic rise in tariffs, more subsidies for fossil fuels, and a consolidation of executive power.
In various speeches, ads, and other places, the two candidates have laid forth their platforms. Because many of their plans are vague, it’s hard to tell how they would implement or fund their goals. Despite a consensus among the candidates to exclude gratuities from taxes, the results of the November election have the potential to significantly alter the tax law, U.S. policy toward Ukraine, abortion availability, and pledges to mitigate the effects of climate change.
In terms of the top ten issues, here is where each candidate stands:
Having an abortion
HARRIS: After nearly half a century of protection from the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the right to abortion, the vice president has urged Congress to reestablish that right in federal law. Harris, like Biden, has spoken out against abortion prohibitions in places where Republicans hold legislative power. If elected president, she has pledged to prevent a statewide ban, even if it passes in a Congress controlled by Republicans in the future. Even when Biden was still a candidate, Harris was the most outspoken supporter of abortion rights among Democrats. She has advocated for the government’s initiatives that do not comply with federal law, including as safeguards for women who travel for the surgery and restrictions on medical data collection by law enforcement.
TRUMP: The appointment of the justices that reversed Roe v. Wade is something the previous president frequently boasts about. Following his evasion of inquiries regarding the point in pregnancy at which he thinks the method ought to be limited, Trump declared this spring that the states ought to be tasked with determining access and cutoffs. A national ban on abortion would land on his desk, but he has already declared he would not sign it. He has also recently stated that he would not attempt to restrict access to medicine for abortion. In an interview with Time magazine, he said that states should have the authority to decide for themselves whether to prosecute women for abortions or to just keep tabs on their pregnancies. Additionally, he has stated his intention to eliminate the cost of in vitro fertilization for women if elected.
Energy and Climate
HARRIS: The vice president, while serving as a senator from California, was an early backer of the Green New Deal, a comprehensive set of measures advocated by the most progressive members of the Democratic Party that aims to rapidly transition the United States to entirely renewable energy. While running for president in 2020, Harris made it clear that she was against hydraulic fracturing and offshore oil drilling. Her campaign was brief. However, over her 3.5 years as VP, Harris has taken a more moderate stance, shifting her attention to carrying out the climate elements of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by the Biden administration. Clean energy projects and financial incentives for electric vehicles received approximately $375 billion from that. In addition, almost twenty thousand young people have been recruited by the Biden administration to participate in a nationwide “Climate Corps,” an initiative similar to the Peace Corps, which aims to encourage conservation by means of activities like home weatherization and restoration of wetlands. Regardless, Harris has been silent on the subject of Biden’s target of halving emissions of greenhouse gases by 2030, an objective that the United States is not likely to achieve given its current trajectory toward the presidency.
“DRILL, BABY, DRILL” is Trump’s policy moto for a high priority. The president, who has previously dismissed climate change as a “hoax” and has a strong dislike for wind power, now claims he can halve electricity and energy prices in the United States within a year if he is re-elected. He also claims he wants the country to have the world’s cheapest energy. He proposes a number of changes to the current energy policy, including more oil drilling on public lands, tax incentives for fossil fuel producers, faster approval of natural gas pipelines, the construction of dozens of new power plants (including nuclear facilities), and a reversal of the Biden administration’s push to promote electric vehicles. Along with these policies, he has promised to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords, cut funding for wind power, and repeal rules that the Biden administration had imposed or proposed to regulate appliances that use too much energy, including as inefficient light bulbs, stoves, dishwashers, and shower heads.
Law and Democracy
HARRIS: Harris, like Biden, has condemned Trump for endangering American democracy. However, the vice president’s attacks on her opponent have drawn more on her experience as a prosecutor, drawing parallels between Trump’s rape from sexual abuse and fraudulent business practices in civil court and her own conviction on 34 felony counts in a New York hush money case. Additionally, compared to Biden, the vice president has been more circumspect on Trump’s denial of losing the 2020 presidential election and his encouragement of the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. At rallies, when Trump fans yell, “Lock him up!” Harris retorts that the courts are more than capable of “handling that” and adds, “our job is to beat him in November.”
TRUMP: Trump has not yet pledged to accept the results, following his refusal to do so in 2020 when he lost to Biden. Once again fueling baseless fears, he has pledged to pardon the January 6th defendants incarcerated for assaulting police officers and other offenses committed during the assault on the Capitol. He has also threatened to imprison attorneys, election officials, contributors, and anyone else “involved in unscrupulous behavior” related to the November vote. Outraged at the criminal charges brought against him by the agency, he promises to restructure the FBI and Justice agency “from the ground up.” In addition to pledging to designate a special prosecutor to pursue Biden, he also pledges to send the National Guard to places like Chicago that are seeing violent violence and unrest.
Money due
I am Harris. Harris has promised tax savings for over 100 million middle-class and working-class households, even though a lot of the tax reform of 2017 will expire at the end of next year. In addition to extending some of the cuts that are about to expire, she proposes making a tax credit of up to $3,600 per kid permanent and providing a special tax credit of $6,000 to new parents. In addition to expanding tax incentives for first-time homebuyers and pushing to construct three million new housing units in four years, Harris claims her administration will also increase tax breaks for businesses and do away with taxes on tips. She is in agreement with Biden that the corporate tax rate and minimum tax should be increased to 28% and 21%, respectively. Companies with annual revenues of over $1 billion are subject to a corporation minimum tax rate of 15%, as increased by the Inflation Reduction Act, and a corporate rate of 21%. Contrary to Biden’s proposal, Harris would not impose a capital gains tax on anybody earning over $1 million.
TRUMP: The outgoing president has pledged to reduce the national debt and extend and enhance all of the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017. Under his plan, corporations would pay just 15% in taxes instead of 21%—but only if their goods are manufactured in the United States. If he were to become president, he would undo Biden’s tax increases. He is also planning to roll back some of Biden’s renewable energy and electric vehicle tax credits. Harris has backed Trump’s proposal to eliminate taxes on Social Security payments and tips collected by workers; she would also increase the minimum wage for tipped workers. Another one of his goals is to make housing more affordable by allowing building on government land. According to calculations conducted by third parties, Trump’s proposals will lead to larger budget deficits than Harris’s would, all while failing to provide the economic development necessary to keep the amount of debt to a minimum.