Where Donald Trump and Kamala Harris Stand on Key Issues

By Gauri Patel
Staff Writer

As the 2024 election approaches, American voters face a choice between two different visions for the country’s future. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, both their parties’ nominees, offer contrasting policy approaches on the economy, immigration and health care that reflect broader ideological divisions within the country.

Economy

In the week leading up to the first presidential debate between Trump and Harris, both candidates stepped up their plans for the economy, the issue that American voters say matters most in this year’s presidential election. According to The Associated Press, Harris discussed her plans to boost small businesses during a campaign stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, proposing expanding the small business tax credit by increasing the tax deduction for startup costs from $5,000 to $50,000, in the hopes of generating 25 million new small business filings over four years.

“You are not just business leaders. You are civic leaders,” Harris said, addressing the crowd. “You are part of the glue and fabric that holds communities together.”

Harris’ campaign has focused on initiatives to strengthen the country’s middle class. She has amplified her message that big corporations and wealthy Americans should pay their “fair share” in taxes, supporting an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percent.

According to The Associated Press, Harris previously announced plans to curb inflation and lower supermarket prices by taking tougher action against excessive pricing by food producers.

On the other hand, Trump announced several economic proposals during an appearance before business leaders at the Economic Club of New York, including plans to cut the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15%, only for companies that manufacture within the U.S.

According to Reuters, Trump also promised to “declare a national emergency” to increase domestic energy security by making it easier to get through bureaucratic approvals for drilling, pipelines and other energy infrastructure. Trump argued that this would dramatically lower energy prices.

“My plan will cut energy prices in half or more within 12 months of taking office,” Trump said during his speech. “It will be an economic revival for our country like no one has ever seen before.”

Trump also unveiled his proposal to create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a financial audit of the federal government, led by Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk. He said his plan would “rapidly defeat inflation, rapidly lower prices and spark explosive economic growth.”

Immigration

During his speech at the Economic Club of New York, Trump said he would pursue legislation in Congress to ban all taxpayer-funded benefits for immigrants who entered the country illegally. He specifically said he would ban immigrants from getting mortgages in California.

During his campaign, Trump portrayed migrants crossing the southern border as a major challenge to government services and a serious threat to American jobs.

According to Reuters, if re-elected, he promises to carry out the largest deportation operation in the country’s history, forcing millions of people out of the U.S. His stance focuses on strict immigration enforcement, including closing holes in the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and reinstating stricter policies.

These policies include the Title 42 policy, a public health measure that allowed border authorities to turn away migrants who did not have an opportunity to seek asylum, or the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for months or sometimes years for their cases to be processed before being allowed to enter the country.

Harris offers a different perspective on immigration. She supports comprehensive immigration reform that provides a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, particularly those brought to the U.S. as children. Her policies focus on reforming the immigration system, such as through a border security bill that aims to increase funding for border patrol and detention facilities.

She also supported a number of law enforcement measures that dovetail with stricter immigration enforcement, such as turning over minor immigrants arrested for crimes to immigration agents.

At a campaign rally in Atlanta, Harris highlighted her approach to tackling border-related crime as California’s attorney general, where she prosecutes transnational organized crime.

“I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers who were coming into our country illegally,” she said, according to NPR. “I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won.”

Health care

During his time as president, Trump sought to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, because he believed it was too expensive and ineffective. His administration made several attempts to repeal the law and supported legislation aimed at narrowing its scope. While his campaign has not proposed an alternative, he vows to resume his fight to replace the ACA if re-elected, according to The Associated Press.

Trump’s health care policies are part of a broader agenda that includes significant restrictions on abortion. During his time in office, Trump has supported measures to restrict access to abortion, such as limiting federal funding to organizations that provide abortion services. He has also repeatedly taken credit for overturning the historic Roe vs. Wade case after three Supreme Court justices were nominated who voted to overturn the case.

Trump previously campaigned on abortion restrictions in 2016 and 2020, but has not taken a clear position in 2024. According to NPR, Trump indicated that the six-week abortion ban that took effect in Florida was “too short,” though his campaign made clear that he has not indicated how he would vote on a measure that would amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights.

Harris, on the other hand, supports preserving and expanding the ACA to increase access to and affordability of health care. She also advocates for protecting reproductive rights, including access to abortion, and supports legislation aimed at protecting those rights. Harris also completed a reproductive rights tour earlier this year and was the first vice president to visit an abortion clinic while in office, according to The Associated Press.