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PITTSBURGH — Vice President Harris pledged to lower child care and elder care costs as part of her push to help middle-class Americans cope with rising prices during her highly touted economic address in which she also repeatedly took aim at her rival for the White House, former President Trump.
Speaking at the Pittsburgh Economic Club in the must-win battleground state of Pennsylvania, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee outlined the three pillars of her economic agenda: lower costs, investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship, and leading global competitors in the industries of the future.
Pointing to persistent inflation, which has dogged President Biden's administration and provided Trump with plenty of political ammunition to fire at Harris, the vice president said that despite recent economic "positive steps … the cost of living in America is just too high."
But Harris also said Trump "has no intention of lowering costs" and that he's made it harder for small businesses to function as the backbone of the nation's economy.
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Republican presidential nominee former President Trump speaks about the tax code and manufacturing on Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. (AP/Evan Vucci)
And one day after Trump in a speech in battleground Georgia vowed to create manufacturing jobs by raising tariffs on overseas rivals and lowering taxes on U.S.-based manufacturers, Harris took aim.
Harris said Trump "makes big promises on manufacturing. Just yesterday, he went out and promised to bring back manufacturing jobs."
She then said that during Trump's four years in the White House, "[M]anufacturing jobs went down across our country and across our economy. All told, almost 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his presidency, starting before the pandemic hit, making Trump one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing."
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And the vice president also blasted Trump over the nation's trade deficit with China.
"Donald Trump also talked a big game on our trade deficit with China, but it is far lower under our watch than any year of his administration while he constantly got played by China," she said.
And she described Trump as someone who wants to help the wealthy and big businesses, but not average Americans.
"For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floors," she said.
Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris addresses the Economic Club of Pittsburgh on the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Pittsburgh on Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The Trump campaign, returning fire, put out a statement moments after the vice president's address ended headlined "Kamala's Speech Full of Lies."
Spotlighting a line from her address, Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said "Kamala Harris is right about one thing — it’s time to turn the page. She’s had three and a half years to prove herself, and she has failed."
Pointing to economic conditions the past three and a half years under President Biden's administration, Leavitt said "personal savings are down, credit card debt is up, small business optimism is at a record-low, and people are struggling to afford homes, groceries, and gas. Every time Kamala speaks, it becomes increasingly clear that ONLY President Trump will Make America WEALTHY Again."
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Trump mockingly calls Harris "Comrade Kamala" and says she's a far-left socialist.
Apparently pushing back, the vice president, near the top of her speech, spotlighted that "I'm a capitalist. I believe in free and fair markets. I believe in consistent and transparent rules of the road to create a stable business environment. And I know the power of American innovation."
Harris, in her address, detailed plans for new tax incentives that would aim to spark next-generation industries critical to the economy and national security.
Vice President Harris takes aim at former President Trump during her economic address in Pittsburgh. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
And the vice president shined a spotlight on her proposals to provide first-time home buyers $25,000 to help with down payments and a $6,000 tax credit for families with newborns.
"When we lower the cost and ease the burdens people face, we will not only make it … easier for them to meet their obligations as caregivers, we will also make it more possible for them to go to work and pursue their economic aspirations," she said. "And when that happens, our economy as a whole grows stronger."
With less than six weeks until Election Day on Nov. 5 and with early in-person voting or absentee balloting underway in nearly two dozen states, just about every poll indicates the economy remains the top issue on the minds of Americans.
And while the nation's economic recovery from the pandemic-inflicted recession continues, high prices remain a leading concern among voters.
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When it comes to which presidential candidate can better handle the economy, Trump continues to have the edge, but his margin over Harris differs dramatically depending on the poll.
The former president is up 13 points over the vice president in a post-debate survey from the New York Times and Siena College, 11 points in a CNN poll and favored by seven points in an ABC News/Ipsos survey also conducted after the showdown.
But Trump's advantage over Harris on the economy stands at five points in the latest Fox News poll and two points in an AP/NORC survey.
In Pennsylvania, a new Monmouth University survey indicated Trump holding a three-point edge over Harris when respondents were asked which candidate is more trusted to handle the economy.
Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral votes up for grabs, is the biggest prize among the seven key battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided Biden's 2020 presidential election victory over Trump and will likely determine whether Harris or Trump succeeds Biden in the White House.
Hours before Harris arrived in Pittsburgh, a new public opinion poll from Muhlenberg College indicated the vice president and Trump deadlocked at 48% in the Keystone State. It was the latest survey to point to an incredibly close contest in the must-win state.
Fox News' Mark Meredith and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.
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