3 Ways a Harris Victory in November Is Bad News for America’s Working Class
Written by
T. Woods
Edited by
Angela Corry
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The United States presidential election is fast approaching. With both candidates running neck-and-neck, it’s next to impossible to accurately predict who will be our next president — former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, or current vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. While it may not be possible to gauge who will win the election, it may however be possible to at least predict how each candidate would handle certain issues.
One issue that may give voters pause with regards to Harris? The working class. Here’s why.
Much of the Harris Campaign’s Messaging Is Anti-Trump Rather Than Pro-Working Class
The driving force that has motored so much of the Harris campaign has been defining Trump as an existential threat to democracy while offering herself and her presidency as a safe alternative. As The Guardian reported, this rhetoric is deeply unpopular with the right-leaning American working class. Yet, the Harris campaign has continued to lean heavily into anti-Trump messaging as opposed to defining her pro-working class policies. This lack of specificity could indicate an absence of nuance and planning for what, if anything, Harris will do for the working class when she takes office. The fact that her campaign has refused to appeal more directly to the working class could be cause for concern.
Harris Has Shifted From Industrial Policy to the ‘Care Economy’
As noted by Politico, one of the ways Harris has pivoted away from the Biden administration is to focus less on industrial jobs and more on what Politico calls the “care economy” — that is, things like “a child tax credit, as well as helping new homeowners and small businesses.” As opposed to Biden, who has maintained a somewhat old-school focus on manufacturing and industrial policy, Harris has instead campaigned with a more futurist edge, pushing for bigger investments in the professional class.
Harris Hasn’t Won Over the Unions and Teamsters
In something of a surprising blow to the Harris campaign, Politico also reported that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — an organization that has endorsed Democrats for president since the 1990s — has refused to endorse any candidate in the 2024 presidential election. In fact, the Teamsters President Sean O’Brien appeared at the Republican National Convention over the summer. That said, Politico has also reported that “a number of Teamsters locals in swing states broke with the union’s leadership and backed Harris,” but their overall inability to get behind the Democrat seems to speak to a sizeable doubt in her ability to support the working class.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. For more coverage on this topic, please check out 4 Ways a Harris Victory in November Would Be Good News for America’s Working Class.
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