A new ad from Vice President Harris' campaign is part of a major post-Labor Day advertising offensive that aims to draw a sharp economic contrast with former President Trump.
“We all know the costs are too high. But corporations are squeezing tax money out of families while Trump focuses on giving tax cuts to families. But Kamala Harris is focused on you,” the ad, released on Tuesday, says.
“Concentration“Project 2025” is the campaign's fourth economic ad since the Democratic National Convention late last month. It's part of the campaign's “aggressive effort” to reach out to voters and sound the alarm about “Project 2025,” a 900-page far-right policy blueprint for the next Republican administration on the other side.
“In this election, the choice comes down to a simple question: which candidate is focused on the American people,” Charles Kretschmer Luttwak, national spokesman for the Harris-Waltz faction, said in a statement.
Harris “knows the costs are still too high for the American people and has a plan to lower them,” Luttwak said, but Trump “either doesn't get it or doesn't care.”
The new ads follow a $90 million media offensive the Harris-Waltz campaign ran in the final weeks of August and are part of a staggering $370 million digital and TV ad booking that will run from Labor Day through Election Day. The ads target voters in battleground states, highlight Harris' personal story and contrast her policies with those of Trump.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week found Harris catching up with Trump on the economy: 43% of voters backed the former president's plans for jobs and the economy, while Harris was just a few points behind at 40%. In a July poll, Trump had an 11-point lead.
Harris unveiled an economic platform last month that includes proposals to cut taxes, boost housing construction and put a federal stop to food price gouging, while Trump's proposals include extending provisions of the 2017 tax reform, eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits and lowering corporate tax rates.
Throughout the campaign, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), have sought to appeal to middle-class voters by touting her upbringing as the daughter of a working mother and highlighting her time working at McDonald's while getting her college degree.
In her most anticipated first in-person interview since launching her 2024 campaign, Harris said strengthening the middle class would be her first priority on the campaign trail.
“I'm going to do what I can to support and strengthen the middle class,” Harris said of what she'll do on her first day in office. “When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think people are looking for new ways to move forward.”
When asked by CNN's Dana Bash why Vice President Harris has not yet taken such steps, she pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as an obstacle for the Biden administration.
“First and foremost, the economy had to recover, and we've done that,” Harris said.
