Trump blasts Harris on inflation

Price growth in the US has remained at over 3% since Joe Biden became president

US Republican nominee Donald Trump has hammered Vice President Kamala Harris over the Biden administration’s record on inflation, and likened a campaign pledge she recently made to rein in price growth to measures used in communist nations.

Speaking on Saturday at a rally in northeastern Pennsylvania, the Republican nominee mocked his rival for her vow to pass the first federal ban on price gouging on food if she is elected president. 

“Right yesterday Kamala laid out her so-called economic plan, saying that she’s going to lower the cost of food and housing starting on day one, but day one for Kamala was three and half years ago, so why didn’t she do it then?” Trump exclaimed.

Earlier this week, Harris pointed to the cost of items such as bread and ground beef, claiming that large food manufacturers are boosting profits and accusing some grocery chains of not passing along savings to customers.

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The Republican nominee blasted his rival’s “socialist” approach to price controls, calling her “comrade Kamala,” and adding that she had gone “full communist.” 

“It will cause rationing, hunger and skyrocketing prices,” he said. “Just like [the Biden-Harris administration’s] Inflation Reduction Act, which is one of the great scams of all time. Inflation has been so bad, it’s gone up much more than 50%. They say 30%, 40% — many more people are being devastated.”

Trump stressed that the “radical liberal policies” of recent years under the administration of President Joe Biden have caused “horrific inflation” that has decimated the middle class and “gutted the finances of millions of American families.”

“They have no idea, they’re grossly incompetent people. Real incomes are down by over $2,000 a year. Think of that, minimum, and ours up five times that amount, more than five times that amount. Her price hikes have cost a typical household a total of $28,000, and that’s called the Kamala Harris inflation tax. She was there for everything.”

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Price growth spiked to 9.1% year-on-year in June 2022 before beginning to subside as the Federal Reserve embarked on a series of interest rate hikes. Nevertheless, annual inflation had remained at over 3% before dropping to 2.9% this past July, the first time it has dipped below the 3% mark since March 2021.