Vice President Kamala Harris is advocating for another economic policy that was initially promoted by the Trump campaign.
During a campaign stop in Pittsburgh on Monday, Harris declared her intention to ensure that U.S. Steel remains under domestic ownership.
“U.S. Steel is an historic American company, and it is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies,” Harris said. “U.S. Steel should remain American-owned and American-operated.”
In January, former President Donald Trump stated that if he were re-elected, he would prevent the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, Japan’s largest steel producer. Nippon Steel has made a $15 billion offer to purchase the American steel company.
🚨BREAKING: Comrade Kamala just announced she opposes the US Steel takeover (which President Trump said he opposed in JANUARY).
She’s a fraud! pic.twitter.com/cmCKILeFaz
— AJ Huber (@Huberton) September 2, 2024
“I would block it instantaneously. Absolutely,” Trump said. “We saved the steel industry. Now, U.S. Steel is being bought by Japan. So terrible.”
Then, in March, President Joe Biden also expressed his opposition to the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel.
“U.S. Steel has been an iconic American steel company for more than a century, and it is vital for it to remain an American steel company that is domestically owned and operated,” Biden said in March.
This marks at least the third instance where Harris has embraced a policy initially proposed by her opponent during this election cycle.
Last month, the Democratic nominee caught many Democrats off guard by supporting Trump’s popular “no tax on tips” proposal, declaring her backing for the elimination of taxes on tips earned by service workers.
“It is my promise to everyone here when I am president, we will continue our fighting for working families of America including to raise the minimum wage and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers,” she said at a rally in Las Vegas.
Trump had unveiled his “no tax on tips” policy only a few weeks prior, following a June rally in Las Vegas, a city known for its significant service and hospitality industry, driven by its tourism attractions.
.@JDVance: "If Kamala Harris wants to protect U.S. Steel, I wonder if she knows anyone in a position of authority, like maybe the Vice President of the United States. She is currently in a position to block this transaction." pic.twitter.com/XsR9IOmiDx
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) September 3, 2024
Supporters of Trump promoted the policy by writing “no tax on tips” on restaurant receipts to motivate service workers to support him. Trump personally endorsed the message by writing it on a receipt when he left a $500 tip at a cheesesteak restaurant in Philadelphia.
Following Harris’s adoption of the policy, the Trump campaign accused her of copying their initiative.
“Kamala Harris, whose ‘Honeymoon’ period is ENDING, and is starting to get hammered in the Polls, just copied my NO TAXES ON TIPS Policy,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “The difference is, she won’t do it, she just wants it for Political Purposes! This was a TRUMP idea – She has no ideas, she can only steal from me. Remember, Kamala has proposed the LARGEST TAX INCREASE IN HISTORY – It won’t happen. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
The Harris campaign announced on Friday that she is in favor of a $6,000 child tax credit.
This announcement was made only days after Senator JD Vance (R-OH), Trump’s running mate, expressed his support for doubling the child tax credit to $5,000.
“I’d love to see a child tax credit that’s $5,000 per child,” Vance said in an interview with CBS.
