Vice President Kamala Harris‘s campaign announced Tuesday morning that more than 400 economists and policy experts endorsed her campaign, a move meant to challenge former President Donald Trump‘s afternoon speech in Savannah, Georgia, on the tax code.
The economists wrote an open letter claiming that Harris “worked on behalf of American families to lower costs, cut taxes, raise wages, and promote worker organizing” while claiming that “Trump’s proposed policies risk reigniting inflation and threaten the United States’ global
standing and domestic economic stability.”
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Many of the economists supporting Harris lean Democratic, such as Brian Deese, President Joe Biden’s top economist, and former Obama administration officials Jason Furman, Bill Daley, and Penny Pritzker.
But a small cadre of economists who served under Republican administrations, including Sean O’Keefe, a former Office of Management and Budget official under President George W. Bush, signed the letter.
Harris will give her dueling speech on the economy, the top issue on voters’ minds, Wednesday in Pennsylvania, a day after Trump’s speech. She has previously announced economic proposals to help small businesses, extend the child tax credit, and end taxes on tips, a move that follows Trump’s endorsement of the policy.
During his speech, the former president is expected to discuss his embrace of increasing tariffs and extending the tax cuts of his signature legislation, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as a way to decrease costs for consumers.
“The choice in this election is clear: between failed trickle-down economic policies that benefit the few and economic policies that provide opportunity for all,” the economists claimed.
According to a recent CBS News poll, Harris performs better with voters who think the economy is good, with 88% backing her and 12% backing Trump. She performs less well with voters who say their personal finances are good, with 64% backing her and 36% backing Trump.
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Among voters who said the economy is a major factor, Trump has the lead, with 53% backing him while 47% back Harris, but the polls show she is closing the gap with the former president. CBS News polling in August showed that, among the voters who said the economy is a major factor, 56% backed Trump while 43% backed Harris.
Another Associated Press poll showed that 41% of voters said Trump would handle the economy better, compared to 43% who said Harris would do a better job, meaning there is still time for either candidate to define their policies among the electorate.