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Kamala Harris Lays Out Economic Plan In First Major Policy Speech; Donald Trump Blasts Kamala Harris Economic Proposals As "Maduro Plan"; High-Stakes Gaza Ceasefire Talks End For The Day With No Deal. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 16, 2024 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[14:01:45]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Happening this hour, Vice President Kamala Harris will give her first major policy speech since taking her place at the top of the 2024 Democratic ticket. We'll tell you how she would crack down on price gouging for groceries.

Meantime, former President Donald Trump is slamming her economic proposals, calling her "Conrad (ph) Kamala" as he looks to offer counter programming to the Democratic National Convention next week.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're also following cease fire talks between Israel and Hamas. Why President Biden says these sides are closer than ever to a deal.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

DEAN: Soon, Vice President Kamala Harris makes her first major policy speech as the Democratic nominee, unveiling her economic plan in a key state of North Carolina.

SANCHEZ: She is expected to lay out a string of new proposals, more than a dozen, including a four year plan to lower housing costs, zeroing in on high food prices with a federal ban on price gouging and middle class and lower income tax cuts.

Let's take you now to Raleigh with CNN's Eva McKend, where Harris is expected to give remarks in just about 40 minutes or so. Eva, what should we expect?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, she is proposing tax relief that would impact more than a hundred million Americans. It includes an expansion of the Child Tax Credit. That is a policy popular, included in the American Rescue Plan passed by Democrats in Congress. She wants that to go from $2,000 to $3,600. $6,000 for middle class and low income families with newborns.

This, of course, answers directly that attack heard from J.D. Vance, former President Donald Trump's running mate, that Democrats are somehow anti-family. She's proposing policies today that speak directly to American families.

Her proposals also include a pathway to increase affordable housing and make health care more accessible and affordable.

There is criticism on the right, though, characterizing these policies as socialists. While I'm speaking to some of the vice president supporters here, and here's how they are responding to that criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEGAN NERZ, NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: If feeding children and giving children free school lunches and helping people move ahead in the middle class is a socialist policy. Then, so be it, because I think those are the right things that we should be doing to lift people up and to make our country stronger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: Ultimately, Boris and Jess, the vice president, is trying to set up a contrast. I think no accident that today she's at a community college, she is trying to characterize the Democratic ticket as principally concerned with everyday Americans, the American workers, middle class voters, lower income voters, and argue that Trump and his allies only really care about the very wealthy. Tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, something no doubt that they would push back on and take issue with.

[14:05:06]

Ultimately, though, these democratic policies popular have been introduced for years, it's much, much tougher to actually get them over the finish line, because so many of these initiatives the president would have to work with Congress to pass, including Republicans in Congress, Jess, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Eva McKend live for us in North Carolina. Thank you so much.

Let's take a closer look at some of Vice President Harris's economic proposals with CNN Business Anchor Julia Chatterley.

Julia, great to see you as always. Let's start with this federal ban on price gouging. It's an effort to lower prices on grocery items, but there aren't real specifics in this proposal on how to define price gouging, and some economists see issues with that.

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN HOST: Yes, they see plenty of issues. Look, it's a smart thing to talk about, given the pricing pressures that everybody's faced over the last few years. Whether or not it actually helps bring prices down, I think it's debatable.

What is price gouging? It's when corporates collude to try and keep prices high, or they try and add incremental price increases when prices are rising to pad their profits.

Now, what they're talking about is some kind of federal ban. So, you were hearing there on food price hikes. It could include new powers for bodies like the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission.

What the FTC can do today is it can investigate price fixing. It can also stop mergers taking place between grocery companies for example if they think that consumers will face higher prices as a result, she'll talk about the meat industry. That's critical, because it's just a few names that control a big market.

What the FTC can't do is go into a grocery and say, hey, your egg prices are too high and they need to come down. That would require an enormous expansion of powers and congressional involvement, we've just got to hear if she gives us, to your point, Boris, more details on this.

But we also need to understand the problem. Is it about corporate greed, or is it about supply chain issues post pandemic, workers availability in the agricultural sector, wages going up, climate change, bad crop yields, for example. It's a whole host of problems.

So, yes, I think it flies with voters. The practicalities are far more difficult to handle.

DEAN: And Julia, Vice President Harris also unveiling some plans to help first time home buyers. Also these new tax incentives, trying to get more availability for housing out there, incentives for ta -- new housing construction. How would all of this work?

CHATTERLEY: So, she's talking about first and foremost, and I think it cuts to part of the problem supply, trying to create incentives to build three million new homes, incentivizing home builders to do so.

Then, on the buyer's end, she's trying to provide incentives for first time buyers, like handing them a down payment assistance of $25,000.

Look, there are a whole host of issues here. You have to understand the problem. It's a lack of supply. We're not building enough homes. Prices are too high as a result. And then first time parents can't even get a mortgage because mortgage rates are so high, the people that have them are locked in at low rates. So they don't want to change, it just is a whole maelstrom of issues.

