SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
This week, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump outline their plans to combat high prices. The dueling proposals reflect just how important inflation and economy are to voters. NPR's Franco Ordoñez has been looking at both plans. Franco, thanks for being with us.
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Thanks for having me, Scott.
SIMON: Let's begin with the Harris plan. What can you tell us?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, she's been facing some criticism for not offering her own vision of the job, how she would distinguish herself from Biden, from Bidenomics, frankly. And in North Carolina yesterday, she did acknowledge how tough it is for many middle-income families.
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VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: Because, look, the bills add up - food, rent, gas, back-to-school clothes, prescription medication. After all that, for many families, there's not much left at the end of the month.
ORDOÑEZ: And while she didn't really get too specific, she did offer some broad outlines of what she described as a more forward-looking economic plan. It includes assistance for homeowners, caps on drug prices. There was a lot of attention on a proposal for a federal ban on price gouging in the food industry. And she also wants to raise the child tax credit more and eliminate taxes on tips, which - those two things, by the way, are also being proposed by Trump, as well.
SIMON: Yeah. And so there is agreement between parts of the Harris and Trump plans but also huge contrasts, aren't there?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. Big contrasts. And Trump also laid out parts of his plan this week. Again, not deep in specifics, but he plans to also eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. He also talked a lot about boosting fossil fuels and nuclear energy. He really wants to roll back many of Biden's efforts to fight climate change, which he blames for rising energy costs.
SIMON: And I gather they also included some sharp attacks on Vice President Harris.
ORDOÑEZ: They certainly did. I mean, Trump's been under pressure from Republicans to tone down the personal attacks. And I've spoken with allies who say Trump should really stick to his winning message, which is, are you better off now with Harris and Biden than you were with Trump? I mean, the election is less than three months away, and they say that he's wasting precious opportunities to highlight the contrasts on the issues like the economy and the border. But it doesn't look like he's going to hold back from criticizing Harris, and not just on policy.
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DONALD TRUMP: I think I'm entitled to personal attacks. I don't have a lot of respect for her. I don't have a lot of respect for her intelligence. And I think she'll be a terrible president. And I think it's very important that we win. And whether the personal attacks are good, bad - I mean, she certainly attacks me personally. She actually called me weird. He's weird.
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. That weird line has really gotten under his skin, apparently. And ultimately, though, what he made clear at his press conference was that he's the candidate, and he needs to do it his own way.
SIMON: Franco, what will you be looking for at the Democratic National Convention next week?
ORDOÑEZ: Well, I mean, the economy isn't the strongest issue for Democrats, so I'm not so sure how much they're going to be talking about that. You were just talking about the protests over Gaza. Are they going to find their way into the arena? I mean, there is going to be a lot of attention on Harris next week, for good and bad. So I will want to see the contrast with the Republican convention in Milwaukee from just a few weeks ago, where there really was this kind of sense of inevitability among Republicans that Trump was going to win. I mean, the change - the race has changed so much. The dynamics have changed so much. I'm also, of course, focusing a lot on the Trump campaign, so I will be watching how they respond and try to take back some of the spotlight next week. I expect Trump will be pretty busy, as well.
SIMON: NPR White House correspondent Franco Ordoñez, thanks so much for being with us.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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