Trump and Harris’ Debate Remarks on Economic Policy, Fact-Checked

(Bloomberg) -- Former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris met for their first debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday, in what could be their most-watched event before Election Day. They clashed over abortion, immigration and foreign relations. When it came to economic policy, they traded barbs over tariffs, inflation and energy proposals. Here are the candidates’ economic statements fact-checked.

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Tariffs

Harris referred to Trump’s proposal for tariffs on overseas goods as a “Trump sales tax,” saying the cost would ultimately be paid by middle-class families. This needs context. Trump has pledged to enact a 10% across-the-board tariff on imports and increase duties on Chinese-made goods to 60% or more that would generate trillions for the US. But many economists say that Americans will ultimately pay higher costs and reignite inflation.

Trump noted the Biden administration kept most of his tariffs in place. This is true. The Biden administration said in May that it would maintain those tariffs and add more of its own.

Jobs

Trump has claimed that the job losses suffered under his presidency — the worst since Herbert Hoover presided over the Great Depression — were a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic. That’s true. It’s also true that Trump’s job growth record was no better than average in the 37 months before the pandemic began.

Trump said the Biden administration lost 10,000 manufacturing jobs last month. This is false. There was actually a loss of 24,000 manufacturing jobs in August.

Inflation

Trump said that inflation was the worst in history during the Biden years. This needs context. The cumulative increase in consumer prices under Biden and Harris likely will end up being higher than any other president since Jimmy Carter. But Trump’s policies and supply chain constraints when the US roared back to life after pandemic lockdowns played an important part in annual US inflation hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022.

Trump said there was no inflation when he was president. This is false. The annual rate was 2.5% when he took office, reached a high of 2.9% in 2018 during his term and was 1.4% when he left office.

Energy

Harris says she wouldn’t ban fracking. This needs context. Harris has walked back her earlier support of banning fracking — a key economic driver in the battleground state of Pennsylvania — and noted she was the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which she says opened new leases for fracking.

Trump says he’s a big fan of solar. This needs context. Trump has pledged to roll back regulations, increase oil and gas production on federal lands and rescind unspent funds from Biden’s signature climate law.

Budget

Harris said Trump’s budget plan would explode the deficit, citing the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. This needs context. Trump’s plans would increase the deficit by as much as $10.5 trillion over 10-years, according to tax and budget experts. Harris’ plans would expand it by $2 trillion in the same period.

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