TRUMP vs. HARRIS: A STARK CONTRAST

Every day the media feeds us more information about the two candidates. And once in a while we hear what sounds like a matter of substance as a policy position is stated, changed, or abandoned. So, as a service to readers of “anothersview.com” we decided to summarize what appears to be the major differences between Trump and Harris. We tried to focus on factual reporting taken from debates/interviews/legal docs or some other verifiable source. We confess that the remarks we offer will clearly lean away from one candidate and toward the other. That was not our original intent but reality set in as we researched the info and this is the result. You may disagree with our comments but you can’t change facts. As Trump once said, “it is what it is”.

• ECONOMY: HARRIS: She will continue the Biden process which has to-date produced excellent results. Inflation is 70% lower than it was a year ago. The cost of borrowing (to buy homes, cars, etc.) is lower than at any time in the past six years with the strong likliehood that the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will reduce rates even further in November. Unemployment continues at record lows for an extended period. Full employment (as defined by economists) has been maintained for all of the Biden term years. Personal savings are increasing due to the robust gains in all stock market indexes. Overall, the “Fed” says the economy is healthy and growing at a faster pace than predicted.
• ECONOMY: TRUMP: He disputes all of the statistical economic data. To stop the loss of manufacturing jobs to foreign lands, he proposes a national sales tax in the form of a 100% tariff on imported goods. This cost would be passed on to the American consuming public in the form of higher prices. Look in your closets, pantries, garages and elsewhere to determine how many key items you have in your home that were made elsewhere. Now double what you paid for those items. That’s the impact of the 100% tariff proposed by Trump. All economists agree the tariff is a terrible idea. This should be common sense. But the Trump team is desperate and will promise anything to push its vote count possibility. Trump wants to eliminate taxes on tips as does Harris. But the Trump plan is designed to allow wealthy people to avoid taxes on commissions. Harris, on the other hand, limits her tip program to workers in the hospitality industry only…big difference. Other than that, Trump has really no stated policies relating to the economy.

• ABORTION: HARRIS: She proposes the repeal of Roe v. Wade as far too strict. She believes that a woman needs to control what happens to her own body and trusts individuals to make the best decision based on their situation.
• ABORTION: TRUMP: His position is dynamic. After hiring three US Supreme Court justices who lied under oath when they were vetted by Congress, he pushed through the repeal of Roe. After bragging about his unethical process and taking credit for the supposed “pro-life” stance he has changed his position numerous times. Alternatively, he wants the states to make their own rules; he supports a 6 week abortion ban; he favors a 16 week abortion ban. Today, as we write this post, he chooses to avoid the issue completely. That’s his position.

• IMMIGRATION: HARRIS & TRUMP: Regardless of what the GOP (Trump) says, both candidates support a common border policy that would regulate the number of migrant crossings annually. The difference lies in the application of existing aliens and how to “deal” with them. Harris wants to vet illegals and provide the qualified alien with a path to citizenship. She wants to try to keep established families together. Trump, however, has promised to deport 20 million people–the largest such program in history. He’s not concerned that he will split up thousands of families. Some industries are worried that the Trump plan will deprive them of their laborers and cause crops to rot in the field. This loss of agricultural products will impact supply and definitely increase prices. He still wants to build a 1,400 mile border wall but no longer promises that Mexico will pay for it.

• GUN LAWS: HARRIS: She’s very much in favor of strengthening background checks, outlawing ghost guns, tightening gun show sales and restricting assault style weapon access. The plague of mass shootings in this country troubles her.
• GUN LAWS: TRUMP: He plans no changes to existing gun laws. It should be noted that 100% of the National Rifle Association’s donations (millions of dollars) go to GOP campaign coffers ONLY. As an example of the flow of these funds, last year the GOP legislature in Kentucky passed a law that allows 18 year olds to carry weapons into school classrooms. Realizing the absurdity of this law, the same group of men passed a law this year to appropriate $20 million of taxpayer funds to provide off-duty cops to every high school in Kentucky.

