NEW YORK (AP) — One presidential candidate supports gun ownership and promises strict border security, while the other promises to cap credit card interest rates and force insurance companies to cover the cost of in-vitro fertility.
Who is the Democrat and who is the Republican?
The lines that have long defined the two parties’ policy priorities are blurring as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump seek to expand their coalition in the final weeks of a hotly contested election. The outcome of the contest could depend on how many disaffected suburban Republicans vote for Harris and how many of the Democrats’ time-honored voters – African-Americans, Latinos, youthful people and union members – defect to Trump.
This results in both candidates taking positions that would previously have been anathema to their voting base, challenging long-held assumptions about what their respective parties stand for.
“There are a whole host of issues that are driving people to support President Trump, and frankly, these are issues that used to be central pillars of the Democratic Party,” Tulsi Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii who has emerged as one of Trump’s key allies, said in an interview.
Barbara Comstock, who co-managed Nikki Haley’s Republican presidential campaign earlier this year, is now endorsing Harris. The former Republican congresswoman from Virginia expressed surprise at feeling more on the Democratic side this year, citing Harris’s call for an expanded child care tax credit, her support for tough, bipartisan immigration legislation and her foreign policy stance, which Comstock said is in stark contrast to Trump’s admiration for leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“As a Republican, I feel like, hey, the Democrats are on my side now,” Comstock said in an interview.
Trump has long opposed the time-honored values of the GOP
Of course, Trump has broken with time-honored Republican conservative values on issues like trade and foreign policy over the past decade. But this fall he has gone further, testing the loyalty of social and pro-government conservatives with an agenda that downplays his opposition to abortion and calls for significant government intervention in health care and the economy.
Trump said last week he wants the federal government to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, a move that quickly angered fiscal conservatives. Last month he said he supports a federal law that would force insurance companies to pay for IVF, angering some social conservatives who believe the embryos used in the procedure should be protected. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly voted against the proposal.
Gabbard declined to say whether she considers Trump a conservative, instead describing his political approach as “common sense.”
In addition to artificial insemination, she pointed to the criminal justice reform supported by Trump, which reduced the prison sentences of many inmates. She also emphasized a foreign policy philosophy that aims to avoid U.S. involvement in global conflicts such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“Many political independents and many Democrats don’t recognize the Democratic Party today, where not a single Democrat in the House or the Senate stands up and says we need to end the war in Ukraine,” Gabbard said.
Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both former Democrats, have emerged as the Trump campaign’s most noticeable national surrogates as it tries to win over undecided Democrats and independents. The campaign has taken its time welcoming other potential allies, including Haley, who launched her first fundraising appeal on Trump’s behalf just last week.
Harris has an organized program to attract Republicans
In comparison, Harris has implemented a more organized program to reach out to Republican voters.
In recent days, her campaign has organized events on abortion rights, border security and tiny business startups, with appearances from Republican politicians. Seven Republicans were awarded speeches at the Democratic National Convention last month. And a host of outside groups are spending millions of dollars to assist Harris connect with disaffected Republicans, including Republican Voters Against Trump and the Anti-Psychopath PAC.
At the same time, Harris is pursuing a much more energetic foreign policy. She has promised to include a Republican in her cabinet if elected. And she is more open about her gun ownership – and her willingness to operate it.
“I am a gun owner,” Harris told Oprah Winfrey tardy last week.
“I didn’t know that!” said the TV star, a Harris supporter, surprised.
“If anyone breaks into my house, they’ll get shot. Sorry,” Harris replied, laughing.
Harris’ support for robust U.S. leadership on the world stage has already helped her win the support of more than 100 Republican security and foreign policy officials who previously served under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, George W. Bush and Trump himself. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is one of the notable converts.
Both candidates are still largely aligned with their parties
While Harris and Trump hold political views that are attractive to each other, their priorities still largely reflect their party’s traditions.
Trump opposes abortion rights and says he is proud that the Supreme Court, which he helped shape with conservative members, overturned Roe v. Wade. He believes abortion laws should be left to the states, but he plans to vote this fall to keep a Florida law banning all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women realize they are pregnant.
The former Republican president has announced the largest deportation in U.S. history and promised to complete a massive border wall to stop illegal immigration. He calls climate change a “hoax” and has unveiled an energy plan that heavily supports the fossil fuel industry. He wants to extend tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest Americans. He opposes virtually all restrictions on gun ownership. And he firmly opposes diversity and inclusion initiatives designed to promote civil rights.
Nevertheless, his team is convinced that his political program has a lot to offer the Democrats they are trying to convince.
Trump spokesman Brian Hughes argued that the Republican candidate appeals to African-Americans, Hispanics and union members. In particular, the Teamsters Union, which has long supported Democrats, announced last week that it would not support either presidential candidate, which was seen as a major victory for Trump.
“We are already proven to be in their base, no matter how much they insist that this is not the case,” Hughes said.
Harris has only just begun to formulate concrete policy plans, even though she is only eight weeks into the presidential campaign, but her record so far and her recent statements make it clear that she favors liberal policies in most cases.
Harris supports abortion rights because they were protected by Roe. She supports a ban on assault weapons and wants to extend the $35 insulin cap and $2,000 prescription drug copayment cap for seniors that President Joe Biden implemented to all Americans. She has called for a ban on gouging on food and pushed for a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.
She has promised bold action to combat climate change but says she supports fracking – a change from her position in 2020. She supports unions. And she supports voting rights legislation to combat racial discrimination.
“Vice President Harris’ focus on opportunity and freedom reflects fundamental American values that transcend party lines,” said Harris’ spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg. “Any American who wants to move beyond Trump’s chaos and division and forge a new path for America will be welcome in Vice President Harris’ campaign.”
