PITTSBURGH — Vice President Harris promised to lower the cost of child care and elderly care as part of an effort to help middle-class Americans dealing with rising prices during a highly-praised economic speech in which she repeatedly criticized her White House rival, former President Trump.
Speaking to the Economic Club of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, a must-win battleground state, the Democratic presidential candidate outlined three pillars of his economic policy: cutting costs, investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship, and leading global competitors in the industries of the future.
Pointing to persistent inflation that has plagued the Biden administration and given President Trump ample political ammunition to attack Harris, the vice president said that despite recent positive developments in the economy, the cost of living in the United States is far too high.
But Harris said Trump has “no intention of lowering costs” and is making it harder for small businesses to function as the backbone of the nation's economy.
The latest FOX News power rankings for the 2024 election are
Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump speaks about tax law and manufacturing in Savannah, Georgia, on September 24, 2024. (AP/Evan Vucci)
And Harris took aim a day after Trump, in a speech in the battleground state of Georgia, vowed to create manufacturing jobs by raising tariffs on foreign competitors and cutting taxes on U.S.-based manufacturers.
Harris said Trump has “made big promises about manufacturing — he promised just yesterday that he's going to bring manufacturing jobs back.”
She then said of President Trump's four years in the White House:[M]Manufacturing jobs fell across the country and across the economy. In total, nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his presidency, which began before the pandemic hit, making President Trump one of the biggest losers in manufacturing history.”
This presidential candidate has an edge in the 2024 cash rush
The vice president also slammed Trump over the U.S. trade deficit with China.
“Donald Trump also talked a lot about our trade deficit with China, but the trade deficit is much lower than any year under Trump's administration, when we were constantly at the mercy of China,” she said.
She said Trump is someone who wants to help the wealthy and big corporations, but not average Americans.
“For Donald Trump, our economy works best when it works for the people who own the skyscrapers, not the people who actually build them, wire them and mop their floors,” she said.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Harris speaks to the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on September 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean J. Puskar)
The Trump camp fired back, issuing a statement titled “Kamala's speech was full of lies” immediately after the vice president's speech finished.
Caroline Leavitt, a national spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, cited a line from Harris' speech saying, “Kamala Harris is right that now is the time for a change. She has had the opportunity for three and a half years to prove herself and she failed.”
Levitt pointed to the state of the economy over the past three and a half years under President Biden's administration, saying, “Personal savings are down, credit card debt is up, small business optimism is at an all-time low, and people are struggling to buy homes, groceries, and gas. Every time Kamala speaks, it becomes increasingly clear that only President Trump can make America prosperous again.”
Which presidential candidate has the economic advantage?
Trump has mocked Harris as “Comrade Kamala” and said she is a far-left socialist.
In an apparent rebuttal, the Vice President began his speech by emphasizing, “I'm a capitalist. I believe in free and fair markets. I believe in consistent and transparent rules to create a stable business environment. And I know the power of American innovation.”
In her speech, Harris detailed plans for new tax incentives aimed at jump-starting next-generation industries that are crucial to our economy and national security.
Vice President Harris criticized former President Trump in an economic speech in Pittsburgh. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
The vice president also drew attention to proposals to offer first-time homebuyers $25,000 for down payments and a $6,000 tax credit for families with newborns.
“When we lower the costs and reduce the burdens people face, it makes it easier for them to not only fulfill their duties as caregivers, but also to get a job and pursue their financial dreams,” she said. “And when that happens, it strengthens our economy overall.”
With less than six weeks until Election Day on November 5, and early voting and absentee voting available in about two dozen states, nearly every poll shows the economy remains Americans' top concern.
While the country's economic recovery from the pandemic-induced recession continues, high prices remain a top concern among voters.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Trump continues to hold the lead when it comes to which presidential candidate would have better control over the economy, but the margin of support for him over Harris varies widely across polls.
A post-debate poll by The New York Times/Siena College had the former president ahead of the vice president by 13 points, a CNN poll had him ahead by 11 points, and a post-debate ABC News/Ipsos poll had him ahead by 7 points.
But Trump's advantage over Harris on the economy is 5 points in the latest Fox News poll and 2 points in the AP/NORC poll.
In Pennsylvania, a new Monmouth University poll showed Trump leading Harris by 3 points when asked which candidate they trusted more to manage the economy.
Pennsylvania, with its 19 electoral votes at stake, is the biggest of seven key battleground states where Biden narrowly beat Trump in the 2020 presidential election and will likely determine whether Harris or Trump succeeds Biden in the White House.
Hours before Harris arrived in Pittsburgh, a new Muhlenberg College poll showed the vice president and President Trump tied at 48% in the Keystone State — the latest to show an incredibly close race in a must-win state.
Fox News' Mark Meredith and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
Get the latest 2024 campaign updates, exclusive interviews and more on Fox News Digital's Election Hub.