We do need more houses. The question is, how do you pay for the number of houses that they're talking about. They're also going to suggest, I think, today, a $40 billion fund to try and incentivize at the state and local level. There's just a number of them, questionable issues, I think, on one, how you pay for this and what the ultimate impact is going to be.

The other thing I've mentioned, if you want to build more houses, we have 300,000 vacancies in this country for construction workers. We can build more houses. It's going to take more time, but you've got to find the workers to do it, guys.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that is an important point. And Julia, no matter who wins the next election, there is going to be new tax policy, because the 2017 tax cuts that were installed by former President Trump are expiring. In Harris's vision, there is an enhanced child credit for new parents. What else can you tell us about what she's proposing and how that might affect the economy?

CHATTERLEY: Yes, she said, look, that hopefully there's going to be -- or she will say that there's going to be tax relief for over a million people.

But if you're a parent, listen up, because this is crucial. You may remember this, one of the policy proposals is to take the child tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 it was there, and people had it for 2021. The hope is they can make that permanent, as you were hearing from Eva as well, a new tax credit for the first year of a child's life of $6,000 when, obviously, preparing for that child is the most expensive.

Also, tax credits for frontline workers. We've had a lot of discussion this week as well on perhaps moving -- removing the tax on tips as well, and obviously that's created some criticism of copying from the Trump campaign as well.

Again, I'll come back to the big question, how do you pay for all of this? What the Harris campaign has said is, look, if you're earning less than $400,000 don't expect tax rises.

[14:10:07]

So, the assumption, perhaps, and maybe we'll hear from that, is it's going to mean a greater burden on corporates and a greater burden on higher earners.

But again, devil in detail, hopefully we get more today.

DEAN: Yes, indeed. Julia Chatterley, thank you so much for that context and analysis and explanation. We appreciate it.

Even before Vice President Harris rolls out her economic policy, the former President Donald Trump is already attacking it.

SANCHEZ: Yes, at a press conference at his private golf club in New Jersey yesterday, the former president lobbied insults at his Democratic challenger and her economic agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's running on the Maduro plan. We call it the Maduro plan, like something straight out of Venezuela or the Soviet Union. This announcement is an admission that her economic policies have totally failed and caused really a catastrophe for our country, and beyond that, a catastrophe in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now. Kristen, aside from those attacks on Harris's economic plan, he got personal at different points and at one specific portion of this press conference, he said he was justified. He was entitled to attack her.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, he went on to say that she had attacked him first calling him and J.D. Vance weird, then that he was angry, so it was OK for him to make these personal attacks, and that was during the question and answer portion.

I think the first part was very different. It was read out of a binder. He stayed mostly on message, with just a few side rants, but overall, right now, Donald Trump's team, and not just his team directly, but Republicans at large who want to see him elected in November, just want him to close his mouth, particularly when it comes to talking about anything other than issues that matter to every day Americans.

We are in a different race now. Donald Trump is no longer running against President Joe Biden. We have obviously seen a boost in enthusiasm among Democrats, a boost in polling for Kamala Harris, and the question is how to stop that momentum.

At the end of the day, Republicans believe that if Donald Trump can focus particularly on the issues that were really helping him in the polls to begin with, like the economy, like crime, like immigration, that he can then link that to Kamala Harris and say, she is just an extension of the Biden administration.

But obviously, as we know, Donald Trump has a very hard time doing that, and in part of those answers, it was just him airing grievances.

But one thing I do want to mention really quickly, the one very interesting thing, is both teams right now are beefing up their teams for debate preparation, and that is interesting to me, because Donald Trump says he doesn't like to do debate prep, but he has brought on Tulsi Gabbard. She is one of the only people who's actually shared a debate stage with Kamala Harris before she left the Democratic Party, somebody who has offered insults to Harris and was widely seen as successful on the debate stage. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

DEAN: Those debates are just around the corner.

All right, Kristen Holmes, thanks so much. We are waiting on comments from Vice President Harris in North Carolina, and we will bring them to you live when we come back.

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[14:17:40]

DEAN: President Biden says cease fire and hostage released negotiations over the war in Gaza are, "Closer than they've ever been." Mediators today presenting Israel and Hamas with a proposal to close the remaining gaps, as CNN has learned Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to the region tomorrow.

CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is following the latest. Jeremy, the big question is, just how wide is that gap between the two sides here?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is clear that going into these talks, the gap between Hamas and Israel was quite significant, but the United States, Egypt and Qatar today putting a proposal on the table that they say will, "Build on areas of agreement and bridge the remaining gaps that exist."

But so far, neither party, neither Israel nor Hamas have said whether or not they support this, "bridging proposal that is on the table."

The Israelis for their part have released a statement from the prime minister's office, saying that they appreciate the efforts of the mediator and framing it as needing to convince Hamas to accept a deal, although we know that they themselves have also not yet committed to this latest proposal that is on the table.

