On Friday, the Trump campaign sharply criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’s newly announced economic agenda, drawing comparisons to socialist practices observed in nations like Cuba and Venezuela. The campaign argued that Harris’s proposals would fail to alleviate consumer costs effectively.
Ahead of Harris’s scheduled speech in North Carolina, where she planned to outline her vision for a federal ban on price gouging, enhanced child tax credits, and expanded housing options, the Trump campaign expressed strong disapproval. Senior adviser Brian Hughes condemned the Vice President’s policies, suggesting they mirrored extreme socialist and authoritarian models from history. “Instead of boosting American energy and easing financial pressures on our citizens, she aims to enforce price controls akin to those seen in Venezuela and Cuba,” Hughes remarked during a press call with reporters.
The Trump campaign’s objections were particularly focused on Harris’s proposed federal ban on price gouging, which they likened to government-mandated price controls. Harris’s plan advocates for the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to investigate corporate price manipulation and to support small businesses in competing against dominant meat processors.
Economist Kevin Hassett, who chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under President Trump, criticized the proposal as fundamentally flawed. “The policy is not only impractical but also indicative of a larger issue,” Hassett argued. “It signals that despite recent attempts to distance herself from far-left policies, Harris’s approach still aligns with extreme government intervention.”
Additionally, Harris’s plan includes a substantial increase in the child tax credit, providing $6,000 in relief to families with newborns, as well as initiatives to construct millions of new housing units and offer $25,000 in down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers.
Stephen Moore, an economic advisor to Trump, challenged the effectiveness of Harris’s housing proposals. He pointed out that current mortgage interest rates are significantly higher than they were during Trump’s presidency, making the down-payment assistance seem like a mere short-term fix. “Offering additional funds for down payments is like putting a Band-Aid on a cancer patient,” Moore said, highlighting that the real issue lies in the unaffordable mortgage payments driven by higher interest rates.
Harris’s speech marks her first major policy presentation since entering the presidential race in late July, following President Biden’s withdrawal. Her campaign presents these proposals as a clear alternative to Trump’s platform, which advocates for the continuation of the 2017 tax cuts, deregulation, and tariffs on imported goods—measures that some economists have warned could exacerbate inflation.
When asked about potential inflationary effects of Trump’s tariff policies, Hassett chose not to engage, noting that the campaign’s focus was on addressing Harris’s proposals at that moment.