The parade round for the 2024 presidential election campaign is over. Last month, Vice President Kamala Harris basked in the sunshine of her “Brat Summer” candidacy. She stepped into the void left by President Joe Biden He withdraws from the race for re-election or is forced out of the race.
Democrats immediately rejoiced at the change. Months of inertia and gloom followed by weeks of utter fear that Biden had proven himself incapable of competing with the former president Donald Trump, were wiped away when voters were presented with what pollsters said they wanted – someone, anyone, different from Biden or Trump.
On Thursday evening, Harris crowned the four-day party convention-turned-party in Chicago. The Democrats had agreed on a candidate. The announced chaos caused by anti-Israel demonstrators storming the United Center and distracting everyone from the real task was practically non-existent.
And Harris seems to have realized that she can’t hang out at the party all night if she wants to beat Trump in November.
Her acceptance speech focused heavily on her biography, but also on political issues – an aspect that she is accused of ignoring, and when she is not avoiding her views, then she is changing them.
“On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever embarked on their own improbable journey,” Harris told the crowd on Thursday.
“On behalf of the Americans I grew up with, the people who work hard, pursue their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of all whose history could be made in the greatest nation in the world, I accept your nomination,” she said.
After attempting to break up the Democratic camp, Harris hinted at the hard facts she plans to impose on the panel, even though her campaign website does not have a dedicated policy page.
She reiterated points that have been brought into play in recent weeks – tax credits for first-time home buyers, tax cuts for the middle class and the codification Roe v. Wade.
Trump sat outside and criticized his opponent throughout the speech.
“She didn’t mention China, she didn’t mention fracking, she didn’t mention energy, she didn’t mention Russia and Ukraine, she didn’t mention the big issues of the day that are destroying our country,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “There are 60 million people living in poverty in the United States, under her watch, and she doesn’t even talk about them!”
Harris will have plenty of opportunities to talk about her positions over the next 75 days. She hasn’t announced when she’ll sit down for her first major interview as a candidate or when she’ll hold a press conference, but she will face Trump next month when the two face off for their first presidential debate.
The Democrats have revved up their engines and shown how much power they have. Now the candidates are warmed up and it’s a race to the finish.
Click here to learn more about Harris’s Acceptance speech and everything else you maybe missed on the last day of the DNC.
Raising the roofs
Voters say their concerns about the economy and inflation are more tangible than just a general fear about the country’s finances. Economic uncertainty, unpredictable and high interest rates and rising costs are putting a strain on the wallet at the weekly supermarket shop and making younger voters feel they will never be able to afford a home.
A presidential campaign that has so far contained few policy proposals has turned its back on this looming problem, according to Congressional Reporter Rachel Schilke wrote for us this morning, delving deep into the thorny questions about how Harris and Trump are supposedly addressing the housing crisis.
The dispute arose again this week during the Democratic National Convention, when speakers chose to add some nimbleness to an otherwise solemn affair.
Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) has used his DNC counterprogram tour to denounce the Biden administration’s immigration policies as exacerbating the housing crisis, arguing that the millions of illegal immigrants who have crossed the border in the past three and a half years are creating too much competition for too few apartments.
Democrats and Republicans are all concerned about what their candidates will do on housing, because Mark Calabriaformer director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency under the Trump administration, Rachel said this cost factor has not abated – it is stubbornly high.
Harris has received more support for her housing plan than for her solution to “price gouging,” which has been met with criticism that she proposes price controls, which economists generally reject as ineffective.
Her housing plan is an expanded version of Biden’s promise to address the housing shortage. Harris has floated building three million new homes, tax incentives for builders who build entry-level homes and $40 billion for local governments to address the shortage.
However, there is a risk that their plan to put more money into the federal budget could have a similar effect on inflation as the American Rescue Plan.
A more difficult path forward, one that former President Barack Obama As he hinted at in his speech to the DNC this week, he is doing something about the bureaucratic hurdles that prevent new homes from being built due to local and federal regulations.
However, Democrats disagree on whether simply increasing supply is enough if people still don’t have enough cash to make a down payment on a home.
“When I drive to LA every weekend, I drive past all the new housing units that are being built that are supposed to be affordable rent,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told the activists.
In addition to cracking down on illegal immigration, Trump and Vance are now turning their attention to problems with zoning and regulations that prevent the construction of new housing on federal land.
“According to the Republican Party’s 2024 platform, Republicans under a Trump administration will lower mortgage rates by ‘dramatically reducing inflation, opening limited parts of federal lands to new home construction, encouraging homeownership through tax incentives and assistance for first-time buyers, and dismantling unnecessary regulations that increase housing costs,'” Rachel wrote. “The former president’s campaign also said he would lower housing costs by encouraging the construction of housing on the ‘outskirts and suburbs,’ where land is cheapest.”
Trump is citing his past in real estate to convince voters that he can make progress on the issue.
“Your permits, your permitting process. Your zoning, if – and I went through zoning for years. Zoning is like … it’s a killer,” Trump said Bloomberg“But we will do that and bring down real estate prices.”
Click Here to read more about how Trump and Harris are tackling the housing crisis.
New to us
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Divide in the death penalty: Trump calls for more death penalty, Harris remains silent
Nebraska’s Unique Abortion Changes: Two Different Options
Biden has withdrawn, but Harris may not have shaken off Hunter yet
Cassidy calls for hearing on ‘despicable’ child abuse in migrant shelters
In case you missed it
The Queen B has hurt hopeful Democrats
DNC officials did not give in to anti-Israel protesters
Harris doesn’t talk about the massive tax hike she supposedly supports
For your radar
There is nothing on Biden’s public schedule.
Harris will return to Washington, DC, from Chicago at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. She has no further public appearances scheduled.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is holding an event in Phoenix, Arizona at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and is expected to drop out of the presidential race.
Trump will hold an event in Glendale, Arizona at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
