The day is fast approaching when Americans will vote to decide who will serve as their next president. Either Republican former President Donald Trump or Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris will be the likely winner.
Everyone imagines Trump to be the conservative candidate, with Harris as the liberal. And to a great degree, their policy positions do fall along those lines.
However, each candidate has offered up a few surprise proposals that cut against those perceptions.
Here are some surprising ways that Trump sounds “blue” and Harris appears to be “red.”
Trump says he’ll cap credit card rates
Republicans are known to favor a limited role for government. Traditionally, they prefer to stay out of the free market and let the private sector do its thing.
So, it’s somewhat surprising that Trump recently announced at a New York campaign event that as president, he would place a temporary 10% limit on credit card interest. As he told the crowd:
“While working Americans catch up, we’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates. We can’t let them make 25% and 30%.”
It would be interesting to see whether Republican members of Congress would help him achieve this goal. Many Republicans have vigorously opposed the Biden administration’s plan to forgive student loans, another initiative intended to give breathing room to those whose budgets have been stretched to the breaking point.
Trump says he’ll restore the SALT deduction
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 placed a new $10,000 limit on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction that allows taxpayers to deduct some taxes paid to state and local governments when they itemize on their federal income tax form.
Previous to the legislation, there was no limit on the SALT deduction.
Ever since the law went into effect, many taxpayers — especially in high-tax states — have cried foul. Democrats in Congress have frequently pledged to work hard to lift the cap.
Now, Trump says he plans to restore the SALT deduction. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote:
“I will turn it around, get SALT back, lower your Taxes, and so much more.”
The irony is that it was Trump himself and congressional Republicans who were responsible for the legislation that capped the SALT deduction in the first place.
Trump says he’ll end taxes on Social Security
In recent years, there have been rumblings — mostly from those in the Republican Party — of finding ways to shore up Social Security by curbing benefits.
However, Trump wants to make the program more generous by ending taxes on Social Security benefits. As he recently posted on Truth Social:
“SENIORS SHOULD NOT PAY TAX ON SOCIAL SECURITY!”
Those who have been watching closely should not find Trump’s proposal overly surprising. The former president actually has a long record of bucking his party and pledging not to make cuts in Social Security — as even Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders points out by posting a 2015 Trump speech on his YouTube channel.
Some critics might say that Trump’s proposal to end taxes on Social Security is hard to square with his 2024 campaign promise “to ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security.”
An analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that Trump’s proposal would advance the insolvency date for Social Security’s retirement trust fund by more than a year.
Harris says she’ll sign a border security law
The state of America’s southern border has been a source of enormous controversy in recent years. As a growing number of migrants have passed over the border and into the U.S., Americans have become alarmed.
A Pew Research Center poll found that 77% of Americans view what is happening at the border as either a “crisis” or a “major problem.” Just 4% say it is no problem at all.
Harris has pledged to secure the border and fix the immigration system. That might surprise some people who view Democrats as more likely to support immigrants’ rights over border security.
The Harris website says:
“As Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris went after international drug gangs, human traffickers and cartels that smuggled guns, drugs, and human beings across the U.S.-Mexico border. As Vice President, she supported the bipartisan border security bill, the strongest reform in decades.”
That bill failed to advance, but Harris says she will sign such legislation if it arises again.
Meanwhile, critics say the situation on the border happened on Harris’ watch, as the Biden administration tasked Harris with the job of working to fix the problem.
Harris says she’ll support the ‘most lethal’ military
Fairly or not, Democrats have historically been viewed as softer on defense. But the Harris website touts her uncompromising vision of a strong military:
“As Commander In Chief, she will ensure that the United States military remains the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world, that we unleash the power of American innovation and win the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership.”
The website goes on to say that Harris “will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and will always honor their service and their sacrifice.”
Harris says she’ll be tough on China
The Harris website also contains some hawkish statements about how she will deal with China if she’s elected president.
For example, it states that “she has met with China’s Xi Jinping, making clear she will always stand up for American interests in the face of China’s threats.”
It goes on to say the following:
“Vice President Harris will make sure that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership.”
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