In a latest speech on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump laid out two "equations" for this year's election results: He promised that if he wins the 2024 presidential election, he will usher in a "new Trump economic boom"; if he loses, the United States will usher in a "1929-style Great Depression." Trump delivered an hour-long economic speech in Asheville, North Carolina, promising to lower the prices of cars, housing, insurance and prescription drugs, and criticized the sharp rise in prices during the Biden administration. The Republican presidential candidate asked: "Does anyone here feel richer under Biden and Harris than they did under the Trump administration?"
"If Harris wins this election, the result will be a Kamala Economic Collapse - a 1929-style Great Depression. When I win the election, we will immediately begin a brand new Trump Economic Boom," he added. Trump promised to continue the 2017 tax cuts and vowed that the United States will "pay off its debt." "Our current huge deficit will be reduced to almost zero," Trump vowed. "Our country will be driven by growth." However, Trump did not elaborate on how this could be done. Previously, according to the nonprofit Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), Trump's proposal to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could increase the US deficit by $5 trillion by 2035.
In his latest speech, the former president was accompanied by a sign that read "No Tax on Social Security" and "No Tax on Tips." According to CRFB's forecast, cutting taxes on Social Security benefits would add another $1.6 billion to the U.S. deficit, while cutting the tip tax would add $250 billion to the deficit. Speaking of the economy, Trump added, "They say this is the most important issue. I'm not sure it is the most important issue."
It is worth mentioning that despite Trump's threats that if he loses the election, there will be a "Kamala economic collapse", in recent days, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris's ability to manage economic issues has won more support from voters. According to a poll by the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, 42% of voters currently trust Harris on economic issues - the vice president has increased by 7 percentage points from Biden's data as the Democratic candidate last month. In contrast, Trump's voter trust figure is currently only 41%.
For Harris, the latest good news this week is that data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that the year-on-year increase in the U.S. CPI in July has fallen back to 2.9%, the first time it has fallen below 3% since 2021, which provides ample reason for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates at its next meeting in September. Harris currently plans to deliver an economic-focused speech in North Carolina on Friday to outline her policies before the Democratic National Convention next week. According to people involved in the discussions, Harris' team is currently developing a policy framework that focuses on making housing more affordable, reducing household costs, addressing corporate overcapacity and promoting small business development. The plan is designed to give voters a clear understanding of her priorities, as she has been criticized for not presenting a detailed agenda in the first few weeks of joining the presidential campaign. But aides said the specific outlines of the plan are still changing.
When she unveils a more detailed agenda, likely in the form of several plans released in the coming weeks, she is unlikely to diverge from Biden on substance, according to her advisers. Instead, they expect a small shift in focus that highlights her record and priorities. Harris plans to draw on her background as a prosecutor and the focus she put on issues like paid family leave as a senator and vice president.