() – Vice President Kamala Harris joined ‘s Anderson Cooper at a forum in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania on Wednesday night, where she directly faced questions from persuadable and undecided voters less than two weeks before Americans turn out to the polls on election day. Former President Donald Trump was invited but declined to participate in the meeting.
Here’s a check on some of Harris’ comments:
Vice President Kamala Harris said former President Donald Trump has a plan to implement a “national sales tax of at least 20% on everyday and essential goods” that would cost American consumers $4,000. more per year.
Facts first: The statement is quite reasonable, but it is worth explaining that Harris is referring to Trump’s proposal to implement new tariffs if he returns to the White House.
Trump has repeatedly said he plans to impose a blanket tariff of 10% or 20% on all imports entering the U.S., as well as a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports. He also proposed imposing a 100% or 200% tariff on cars made in Mexico or products made by companies that move production from the U.S. to Mexico.
Together, a 20% general tariff and a 60% tariff on products made in China would mean an annual tax increase of about $3,900 for a middle-income family, according to the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP), a progressive think tank.
If the 20% tariff were only 10%, as Trump sometimes suggests, the total impact for middle-class families could be $2,500 a year, according to the CAP.
Other studies estimate that the impact of Trump’s proposed tariffs would also raise prices for families, but to a lesser extent. The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated that the new tariffs would cost the average middle-class household about US$1,700 annually. And the Tax Policy Center said the impact could be US$1,350 per year for middle-income households.
From ‘s Katie Lobosco.
In a back-and-forth with ‘s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “No, Anderson, I made a commitment that I would not ban fracking,” when she was campaigning as a vice presidential candidate in 2020.
Facts first: This is false. Harris made no clear personal assumptions about fracking during her only debate in 2020, the general election vice presidential debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence. Harris never explicitly stated a personal position on fracking during that debate.
Instead, he said that Joe Biden, who was leading the Democratic ticket at the time, would not ban fracking if elected president. Harris said during the 2020 vice presidential debate, “Joe Biden will not end fracking” and “I will repeat, and the American people know, that Joe Biden will not ban fracking.”
When Harris did reference her own views on fracking early in the election cycle, during the 2019 Democratic presidential primary, she went so far as to say that “there is no question that I am in favor of banning fracking.”
It made sense for Harris to refer to Biden’s plans at the time, given that the president sets government policy. But contrary to what she stated this Wednesday, none of her comments in the 2020 debate made it clear that she personally had a different opinion on the issue than she did the year before.
From ‘s Daniel Dale and Ella Nilsen.
In the town hall with Kamala Harris this Wednesday, the vice president stated that only 2% of the border wall between the United States and Mexico was built during the administration of former President Donald Trump.
“How much of that wall did he build? “I think the last number I saw was around 2%,” he said.
Facts first: This statement is exaggerated. According to a 2021 report of US Customers and Border Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers, almost 83.67 km of “new primary wall” and 53.10 km of “new secondary wall” were built during Trump’s presidency. More than 595.33 km of damaged or outdated primary and secondary walls were also replaced.
During his campaign and throughout his presidency, Trump promised to build a wall with evolving parameters. from 1,609 km to more than 804.5 km. Using the “new primary wall” figures from the 2021 report, it could be estimated that 5.2% of its 1,609 km promise was met or 10.4% of its 804.5 km target was completed.
Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, made a similar claim earlier this month at the CBS vice presidential debate.
The entire border between the US and Mexico is about 3,200 kilometers. The 83.67 km of the new primary wall would equal 2.6% of that total length, but as has previously reported, Trump had committed to building more wall, not a new wall along the entire southern border.
From ‘s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn.
Vice President Kamala Harris criticized her opponent, former President Donald Trump, for implementing policies that benefited the wealthy during his first term.
“Donald Trump, when he was president, gave tax cuts to the richest, to billionaires and to large corporations,” he said on ‘s town hall.
Facts first: This statement needs context. While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which Harris references, benefited the rich much more than others, it lowered taxes for most people, according to the Tax Policy Center non-partisan.
The 2017 law made many changes to the tax code, including temporarily lowering many individual income tax rates, particularly the top rate from 39.6% to 37% for top earners.
The Tax Policy Center analyzed who the law would help the most. On average, taxes would decrease for all income groups.
According to the analysis, middle-income taxpayers earning between $49,000 and $86,000 were intended to see a tax reduction of about $800 on average, or 1.4% of their after-tax income.
However, more than 60% of the benefits would go to people whose incomes are in the top 20%. More than 40% of the benefits would go to the richest 5%.
Those earning between $500,000 and $1 million would get an average tax cut of about $21,000, boosting their after-tax income by 4.3%, according to the center’s estimates. Those earning $1 million or more would enjoy an average tax cut of about $70,000, boosting their after-tax income by 3.3%.
Only just over a quarter of the lowest-income households would see their taxes reduced. Your tax reduction would be about US$200 on average. However, most would see little to no benefit.
From ‘s Tami Luhby.
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