PITTSBURGH — Vice President Harris is hoping to challenge former President Trump on policy in Tuesday's debate, responding to criticism of her proposals while making a compelling case that she has a stronger voice than the former president on issues that Americans care about.
“She won't just be reading out statistics, she'll be reading out what her policies are and how they will actually affect people's lives,” a former Harris aide said.
Trump's comments about child care costs during a speech in New York on Thursday added fuel to this part of Harris' strategy.
Asked at the Economic Club of New York whether he would prioritize legislation to make child care more affordable, the former president gave a lengthy response but did not specify what legislation he would propose, suggesting instead that tariffs on foreign countries would help cover the costs.
Rep. Sean Kasten (D-Ill.) responded on social platform X, saying Trump was “even pretending not to have a single sensible thought,” while White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told MSNBC: “If you have any idea what the hell that answer means, you're a better detective than I am.”
Harris' campaign is hoping their candidate can elicit a similar response from Trump during Tuesday night's debate, hosted by ABC.
Detailed policy proposals have not necessarily been a strength of Harris' campaign so far.
Harris became the nominee after President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her.
Since then, Harris has had to strike a balance between defending Biden administration policies on a number of issues, including the economy and Israel's war in Gaza, while also advocating for her own proposals. Harris recently released a tax proposal that has some changes from Biden's, including a much smaller increase in capital gains taxes than Biden is proposing.
Vice President Harris is also fielding requests from President Trump and some conservative media to expand on her thinking and explain whether she still holds the same positions she did when she was a presidential candidate in 2019. Harris has already signaled some changes since then, most notably by no longer calling for a ban on fracking.
Harris' team says she has been thoroughly preparing for the debate.
A former Harris aide said the preparation process for a key moment like a debate involves deep dives into policy, reviewing briefing materials and workshopping the phrases she will use when surrounded by her team to discuss personal issues with voters.
“She tends to like to speak in a way that really resonates with people through preparation. She's a very hands-on person,” the former aide said.
The aide pointed to an interview with CNN last week in which Harris spoke about the federal child tax credit in terms of parents buying things their children need.
When asked what she would do on her first day in office, Harris told CNN's Dana Bash, “I will expand the child tax credit for families to $6,000 for the first year of a child's life to help them buy car seats, baby clothes and cribs.”
In her first interviews with Hispanic media as a presidential candidate this week, Harris contrasted her record with Trump's.
“I think when you see someone who actually comes from a working-class background and understands the needs of working people, you know that workers are going to benefit,” she told entertainment reporter Edna Chapa, better known as “Angel Baby.”
Governor Harris also proposes a federal ban on price gouging, a plan to help close the housing shortage by building new homes and providing down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers, and an expansion of the child tax credit.
“This is another opportunity for undecided voters to see herself as ready for office and with clear policy ideas that are focused on them and their priorities in the opportunity economy,” Katie Grant Drew, a Democratic communications strategist, said in an interview.
“The more she talks about 'new steps forward' and 'no turning back,' the better,” she said.
Harris may have to be on the defensive at times during the debate, as Trump is likely to want to focus on challenges for the Biden administration, including the difficulty of controlling inflation, deaths as U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan and issues at the border.
“Harris and Trump are both eager to debate policy, but mainly about the other candidate's policies, with Trump taking aim at Harris's erratic policies and Biden's record, and Harris highlighting Trump's positions on abortion, child care and tax cuts for the wealthy,” said Bruce Mellman, a former senior administration official in President George W. Bush's administration.
The Harris campaign also argues that other candidates' microphones will be muted while they are speaking, putting them at a disadvantage – they won't be able to quickly engage with Trump if he says something he wants to refute or ask a question about.
Still, Democrats believe a focus on policy could work to her advantage, even with her microphone muted.
“It's unfortunate that the mic-mute rule puts VP Harris at a disadvantage, but one of the best things she can do is allow Trump to self-destruct with his continued lies, divisive rhetoric and dwelling on the past,” said Grant Drew, principal at Monument Advocacy.
