Explained: The Battle Between Trump and Harris Over the US Economy

Former President Donald Trump has made it clear that he views the economy as the most critical issue for the upcoming election. Over the next 71 days, Trump is doubling down on his strategy to convince voters that their financial struggles are far worse than the Biden administration claims. His approach? Seize on every piece of negative economic news to paint a bleak picture of the U.S. economy under President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump's strategy isn't just about highlighting economic hardships—he's actively working to undermine the positive spins put forward by the current administration. While Harris celebrates the low 4.3% unemployment rate and acknowledges that prices are still too high, Trump is taking the opposite approach, labeling the economy as a disaster waiting to happen.

The fact that Harris is proposing solutions like a ban on "price gouging" for food and groceries, isn't helping Democrats. Trump has dismissed these Soviet-style controls and has slammed Harris as a closet Communist. 

Here is what you need to know

A significant part of Trump’s narrative involves the labor market. Last week, he claimed that the Biden administration manipulated jobs data after a routine revision revealed the U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than initially reported. Although Trump was wrong about the reasons behind the new numbers, he wasted no time in using them to argue that the economy is in worse shape than the administration admits.

"Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Kamalanomics because no one can afford it," said RNC spokesperson Anna Kelly. "After three-and-a-half years of sky-high inflation on everything from gas to groceries to housing costs, voters are feeling the pinch as a result of the Harris-Biden spending spree."

Are there any downsides to Trump's approach? 

However, Trump's doom-and-gloom rhetoric carries risks. His negative outlook on the economy could become a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading to further economic slowdowns. If Trump wins, he could be inheriting an economy that’s already on a downward trajectory—one that will be much harder to revive with words alone.

Trump’s predictions have been particularly dire. In January, he went so far as to say that he hoped the economy would "crash" within the next twelve months before he expected to take office. He even told Lou Dobbs on Lindell TV, "I don't want to be Herbert Hoover," referencing the president widely blamed for the Great Depression.

Earlier this month, Trump blamed a global stock market drop on the news that Harris would replace Biden. However, the market has since rebounded, with the S&P 500 climbing more than 8% since Trump coined the phrase "Kamala crash."

The state of the economy is a major challenge for Harris 

The other side of this economic narrative belongs to Vice President Harris. Her challenge is maintaining credibility with voters while promoting an economy that many feel isn't working for them. She’s trying to highlight the positives without appearing out of touch with the struggles that ordinary Americans are facing.

Historically, it’s common for challengers in presidential campaigns to focus on bad economic data to stoke consumer concerns. Biden did this against Trump four years ago, and it was a key strategy in previous elections as well. Now, Trump is following the same playbook, hoping to convince voters that the economy is underperforming under Biden’s leadership.

On economy, Americans trust Trump more than they trust Harris 

Trump outpolls Harris on who Americans trust more to manage the economy. However, voters are also aware that Harris has had limited influence on Biden's economic policies, making Trump's task of linking her directly to the economy more challenging.

Ultimately, Trump's economic gamble is a high-stakes strategy. If he can convince voters that their financial struggles are due to the current administration's policies, it could pay off at the polls. But if his doom-and-gloom rhetoric backfires, he could end up inheriting an economy that’s harder to fix than he anticipated.