Harris Tightens Race With Trump on Economy, Polls Find

One of the biggest challenges to Joe Biden’s presidency has been the economy and inflation. Before he dropped out, targeting the economy under Biden was also a key part of the Trump campaign’s strategy. The question remains whether Kamala Harris can reframe the narrative on the economy or if Donald Trump will be able to successfully link negative economic sentiments associated with Biden to Harris.

According to the latest polls, Harris appears to be doing slightly better than Biden. A Financial Times/Michigan Ross poll conducted from Aug. 1-5 with 1,001 registered voters found that when asked who they trust to handle the economy, 42% said Harris, while 41% said Trump. Last month, in the Trump-Biden matchup on the economy, 41% said they trusted Trump more, while 35% trusted Biden.

However, the poll presented conflicting data. When asked how they believed the economic policies of Trump or Harris would impact them financially if either won, 42% said Trump’s policies would leave them better off financially, while only 33% said Harris’s policies would do so.

The biggest economic issues over the past month were “price increases,” according to respondents, followed by “income level” and “rent.” Harris has recently acknowledged the issue of prices and inflation, saying at a recent press conference, “Prices have gone up, and families and individuals are dealing with the realities that bread costs more, gas costs more, and we have to understand what that means – that’s about the cost of living going up, that’s about having to stress.”

Instead of addressing the issue through traditional means, such as commenting on government spending, “greedflation,” or Federal Reserve policy, she focused on her plan for welfare programs and the “Build Back Better” model. “[Build Back Better] is designed to make it less expensive for working people to live. It was specifically designed to bring down the costs of childcare and increase accessibility and availability, designed to bring down the cost of elder care,” she continued.

Creating a new economic vision is crucial for Harris, as most view Biden’s economic policies as detrimental. The FT poll found that only 27% said Biden’s economic policies have helped the economy, while 49% said they hurt it. The problem is even more pronounced when people are asked if they are better off financially since Biden became president, with only 19% saying they are better off and 50% saying they are worse off.

Trump is trying to capitalize on the dissatisfaction many voters feel with the current state of the economy. In a recent post on Truth Social, he wrote, “Inflation is rampant because of Joe & Kamala. They are there NOW, and do nothing! I WILL BRING THE COST OF EVERYTHING WAY DOWN. I WILL BREAK THE INFLATION NIGHTMARE!!!”

Although Harris hasn’t released her official policy or economic platform, both she and Trump have found some common ground on economic policy. On trade, the Biden-Harris administration has retained many of the Trump-era tariffs and recently instituted a new round of tariffs on specific goods such as electric cars, steel, aluminum, and semiconductors from China.

At a recent Nevada rally, Harris also voiced support for the “No Tax On Tips” policy for service and hospitality workers, which Trump endorsed earlier this summer. Following the rally, Trump criticized Harris for adopting the policy, arguing on Truth Social that she “just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS policy. The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for political purposes! This was a TRUMP idea – she has no ideas, she can only steal from me.”