Trump goes big on tax cut promises in Harris prebuttal
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Former President Trump is offering massive tax cuts if he's elected, courting voters with big giveaways without discussing how they'll pay for it.
Why it matters: Trump's big policy legacy was his tax cuts in 2017. Now he's promising to go much further in 2025.
With his offerings spelled out on the backdrop of his rally in Asheville, N.C., Trump listed promises for voters who think the economy isn't working.
- For service workers: No taxes on your tips. Price tag is $250 billion a year.
- For seniors: No taxes on your Social Security. Price tag is roughly $150 billion a year.
- For people who want lower bills: Trump promises to cut the price of electricity in half. The U.S. is the world's leading oil producer.
- For everyone else: The Trump tax cuts will be extended in 2025.
Left unsaid in Trump's promises: How to pay for them, and how to protect Social Security while cutting taxes.
Between the lines: Trump campaigning in North Carolina should get your attention.
- The last Democrat to win a presidential race there was Barack Obama in 2008. The Trump campaign thought it was fine until President Biden left the race.
When he was on script, Trump focused on attaching Vice President Kamala Harris to President Biden's economic record.
- "Does anyone here feel richer under Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe than you were during the Trump administration? Is anything less expensive under Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe?"
- "When Kamala lays out her fake economic plan this week, [it] probably will be a copy of my plan, because basically, that's what she does," he said.
Zoom out: Prices are no longer rising rapidly even though they remain high, a sign that inflation is no longer the economy's big problem, per today's Consumer Price Index.
- The bad news was in the housing sector, where prices have kept upward pressure on inflation, Axios Macro co-author Courtenay Brown reports.
What's next: Harris plans her own major economic speech Friday in Raleigh, N.C.
- She'll outline plans to lower costs of health care, housing and food for middle-class consumers, and tell how she'll "take on corporate price-gouging," Axios reported this morning.
