CNN’s Zeleny on Kamala Harris’ Economic Plan: ‘One Thing She Did Not Say Is How Any of This Would Be Paid for’

SANCHEZ: “Jeff, on the politics of this, there were two things that really struck out to me with this speech, and I think they were pretty obvious and deliberate. On the issue of tariffs, which Donald Trump has sort of made his namesake going back to his first run for the White House, Kamala Harris, who are describing it as a Trump tax on imports, essentially saying that Donald Trump wants to tax consumers. And the second thing, she‘s spent this speech contrasting herself with Donald Trump. And I think that the most clear contrast was the fact that yesterday Donald Trump was giving a press conference outside of his private golf club. And then you have the vice president here talking about how excited she was to see her mom save up for 10 years to buy a house. And then how she worked at McDonald’s to put herself through college and watched people around her struggle to make ends meet, work multiple jobs to do that. So it gives a sense of legitimacy to this populist argument that she‘s trying to make.”

ZELENY: “I mean, the contrast in every respect could not have been more clear. In terms of the Trump tariffs, she really broke it down. She said it’s a Trump tax on gas, a Trump tax on food. So what this is doing by having her finally give a policy speech, it‘s shining a broader light on his policies. And there are gaps in both of them, no doubt about it. One thing she did not say is how any of this would be paid for. Of course, that is not uncommon in a presidential campaign. This is an aspirational level. He never says how he would pay for his plans either, but what I did think, and this is the point of it obviously, is to draw a contrast obviously with him, but on the middle class and help explain herself. She still is not introduced that well to the American people. She‘s been in the public eye. She has been vice president, but allowing her to sprinkle in her biography, I thought was so interesting. And we‘re going to hear more of that at the convention next week. The housing crisis, I hear it constantly as I travel around the country talking to voters. You may ask, why didn‘t the Biden Administration do more on this? It‘s a good thing to ask. They‘ve done some, but she‘s focusing on that with a specific of $25,000. That would be certainly not paid for, but that is something that voters can get their minds around. So I think drawing a sharp contrast here is exactly what she wants to be doing. The details, you know, they don‘t quite all add up. But again, we don‘t know the makeup of Congress, and they don‘t add up for either side. I mean, the campaign is about sort of laying out your vision, and she’s starting to do that.”