When Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race in mid-July, she was trailing former President and Republican rival Donald Trump by 11 points on the economy, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. But after weeks of pushing her economic message to voters, she now trails Trump by just 2 points in the same poll, within the margin of error.
Persistence is paying off, and on Wednesday Harris is expected to unveil a plan to grow the middle class while portraying former President Donald Trump as “out of touch” with the issues facing everyday Americans.
What you need to know Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to continue to highlight her economic plan to grow the middle class on Wednesday while portraying former President Donald Trump as “out of touch with the challenges Americans face every day.”
Voters appear to be resonating with her message, as Harris has taken a lead in the polls over Trump on the economy.
In her speech in Pittsburgh, Harris is expected to outline three pillars of an “opportunity economy” including cutting costs, investing in American innovation and leading the world in the industries of the future.
Republicans have been quick to distance themselves from President Trump’s much-touted plan to dramatically expand tariffs on foreign imports, and Harris’s team has been similarly quick to attack.
In her third economic speech of the campaign, Harris is expected to describe her economic philosophy as “pragmatic” and seeking “realistic, practical solutions” rather than “bound by ideology,” according to a campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the unfinished speech. Harris is also expected to say she will “not be afraid to hold bad actors accountable,” as she has done with her policy proposal to ban unfair price gouging.
The speech will outline three pillars of what Harris calls an “opportunity economy” plan, including cutting costs, investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship, and leading the world in the industries of the future.
Harris has previously spoken about cutting costs in her first economic speech in North Carolina and her vision for American innovation and entrepreneurship in New Hampshire. Wednesday’s speech in Pittsburgh will be the final leg, focusing on industrial leadership in a city that has long been the center of American industrial manufacturing and the labor movement.
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best when it works for the people who own the skyscrapers,” Harris is expected to say. “Not for the people who build the buildings. Not for the people who wire the buildings. Not for the people who mop the floors.” Harris will likely say Trump has no intention of growing the middle class because all he cares about is helping himself and billionaires like him.
Harris has emphasized economic policy in her campaign in recent weeks, seeking to undermine Trump’s lead on the economy among voters.
“What VP Harris and Governor Walz have to do is convince voters that Harris is on the same page as them on economic policy and counter any advantage Trump might have,” Peter Logue, a professor at George Washington University, said of Harris’ messaging strategy earlier this month.
It seems to be working: A Morning Consult poll out Tuesday showed Harris and Trump tied 46-46 percent on the economy, while a September Reuters poll showed Trump just two points ahead on the economy, within the poll’s margin of error.
In explaining her economic plan to the public, Harris has portrayed herself as someone who grew up in a middle-class home, knows what it’s like to turn a dime into a dollar and will fight for the middle class, while portraying Trump as out of touch with reality.
“It’s a way to distinguish themselves as, ‘We’re middle class and we’re fighting the middle class,’ in contrast to wealthy Sen. (J.D.) Vance and former President Trump,” Logue said of Harris’ two previous speeches. “Gov. Walz bolsters his argument by pointing out that he doesn’t own stocks so there can’t be a conflict of interest.”
Campaign leaders have also been following the same mantra in recent weeks: “economy, economy, economy.”
“There’s no question that Donald Trump would be a disaster for the economy,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a personal capacity in an interview with Spectrum News last week.
“He has two major economic proposals: one is to cut taxes on billionaires who don’t need them, and the other is to raise taxes on all imports that the American people can’t pay for,” Raimondo said. “So what he would do is put a 10% sales tax on all goods that we import from other countries.”
Even members of Trump’s own party have been quick to distance themselves from his proposed tariffs.
Asked by reporters whether he was concerned that some of President Trump’s tariff proposals would raise costs for consumers or hurt Kentucky bourbon exporters, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday, “I’m not a fan of tariffs.”
“Tariffs raise prices for the American consumer. I’m a free trade Republican and I remember how many jobs are created by the exports that we do. So I’m not a fan of tariffs,” McConnell said at the Republican leadership’s weekly press conference.
Harris’ team quickly exposed the moment in an email on Tuesday night, criticizing Trump’s economic policies.
“Most middle-class families cannot afford to miss even one check. When you look at families getting $4,000 a year, some will become homeless. We don’t have to take what the economists tell us. We can use common sense,” the campaign statement said, quoting James Curbeam, chairman of the Teamsters National Black Caucus.
