Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris for president: Where they stand on issues
California has a native daughter running for president this year–Kamala Harris–against former President Donald Trump.
They’re vying for California’s 54 electoral votes, roughly 10% of the 538 electoral votes to be decided in November’s election. It takes 270 to win.
The Bee asked the candidates to answer a survey about their views. We did not receive responses, and the comments below come from their websites and our reporting.
Donald Trump
Age: 78
Birthplace: Queens, New York City
Current place of residence: Palm Beach, Florida
Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.S. in economics, 1968
Offices held: President of the United States, January 2017-January 2021
Campaign website address: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
Q. What steps will you urge to improve the cost of living and quality of life for people?
“End inflation and make America affordable again. Make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far! Stop outsourcing and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower. Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips,” according to the Trump Republican Party platform.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
“We must secure our Southern border by completing the border wall that President Trump started. Hundreds of miles have already been built and work magnificently. The remaining Wall construction can be completed quickly, effectively, and inexpensively,” the platform says.
“We must also vigilantly check those who enter our country by other routes and ensure that no one can enter our country who does not have the legal tight to do so, and we must deport the millions of illegal migrants who Joe Biden has deliberately encouraged to invade our country. We will start by prioritizing the most dangerous criminals and working with local police,” the platform adds.
Q. Other than cost of living, immigration and the border, what is one of the greatest issues Californians are facing and what tangible measures do you propose Congress take to address it?
Trump addressed the state’s drought by saying British Columbia could help.
“So you have millions of gallons of water pouring down from the north, with the snow caps and Canada and all pouring down and they have an, essentially, a very large faucet. You turn the faucet on — and it takes one day to turn — it’s massive, it’s as big as the wall of that building right there,” he said in September.
Kamala Harris
Political party: Democratic
Age: 59
Birthplace: Oakland, California
Residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Vice President of the United States
Education:Howard University, B.A. in political science and economics, 1986. University of California, Hastings School of Law, J.D., 1989.
Offices held: San Francisco district attorney, 2004-11; California attorney general, 2011-2017; U. S. senator from California, 2017-2021; Vice President of the United States, 2021-present.
Campaign website address: https://kamalaharris.com/
Q. What steps will you urge to improve the cost of living and quality of life for people?
Harris says that if she is elected, no one making less than $400,000 will pay more in new taxes. First time homeowners would get help with their down payments, and families with newborn children would get an expanded child tax credit.
She also pledges to roll back Trump’s 2017 tax cuts “for the wealthiest Americans, enacting a billionaire minimum tax, quadrupling the tax on stock buybacks, and other reforms to ensure the very wealthy are playing by the same rules as the middle class,” Harris’ campaign website says.
Q. What changes, if any, do you support for immigration and border policy?
Harris says she supported this year’s bipartisan border security bill. “The legislation would have deployed more detection technology to intercept fentanyl and other drugs and added 1,500 border security agents to protect our border,” she says on her website.
“As President, she will bring back the bipartisan border security bill and sign it into law. At the same time, she knows that our immigration system is broken and needs comprehensive reform that includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship,” the website says.
Q. Other than cost of living, immigration and the border, what is one of the greatest issues Californians are facing and what tangible measures do you propose Congress take to address it?
“As Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris took on insurance companies and Big Pharma and got them to lower prices. As a senator, she fought Donald Trump’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act,” her website says.
As president, Harris says she will “make affordable health care a right, not a privilege by expanding and strengthening the Affordable Care Act and making permanent the Biden-Harris tax credit enhancements that are lowering health care premiums by an average of about $800 a year for millions of Americans.
“She’ll build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s successes in bringing down the cost of lifesaving prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries by extending the $35 cap on insulin and $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket spending for seniors to all Americans.”
This story was originally published October 6, 2024 at 4:55 AM with the headline "Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris for president: Where they stand on issues."
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