• CLIMATE” HARRIS: She wants to balance American energy independence against pollution concerns and while respecting the natural beauty of America. She once opposed fracking as Attorney General of the State of California because she believed that fracking might be dangerous in an earthquake zone and might cause her state to lose some tourism dollars. She has indicated that she will take another look at the situation as time progresses and we know more about the availability of OPEC and other country oil.
• CLIMATE: TRUMP: He supports fracking, offers Federal lands for oil company leases, and will not limit environmental impact. This position is strange because he has enlisted a significant amount of support from Elon Musk whose main business is electric vehicles. The dis-connect is: why seek more oil sources if you support EV’s? We wonder how he “sold” his fracking policy to Musk?

• HEALTH CARE PLANS: HARRIS: She wants to expand eligibility for ObamaCare to include more low-income individuals and families because she believes that every citizen should have access to affordable health care. She has promised to work toward that goal.
• HEALTH CARE PLANS: TRUMP: He wants to eliminate ObamaCare and replace it with a better plan. He promised this in his first term but nothing happened. When asked during the debate about this new plan he said “it’s in the conceptual stages”. Take that for what it’s worth as a promise…sounds like nothing has been discussed or planned.

• FOREIGN RELATIONS: HARRIS: She will continue to support our allies in Israel and Ukraine. She knows that Israel is our only trusted ally in the Mideast region and wants to preserve its independence. While she is concerned about the Gaza situation she is reluctant to interfere with the sovereignty decisions of another nation. In Ukraine she sees the danger of Russia taking the first steps to regain all the countries that formed the original USSR. This would entail pulling in many other nations that now are self-governing. Beyond that consolidation Europe (our NATO allies) would be vulnerable to further Russian expansion. She values our allies abroad and is willing to stand behind commitments.
• FOREIGN RELATIONS: TRUMP: He sees supporting Israel and Ukraine as an unwarranted drain on American tax dollars. Because Israel and Ukraine are both enemies of Russia he seems to favor letting Putin succeed in exchange for ??? In general, he seems envious of the dictator role in Russia, North Korea and Hungary. He even professes a fondness for Adolph Hitler. He wants to abandon NATO–which would probably assure that it would collapse. He trusts Putin as opposed to the global intelligence community when the question of foreign election interference was investigated. (Later, Russian interference was proven and Trump entertained Russian diplomats without any other American individual in the room.) He has said he exchanged “love letters’ with Km Jong Un of North Korea–a known brutal dictator. Such is the foreign relations profile of the GOP candidate.

• EQUAL RIGHTS: HARRIS: She sees fairness among all Americans as a right guaranteed by the US Constitution.
• FOREIGN RIGHTS: TRUMP: He has said little about minorities, gays or any other demographic. But he clearly supports the white supremacist movement. His position on non-whites strikes a familiar Hitler theme of “Aryan supremacy” from the 1930’s and 40’s. In Charlottesville, Virginia, he refused to condemn the violence and said “there are good people on both sides”. He has repeated these attitudes in other interviews.

• OVERALL ATTITUDE: HARRIS: She’s upbeat and positive about the future potential of America. Her years in politics, Congress and in the VP role have given her the confidence that she can work effectively to build and serve an ailing nation after 8 years of chaos.
• OVERALL ATTITUDE: TRUMP: He’s focused on revenge–saying that he will fire Special Investigator Jack Smith in the first two seconds of his next term. He also has a “hit list” of people he wants to target. It was recently revealed that he wanted to bring two generals out of retirement so he could court martial them because they said some unflattering comments about his actions. He blames Harris for anything that has happened in the last four years under the Biden Administration but it is obvious that the VP has very limited influence in that role. For example, how much do you think Mike Pence contributed to the Trump actions? His rallies seem to consist of insults, name calling, threats and general statements with no explanations or proof. His negativity is stifling.

We’ve tried to provide a comparison but it became a contrast. It’s all about your voting decision. But, for us–the defining moment will always be January 6, 2021. Courts may forever debate whether Trump criminally incited the riot at the US Capitol that day. What is clearly criminal is failing to stop that attack for over three hours. For a US president to allow criminal assaults against his own police force and to ignore the pillaging of the US Capitol is inexcusable. Try to imagine ANY OTHER PRESIDENT IN HISTORY allowing that to happen. You can’t. And that’s the “bridge too far” that voters will need to cross if they vote for Trump. And for Trump to call those criminals “hostages” after what they did is beyond all reason. Picture the debate moderator asking the question of Trump “do you think assaulting a police officer is a crime?” He could not answer that question “yes” and stick with the term “hostages”. And to answer “no” would set criminal law back to the stone age. REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER!!