The mediators say that this new proposal will allow for the swift implementation of a cease fire agreement that would see the release of dozens of Israeli hostages, a much needed pause in the fighting in Gaza, and also the entry of tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid.

Another major question, of course, is as these negotiations continue, with technical teams set to carry the work forward now, before senior officials convene once again next week in Cairo. The question is whether this will allow or cause, I should say, Iran and Hezbollah to hold off on their promised retaliatory strikes against Israel.

For the time being, the Qatari prime minister has spoken now twice over the course of the last two days with the Iranian foreign minister encouraging him to de-escalate the situation, to allow the ceasefire talks to have some space to move forward. And so far, at least the Iranians appear to be heeding that warning, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Jeremy Diamond, for us live in Israel. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Any moment now, Vice President Kamala Harris will make her case to voters over how she would handle the economy if she was elected president, we're going to bring it to you live as soon as it begins. Stay with us. You're watching CNN NEWS CENTER.

[14:24:36]

DEAN: Just minutes from now, Vice President Kamala Harris will take the stage in North Carolina for her first major policy speech as a Democratic nominee. She is set to unveil a string of new economic policy proposals targeting housing costs, food and prescription drug prices and more.

SANCHEZ: She is set to take the stage fairly soon, but let's discuss with our panel before she starts.

With us, Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross, Republican strategist Matt Gorman and CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

[14:25:03]

Jeff, I want to start with you, because typically, at this point in an election season, we see candidates moderate their positions. But this set of economic policies, more than a dozen proposals from Kamala Harris, they seem to be far more populous than even where Joe Biden was in his economic view.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Without question. I mean, Vice President Harris is proposing a bigger set of policies, higher dollars than the president's current record.

But we're seeing something similar on both sides of the aisle. That's what I find so remarkable about this. You know, less than three months before Election Day, there is this populist strain that is coursing through both parties. No surprise. I mean, it's been clear for years, really talking to voters, but a lot of similarities between what she's proposing and what J.D. Vance has been talking about in terms of helping out families with children.

So, the Biden policy has been about job creation in the wave of the pandemic -- in the years after the pandemic, this is about sort of bringing prices down. A lot of these are ideas. I mean, of course it would matter who would control Congress. These are not going to be enacted into law, probably.

But it's significant because it's the first sort of policy ideas she's talked about in her three week old campaign.

DEAN: Matt, I want to get your take on that, because as Jeff was talking, I was thinking about this too. It is interesting to hear J.D. Vance pushing for a $5,000 Child Tax Credit. Republicans, of course, expanded it in their tax cuts back in 2017, Democrats want to -- put it in during COVID and a lot of that legislation wanted to keep it, but Republicans blocked them on that.

It is interesting to see the Democratic and Republican candidates, kind of meeting themselves in the middle there, on something like that, on no tax on tips. What do you make of that?

MATT GORMAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: A couple things. They -- those are broadly popular, number one, but I think you where you're going to hear the contrast is on housing policy --

SANCHEZ: So sorry to interrupt you, but --

DEAN: Hold that thought.

SANCHEZ: Vice President Harris has just taken the microphone in Raleigh, North Carolina. Let's listen in.

HARRIS: Hello, family and friends. It's good to be back in North Carolina. It's good to see everyone. Thank you. It's good to see everyone.

Good afternoon everyone. Please have a seat. If you have a seat, please have a seat. Mike D I have to -- so, Mike D's BBQ, let me tell you one of the biggest fans of Mike D's BBQ, my husband, Doug Emhoff.

And thank you, Mike for sharing your story and I'm just so sorry for what your family has been through, but you have out of an incredible tragedy, done so much for the community, and you are such a role model. So, thank you, Mike, for everything you do.

Thank you and good afternoon to everyone here. Thank you to all of the incredible leaders with us today, including my friend the Governor Roy Cooper, where is he? Here with his daughter.

Every time I land in North Carolina, just literally coming down the stairs of Air Force Two, I will shout to Roy Cooper, what number is it, Roy? And today he shouted 16, which is the number of times I've been in this beautiful state since I've been vice president.

I want to thank your next governor, Attorney General Josh Stein. He's doing incredible work. He's going to be an extraordinary governor.

Representatives Adams, Manning, Foushee, and Nickel, thank you all for your support, for your friendship, for your leadership.

Chair Thomas of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, thank you for all that you do.

And to all the leaders that are here today, including the students and instructors here at Wake Tech North, thank you. Thank you.

So, thank you all.

So, listen, this election, I do strongly believe, is about two very different visions for our nation. One, ours, focused on the future and the other, focused on the past. We see that contrast clearly in many ways, including when it comes to how we think about the economy.

So, our country has come a long way since President Biden and I took office. At that time, we sadly remember the millions of Americans that were out of work. We were facing one of the worst economic crises in modern history.