Harris to flesh out her economic vision in Pittsburgh, pitching ‘pragmatic’ approach

PITTSBURGH — Kamala Harris plans to flesh out her economic vision Wednesday in what her campaign is billing as a “major speech” in battleground Pennsylvania, with the goal of chipping away at Donald Trump’s advantage among voters on the issue.

The speech will tie together various themes of the Harris campaign, including her own biography and how it defines her economic vision.

Along with touting her existing economic proposals, Harris will announce “new proposals for how she would make sure America leads the world in manufacturing in the industries of the future,” a senior Harris campaign official said, without providing details.

Harris plans to describe her economic vision as “pragmatic” and not “bound by ideology,” the official said. The message is consistent with her shift to the center since she claimed the Democratic presidential nomination and also counters Trump’s bid to highlight left-wing positions she took in 2019 as a presidential candidate.

Harris will also present herself as the candidate of the working class, touting her humble upbringing and portraying Trump as a candidate who’s interested only in enriching wealthy people like himself, according to excerpts viewed by NBC News.

“For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors,” Harris plans to say.

Trump’s advantage on handling the economy has shrunk since Harris replaced President Joe Biden as his opponent, according to NBC News polling. In a January poll, Trump led Biden by 22 points when it comes to dealing with the economy. But a new September poll released Sunday found Trump leading Harris by a narrower 9 points on dealing with the economy.

That advantage could be crucial in swaying undecided voters in pivotal states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada, where the race is close. The economy consistently ranks as a top issue for voters, and it has been one of Trump’s assets countering his array of liabilities.

Harris recently laid out her plans for cutting costs on groceries, medication and housing, as well as boosting small businesses. But she has avoided getting specific on a host of other issues, including the federal minimum wage, paid family and medical leave, child care funding, how to extend health care coverage and whether she favors piercing the Senate filibuster to pass some of her promises, like $35-per-month insulin for all Americans. It’s not clear whether she will lay out details of those issues in her Pittsburgh speech.

“I’m going to be giving a speech this week that is really to outline my vision for the economy,” Harris told reporters Sunday. “As you’ve heard me talk about, I believe in what we can create in terms of opportunity for the American people. I’ve named it an opportunity economy, which really, in short form, is about what we can do more to invest in the aspirations, the ambitions and the dreams of the American people while addressing the challenges that they face.”

The Harris campaign has also seen Trump’s advantage on economic issues shrink and aims to use the Pittsburgh speech to win the battle of “who’s fighting for you” in the minds of voters, portraying her as being for the middle class and depicting Trump as a symbol of the billionaire class, the official said. The campaign’s internal data shows that the more voters hear from her on economic issues, the more they like her, the official added, saying voters care less about specific policy planks and more about her values and priorities.

She is also seeking to reach working-class Black and Latino voters, among whom Trump is seeking to make gains in his quest for 270 electoral votes.

“From the very beginning of this campaign Vice President Harris has been clear: She is not taking a single voter for granted, and she will put in the work needed to earn every single vote,” Terrance Woodbury, president of HIT Strategies, which polls Black voters for the Harris campaign, said in a statement. “According to our recent polling, Black voters’ economic priorities include reducing costs and increasing wealth. The Vice President’s Opportunity Economy agenda speaks directly to these economic priorities and will be especially important for earning the votes of undecided Black voters.”