Analysis: Comparing and contrasting the policies by VP Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

Charlamagne tha God chided Vice President Kamala Harris on “The Breakfast Club” for not discussing policy on the show. He called out Plies for saying Black men have greater expectations for Harris compared to her opponent, former President Donald Trump. 

“I don’t understand Plies or any Black person for that matter, telling Black people to ‘just settle.’ ‘Just accept whatever the candidate is giving you. Don’t ask questions, just vote. They don’t have to explain anything to us.’ No,” Charlamagne said on Monday’s edition of “The Breakfast Club.” 

Until Thursday’s interview with CNN, the Harris campaign was not interviewed by members of the corporate or mainstream media. It was a major sticking point. However, the criticisms that her campaign is operating on joy and vibes alone are unfounded. The criticisms suggesting the Harris campaign is thin on policy is also unfounded, because she explained her stances during a forty-minute speech during the Democratic National Convention. 

The Vice President has plans for mortgage assistance, tax credits, and abortion rights. Meanwhile, former President Trump’s campaign focuses on tax credits for companies and a call to end ‘woke’ initiatives in education.

Let’s compare and contrast some policies that have been put forth by the Harris and Trump campaigns. 

The Opportunity Economy vs TBD?

Vice President Harris’s economic plan includes mortgage assistance for first-time homebuyers. Although she did not explain specifics during her speech in Savannah, Harris proposed $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time home buyers provided they have paid their rent on time for two consecutive years.

“The Biden-Harris administration proposed providing $25,000 in downpayment assistance for 400,000 first-generation home buyers — or homebuyers whose parents don’t own a home — and a $10,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers,” according to a statement from the Harris campaign. “This plan will significantly simplify and expand the reach of down-payment assistance, allowing over 1 million first time-buyers per year – including first-generation home buyers – to get the funds they need to buy a house when they are ready to buy it.”

Harris also supports a tax credit for parents of newborns by expanding the child tax credit. The expanded credit helped to reduce child poverty rate roughly in half in 2021, lifting 2 million children out of poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As president, Harris would also add a $6,000 baby bonus for newborns. Harris also calls for a tax credit of $3,600 for children 2-5, and $3,000 for older children.

Conversely, Senator and Trump running mate J.D. Vance said he wants to raise the child tax credit to $5,000. However, he opposes government spending on childcare. 

Harris also proposed bans on price gouging at the grocery store to help target inflation. This mirrors legislation previously introduced by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren which targets price gouging by corporations. Conversely, former President Trump characterized those plans as  “communist price controls.”

The Harris campaign promised tax credits for companies that participate in their plan of building three million new housing units to end America’s housing shortage. The Trump campaign has not offered a response. Donald Trump says he supports a universal baseline tariff on all US imports. This includes a 60 percent tariff on all U.S. imports from China.

Abortion policies are polar opposites

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, more than 171,000 people were forced to travel outside of their home state to secure abortion access in 2023. Kamala Harris has made it central to her campaign to reaffirm and re-establish a woman’s right to abortion on the federal level. However, in order for this to become a reality, Democrats need to control both bodies of Congress. Republicans currently control the House of Representatives. As a result, there has been no meaningful congressional action on abortion since Roe was overturned.

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee has mentioned abortion as part of their policy platforms only one time. The platform says abortion laws should be left to individual states and that late-term abortions, which is ambiguous, should be banned.

However, most of Trump’s former advisors and allies have penned a policy manifesto, Project 2025. It proposes withdrawing the abortion pill mifepristone from the market. Moreover, Project 2025 calls on the U.S. Department Health and Human Services to “maintain a biblically based, social science-reinforced definition of marriage and family”. Plus, Trump’s Agenda47 calls for a national anti-abortion coordinator, which forces states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions.

Education policies differ

The Trump campaign proposes eliminating the Department of Education and endangering public school funding, as part of their agenda. In Georgia for example, Republicans in the Statehouse have passed a school voucher bill in March 2024. It allows parents to draw down $6500 per child per year for private school or homeschooling. The program is specifically for children currently attending the lowest 25% of performing public schools. 

Plus, the Trump campaign also aims to end programs like Head Start, which provide preschool and child care.  Additionally, the Trump campaign has called for the cessation of  “woke” or diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in education. Agenda47 calls for the re-establishing of the Trump administration’s 1776 Commission. It calls on school systems to stress the “values” of the founding of the United States of America. Trump’s education plan would certify teachers who “embrace patriotic values and support the American Way of Life.”

Meanwhile, then-Senator Kamala Harris proposed establishing the “Family Friendly School Act” in 2019. 500 elementary schools would pilot the program in an effort to re-align the school day with the workday in support of working families. Harris proposes $1 billion in enriching summer learning programs – which promises teachers will not have to work longer hours or for less pay.

HBCUs and Voting Rights

Plus, The Biden-Harris administration increased funding for Head Start by an estimated $2 billion since 2021.  In 2019, Harris proposed increased funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), especially to train Black teachers. While Vice President, the Biden Administration has funded HBCUs totaling more than $16 billion in the last three years. 

Lastly, the Harris-Walz campaign has called for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. However, both cannot happen if Democrats do not have control of Congress. Meanwhile, Trump has not put forth such plans regarding preserving equitable access to the ballot box. 

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