CNN and WaPo's Rampell: Economic Policiemala Harris Remains 'Relatively Vague' on

 On Friday's edition of "CNN Newsroom," Catherine Rampell, a CNN Economics and Political Commentator, Washington Post columnist, and "PBS NewsHour" Special Correspondent, discussed Vice President Kamala Harris's economic policies. Rampell noted that during Harris's interview with CNN on Thursday, the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate "remained relatively vague" on economic issues, possibly because "when she gets more specific, she’s vulnerable to criticisms."

Rampell observed, “I thought she remained relatively vague in talking about her policies. She talked about generally valuing investments in the middle class, opportunities for the middle class, and I think that’s, pretty much, a winning message. What that actually translates to in action, I think is yet to be seen.”

However, Rampell did express some optimism about Harris's mention of the child tax credit, stating, “I am heartened by the fact that she talked about the child tax credit as something that she would push on her very first day. I think this is — personally, I think this is a really important issue to make it more available, especially to lower-income families. I think that there is some potential for bipartisan support for expanding the child tax credit, there has been in the past. And, next year, a huge portion of the tax code is going to come up for grabs because the Trump tax cuts are expiring. So, there will be an opportunity to put that on the table, among other tax changes. So, that’s the part that I’m going to hold onto as most encouraging.”

Despite this positive note, Rampell reiterated that Harris is still "speaking in pretty vague terms about what she wants to do," suggesting that specificity might expose her to more criticism. Rampell contrasted Harris's approach with former President Donald Trump, stating that while Trump has been specific about certain policies, those policies often contradict his stated goals, such as tariffs that could raise prices while claiming to help the middle class. She concluded, “So, there are no heroes here, but, again, there are some things in Harris’ agenda that I think could be promising.”

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