The 2024 presidential campaigns have been complicated. Donald Trump has decided to enter the race with vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance. After Joe Biden dropped out, Kamala Harris decided to enter the race with vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. They are the representatives of their respective parties. During the Presidential Debate, the candidates spoke about their plans for the future. What exactly are those plans?
Donald Trump and His Policies
Economy
One of Trump’s core economic promises is to “end inflation and make America affordable again”, and he has several ideas for achieving this. First, he’s pledged to expand US energy production with hopes of making the country the dominant energy producer in the world. He plans to achieve this by opening areas in the wilderness, such as the Arctic, for oil drilling. He argues that by doing this, it will lower energy costs. Second, he pledged to reduce housing costs and will carry it out by preventing undocumented immigrants from getting mortgages. He has also stated that he would deport millions of undocumented immigrants to bring the price of the housing market down. After he does that, he plans on launching a home-building program on federal land.
Healthcare
As stated in his top 20 priorities after becoming president, Trump promises not to cut Medicare. He attempted to cut the Affordable Care Act during his previous presidency but was unsuccessful. He has recently stated that he doesn’t like the law and still criticizes it, but will not undermine it. As for his stance on abortions, there hasn’t been a consistent message on whether Trump is for or against it. But, he has stated on multiple occasions that he believes that the states should be able to choose whether or not abortion is legal there.
Gun Control
During his initial presidency, Trump took mixed stances on gun restrictions, such as reversing some laws and trying to pass one (a ban on bump stocks that was partially overturned by the Supreme Court in 2017). During his rerun, he’s taking a strong stance as a protector of the Second Amendment.
Climate
During his presidency, Trump rolled back hundreds of environmentally friendly rules and regulations, and he promised to do more if elected again, specifically to help the US automotive industry. Other issues he wishes to address are electric cars and wind farms; he hopes to overturn and halt these.
Immigration Control
Ever since his initial campaign in 2016, Trump has pushed for building a wall for the US’s Mexican border. This has been a major standing point for Trump in this election as well; he vows to seal the border and carry out the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in US history.
Kamala Harris and Her Policies
Economy
Throughout history, inflation has been a large concern for many Americans. Kamala Harris has stated she has plans when it comes to pricing and inflation. To start, she wants to improve the housing market by aiding first-generation homebuyers with a $25,000 subsidy, and first-time homebuyers with a $10,000 subsidy. Additionally, she wants to enact laws limiting price gouging in grocery stores. Grocery prices have risen considerably in past years, and Kamala aims to reduce/prevent this from happening in the future. In Kamala Harris’s debate speech, she talks about her desire to help the middle class and increase taxes for the wealthy.
Healthcare
Kamala has been a big advocate for women’s right to abortion since the beginning of her campaign. She believes that every woman should have a right to an abortion and should not be determined by the state. She has also advocated for an increase in financial medical aid for the elderly, young, and disabled. As vice president, she managed to cap the price of insulin at $35 and give medicare access to price negotiation. On top of increasing financial medical aid, she spoke about eliminating medical debt for millions of Americans.
Gun Control
During the presidential debate, Trump claimed “She (Kamala Harris) is destroying our country. She has a plan to defund the police. She has a plan to confiscate everybody’s gun”. Kamala then openly talked about owning a gun. She stated that she and Tim Walz are both gun owners and that she has no intention of fully banning guns. Instead, she intends to have heavier gun restrictions and ban high-capacity assault rifles. She would also aim to have universal background checks. While in office, she announced that the Biden administration would support the creation of Red-Flag laws. This would aim at keeping firearms from people who might irresponsibly use them.
Climate
During her campaign, Kamala called for the introduction of the “Green New Deal.” She wants to invest billions of dollars in renewable energy and electric cars and hold air polluters and large businesses accountable for their actions. Because Kamala wants to limit the United States’ dependence on foreign nonrenewable sources, she is against banning fracking. While in office, she was the tie-breaking vote in a Pennsylvania case over fracking.
Immigration Control
Despite Trump’s claims that Kamala will loosen immigration control, she plans to revive the Border Security Act, something Trump did not sign. This Act would strengthen general border security along the Mexico-Texan border. It will increase funding for border security officers and programs.
Credits:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx924r4d5yno
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2l1qd1nwnjo
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/analysis-senate-border-bill
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/platform
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/06/business/undocumented-immigrants-trump-mortgage-ban/index.html
https://www.thetrace.org/2024/09/harris-trump-gun-policy-debate-president/
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/04/politics/trump-campaign-promises-dg/
