An Okayplayer Election Explainer

'The Rundown'

Kamala Harris

After a historic race dropout from President Joe Biden this summer, Harris hit the ground running with less than four months to campaign. She has made promises to uplift middle-class Americans and ensure reproductive rights for women.

Reproductive Rights

Harris has advocated for reproductive rights throughout her political career. She intends to safeguard access to abortions by signing a congressional bill into law that would restore national reproductive freedoms that were lost when Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. In September, she told Wisconsin Public Radio that she intends to do this by eliminating the filibuster, a strategy used in the Senate to prolong or block legislation from being passed. Additionally, she is advocating for federal protections to access in vitro fertilization (IVF) after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos could be considered children. Earlier this month, she also proposed to expand access to affordable contraception.

Foreign Policy/Gaza

During her time as vice president, Harris has repeatedly expressed her support for Israel, particularly since the October 7 attack last year. The Harris-Walz campaign intends to “always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself,” according to its website. During her speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, she said President Biden and her are working around the clock to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done. She also called the destruction in Gaza “devastating,” saying she and Biden are also working to ensure that Palestinians can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. As vice president, she has met with more than 150 world leaders and intends to continue working with Ukraine and NATO allies to maintain national security as president.

Economic Opportunity

Throughout her campaign, Harris has advocated for middle-class families and intends to revive or introduce several new tax credits. Harris wants to increase the child tax credit — which is currently $2,000 — back to up to $3,600 that was implemented at the start of the pandemic. She has also proposed a $6,000 child tax credit for parents of newborn babies that would aid in costs for the child’s first year. Other tax plans include a $10,000 first-time homebuyer credit and $25,000 in downpayment assistance for those who have paid rent on time for two years and a tax deduction of up to $50,000 for small-business owners. She also supports a federal minimum wage increase from $7.25 to $15 an hour and wants to combat the soaring costs of groceries and inflation with a first-time federal ban on price gouging.

Race

As president, Harris intends to continue working to secure $2 billion in funding for Offices of Civil Rights across the federal government, which would help enforce civil rights laws. The Harris-Walz campaign intends to address racial disparities such as inequitable healthcare, voter suppression and inequitable education policies that impact Black and brown communities in particular. Harris said she is running to be president for “everybody” but has worked to appeal to Black men, specifically with initiatives that include one million forgivable loans for Black entrepreneurs, creating a National Health Equity Initiative for Black men, and federally legalizing marijuana to undo unjust legal measures that disparately impact Black men.

Immigration

The Harris-Walz campaign supports “tough, smart solutions” to border security. Harris supported the bipartisan border security bill that was introduced last May but was ultimately blocked this year by Senate Republicans. During the September presidential debate, Harris blamed Trump for the bill not advancing, saying he “got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress and said, ‘Kill the bill.’” As president, she intends to bring back the bill and sign it into law, which would add 1,500 border security agents and increase drug detection technology. Harris has repeatedly called the nation’s immigration system “broken” and has called for better protections for refugees and asylum seekers, as well as reform that would create a pathway to citizenship. She has not detailed how she intends to do so, however.

Donald Trump

For his third presidential campaign, Trump has made big promises to secure the border and decrease inflation, among other critical issues. According to his campaign’s website, however, his highest priority should he be re-elected is “quickly restoring law and order and public safety in America.”

Reproductive Rights

This election season, Trump has made it clear that he intends to leave abortion laws in the hands of the states. Trump has repeatedly credited himself for the overturning of Roe v. Wadein 2022, due to his appointing three of the five conservative Supreme Court justices who repealed the landmark decision. During the presidential debate in September, he said he had no intentions of signing a national abortion ban but did not answer “yes” or “no” when asked if he would veto a ban if it were passed by Congress. In March, however, he did suggest support for a national abortion ban around 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Trump-Vance campaign platform says they oppose late-term abortions but support prenatal care, access to birth control and IVF.

Foreign Policy/Gaza

The Trump-Vance campaign states it will stand with Israel and support peace in the Middle East, though it does not outline specific plans. Throughout the year, Trump has expressed his closeness with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In March, he urged Israel to hurry up and “finish the war” as they are losing support worldwide, and in August he said that the killing has to stop. Trump has not detailed how he intends to stop the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, but has said he has a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and will negotiate an end to the war.

Economic Opportunity

Trump has vowed to make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, which he signed into law on Jan. 1, 2018. The law, which had a larger net positive impact on corporations than middle-class citizens, is set to expire in 2025. He has also proposed eliminating federal taxes on tips for restaurant and hospitality workers. The Trump-Vance campaign also vows to return manufacturing jobs to Americans to lower inflation and has suggested a 10% tariff on all goods imported into the country. The nonpartisan think tank Peterson Institute for International Economics warned that the tariff could risk a global trade war.

Race

The former president has long opposed diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and vows to eliminate federal funding for any school that “pushes critical race theory,” which would restrict conversations on race in classrooms. If re-elected, Trump plans to continue his tough-on-crime approach by vowing to increase funding for law enforcement and expand the use of the death penalty, which both disproportionately impact Black and brown people. In August, Trump said that he has been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.

Immigration

Like his last two campaigns in 2016 and 2020, border security has been one of Trump’s top priorities this campaign season. With a specific focus on the U.S. southern border, Trump’s platform includes plans to complete the Mexico-United States border wall, which he began when he first took office in 2017. The wall currently spans one-fourth of the border at 500 miles. His campaign also wants to increase deportations for undocumented immigrants by enacting the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, though legal experts say Trump doesn’t have the authority to use the law for mass deportations. If re-elected, Trump intends to bring back the travel ban he enacted in 2017 that affected mostly Muslim countries, as well as ban refugees from Gaza from entering the U.S. With the backing of the Republican Party, he hopes to carry out the largest deportation program in the nation’s history.