Harris needs to problem Trump on coverage at debate

PITTSBURGH — Vice President Harris needs to problem former President Trump on coverage on the controversy stage Tuesday, hoping to make a compelling argument that she’s stronger than the previous president on points that Individuals care about whereas responding to criticism about her personal proposals.

“She’s not simply going to learn off statistics, she’s going to learn off what her coverage is and the way it truly will influence peoples’ lives,” a former Harris aide mentioned.

Trump’s feedback about baby care prices throughout a New York speech Thursday added gasoline to this a part of Harris’s technique.

The previous president was requested on the Financial Membership of New York if he would decide to prioritizing laws to make baby care reasonably priced. He gave a prolonged reply in response with out articulating any particular laws he would suggest, as an alternative suggesting tariffs on international nations would assist cowl prices.

Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ailing.) responded on social platform X that Trump was “not even pretending to have a single coherent concept,” and White Home deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said on MSNBC, “In case you have any concept what the hell that reply means, you’re a greater detective than I’m.”

The Harris marketing campaign hopes its candidate can provoke comparable responses from Trump on Tuesday night time on the debate hosted by ABC.

Detailed coverage proposals haven’t essentially been a energy of Harris’s marketing campaign to date.

Harris solely grew to become the nominee after President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her.

Since then, she’s needed to stability between defending the Biden administration’s insurance policies on a number of points, together with the economic system and Israel’s battle in Gaza, and staking out her personal proposals. Harris lately introduced tax coverage proposals that included some shifts from Biden’s agenda, together with mountaineering the capital features tax by a lot lower than what Biden is proposing.

The vp can also be coping with calls from Trump and a few in conservative media to stipulate extra of her concepts, and to elucidate whether or not she nonetheless holds the identical positions she took as a presidential candidate in 2019. Harris has already signaled some shifts from these years, most notably by not calling for a ban on fracking.

Harris is in deep preparation for the controversy, her crew has mentioned.

The previous Harris aide mentioned her preparation course of for large moments like a debate contain her diving into the coverage, reviewing briefing supplies, and being surrounded a crew of individuals to workshop phrases to make use of to narrate to voters on private points.

“By her preparation, sometimes, she likes determining find out how to discuss issues in a manner that actually pertains to individuals. She’s only a very sensible individual,” the previous aide mentioned.

The aide pointed to a CNN interview final week, throughout which Harris talked in regards to the federal baby tax credit score by means of the prism of fogeys shopping for gadgets a baby wants.

When requested what she would do on day considered one of a Harris administration, she advised CNN’s Dana Bash she would prolong “the kid tax credit score to $6,000 for households for the primary yr of their baby’s life to assist them purchase a automotive seat, to assist them purchase child garments, a crib.”

In her first Hispanic media interview as a candidate for president this week, Harris contrasted her background with Trump’s.

“I believe that we all know that after we have a look at someone who truly has come from a working background and understands the wants of working individuals, that’s when working individuals profit,” she advised Edna Chapa, an leisure reporter referred to as “Angel Child.”

Harris has additionally proposed a federal ban on value gouging, a plan to end the housing scarcity by means of the development of recent models and down-payment assist for first-time homebuyers, together with her plan to expand the kid tax credit score.

“That is one other likelihood for undecided voters to see her as prepared for the Oval Workplace, with clear coverage concepts in her alternative economic system which might be targeted on them and their priorities,” Katie Grant Drew, a Democratic communications strategist, mentioned in an interview.

“The extra she talks a couple of ‘new manner ahead’ and ‘not going again,’ the higher,” she mentioned.

Harris could have to play protection at instances in the course of the debate, as Trump will probably need to give attention to the Biden administration’s issue in stemming inflation, the deaths surrounding the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and issues on the border.

“Harris and Trump are each wanting to make the controversy about coverage, however largely the opposite candidates’ insurance policies, with Trump aiming at Harris’s flip-flops and Biden file and Harris highlighting Trump’s positions on abortion, baby care, tax cuts for the rich, and so forth.,” mentioned Bruce Mehlman, a former official below President George W. Bush.

The Harris marketing campaign has additionally argued she will likely be at an obstacle as a result of the candidates’ microphones will likely be muted whereas the opposite is talking. Harris gained’t have the ability to have a fast back-and-forth with Trump if he says one thing she needs to dispute or query him on, which her marketing campaign was wanting to see her do.

Nonetheless, Democrats suppose a give attention to coverage may very well be a bonus for her, regardless of the muted microphones.

“Whereas it’s unlucky that Vice President Harris will likely be deprived by the microphone muting rule, probably the greatest issues she will be able to do is to nonetheless let Trump undermine himself together with his traditional routine of lies, divisive rhetoric, and give attention to the previous,” mentioned Grant Drew, a principal at Monument Advocacy.