Kamala Harris’ policies vs. Donald Trump’s, explained

 The 2024 election is fast approaching. As the days dwindle before one of the most important elections of our lifetime, its more important than ever to understand where Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand on the issues that really matter.

Kamala Harris’ 2024 policies

Democratic darling Kamala Harris has been killing it with her very demure, very cute, and absolutely bonkers campaign ads. Harris and her team certainly understand how to appeal to the youth in terms of catchy and pithy campaigning, but where does she stand on the issues? Many of her policies build on what she and President Joe Biden started four years ago.

Student loan debt and medical debt

• As of July, the Biden administration has forgiven nearly $144 billion in federal student loan debt. Harris plans to continue the effort, but there are serious legal doubts surrounding the validity of much of the administration’s promises.  

• Harris is adamant that medical debt should not count toward consumer’s credit reports. She has also said she is “committed to continuing to relieve the burden of medical debt,” and praised North Carolina’s move to abolish the debt of 2 million residents.

Climate goals

• Harris was staunchly anti-fracking and called for a federal ban on the oil and gas extraction process during her 2020 presidential bid, but in the years since she has become more lenient. She claims that she no longer wants to ban the process, but has yet to elaborate on her energy plans for the future.

Health Care

• Harris is vehement in favor of health care for all. She worked to expand the ACA as VP, and backed Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All plan. She plans to eliminate private health insurance and implement a government-run insurance program.

• Price gouging in medicine is so prevalent that dozens of television shows have used the open secret for material. The Biden-Harris administration started capping drug prices for life-saving medicine like insulin in 2023, and made vaccines available at no cost with the Inflation Reduction Act. The plan has saved senior citizens an estimated $1.5 billion in its first year, by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices.  

Border and Immigration

• Harris has been working to increase funding along the Mexico border for several years now, and has overseen diplomatic efforts with Central America. Under her watch, a crackdown on asylum claims was implemented and is expected to continue. Her border plans include increased funding for ICE, tighter policy to limit migrant surges, more border security in the form of increased border patrols, and more detention beds in facilities to house more asylum seekers.

Abortion access

• America has the highest maternal death rate of any developed country, and Harris has endeavored to bring attention to the elevated death rate of women of color for decades. She was the first vice president to give a speech at a Planned Parenthood Clinic, and went on a “fight for reproductive freedoms tour in 2024 to oppose the “extreme attacks throughout America.”

Foreign Policy

• While Harris has expressed “serious concerns” over the civilian deaths in Gaza, she has declared “unwavering commitment” to supporting Israel. She has emphasized the need to free the Israeli hostages from Hamas custody and has emphasized the need for Israel to vacate Gaza once a ceasefire and a “permanent end to the hostilities” is struck.

• Harris is fully behind the Ukrainian efforts to oust Russia’s invasion. She has met with President Zelenskyy to discuss energy assistance, humanitarian needs, and securing weapons and other resources. She believes not helping Ukraine bolsters Russia’s assets and has sworn to stay in NATO saying, “NATO is the greatest military alliance the world has ever known.”

Police funding

• Harris called to defund the police in 2020, a comment she has since walked back. She supports “tough and smart on crime” policies. Harris served as a prosecutor for 15 years and has multiple cases where she ruffled police feathers. She has attempted to curb re-offenders by implementing training programs to make them productive members of society, argued for more intensive police training, implemented more rigorous police body cam policies, tried to curb the use of solitary confinement, and pushed for an overhaul of the bail system.

Economy

• Harris aims to remove the tax on tips, pledges not to raise taxes on those making less than 400k a year, and is expected to release her proposed tax cut plan for the middle class soon. She has opened investigations into big grocery chains like Kroger to assess price gouging, and has a 3-section plan to address the lack of affordable housing across the country.

Donald Trump’s 2024 Policies

Donald Trump has never been one for concrete policies, but his campaign has gathered his core talking points. His policies heavily revolve around continuing the agenda he started in 2016. Though Trump claims no connection to Project 2025, the head of the organization has been pictured with him several times, and much of the writing staff behind the nearly 1000-page monstrosity can be linked to his cabinet or campaign.

Economy

• Trump wants to eliminate taxes on tips as well as social security. He has called for 10-20% tariffs on imports from all countries aside from China, for which he proposes a 60% tariff.

• He wishes to expand on the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and has promised tax cuts for people of all income levels and businesses. Trump is also focused on grocery prices and has promised an executive order to “defeat inflation.”

Climate goals

• Trump aims to open federal land, like state parks, for housing construction and oil and gas exploration. He intends to “unleash American energy” by dismantling the Green New Deal and investing in more oil, gas, diesel, and electricity by tapping into America’s “God-given abundance of Oil, natural gas, and clean coal.”

• Trump claims that climate change is a hoax, and is staunchly pro-deregulation when it comes to the environment. He intends to withdraw from the “unfair” Paris Climate Agreement and is anti-clean energy, often complaining about wind turbines.

Immigration and border security

• Trump is a proponent of “catch and release” at the border, wants to reinstate his Remain in Mexico asylum policy, and intends to deputize the National Guard and law enforcement to “rapidly remove illegal alien gang members and criminals.” He aims to get the assistance of neighboring governments to help in his “war on the drug cartels” dismantling cartels and punishing drug smugglers and traffickers with the death penalty.

Crime

• Trump promises to increase police funding, hire new officers, and retrain existing police forces. He intends to dispatch the National Guard into “high crime communities,” and imprison violent offenders and career criminals behind bars indefinitely.

• Trump will “defend Law and Liberty” by defending the Second Amendment and upholding religious freedoms including the right to pray in public schools. He intends to appoint as many “constitutionalist” judges as he can.

Foreign policy

• Trump wants to expand military spending, rehire “every patriot who was unjustly fired,” and install a state-of-the-art missile defense shield. He has broadly promised to “restore our standing in the world and American leadership abroad,” and calls for an “end to globalism and an embrace of patriotism.”

Military

• In addition to the National Guard changes mentioned above, Trump intends to continue with the work his administration started in 2016. He claims to have enhanced veterans’ healthcare choices and expanded mental health access, but Millitary.com paints another picture. He has no concrete ideas for how he will continue to help veterans.

Domestic policy

• Trump is a hard-core advocate of free speech and promises to punish any federal agency that tries to infringe upon the right. He promises landmark legislation to limit social media platforms from restricting free speech.

• He intends to reform election laws by limiting state and local officials from making changes, banning “unsecured drop boxes and ballot harvesting,” and by banning private money in local elections.

• Trump will “drain the swamp” by imposing congressional term limits, banning taxpayer-funded campaigns, and banning members of Congress from becoming lobbyists or trading stocks.

Healthcare

• Trump’s healthcare plans involve stopping all COVID mandates and “restoring medical freedom,” an end to surprise billing by implementing transparent pricing and reducing the price of prescription drugs and health insurance premiums. He claims that he “will always protect Medicare, Social Security, and patients with pre-existing conditions.”
• Trump has remained mostly ambiguous when it comes to abortion, but he has promised to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone. He outsources much of his abortion stances to his advisers, who have spearheaded the campaign against a woman’s right to choose.