On November 5th, the 45th President of the United States, Trump, and the Vice President of the 46th President will compete for the throne of the 47th President. Which vision, “Make America Great Again” or “No Turning Back”, will win the hearts of American voters? The answer will be revealed in two months.
Eight years ago, Trump entered the White House with the slogan “Make America Great Again”. Printed on red baseball caps, bumper stickers, and t-shirts, this phrase implies a nostalgic belief that America has lost its former glory, and only Trump can restore it to its former state.
During his second presidential campaign, Trump once again introduced this slogan. In a Truth Social post on August 1st, Trump wrote, “Our country is failing, but we will quickly turn things around and make America great again!”
For Harris, “No Turning Back” has been the slogan she repeated most frequently at campaign rallies since President Biden withdrew from the race on July 21. She uses this phrase to emphasize the Republican Party’s efforts to ban abortion.
“Tim and I are sending a message to Trump and others who want to turn back our fundamental freedoms: We will not back down. We will not turn back,” Harris said. The crowd responded with chants of “No Turning Back.” Tim refers to Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Waltz.
How will “Make America Great Again” and “No Turning Back” correspond to policies and what impact might they have on America’s economy, society, education, and diplomacy?
“Bring Jobs Back to America” is an important step for Trump to achieve “Make America Great Again.” The trade war was a hallmark of Trump’s first term. In his current presidential campaign, Trump promises to establish a “circle” around the American economy by levying tariffs of at least 10% on goods imported from other countries. He also proposes to raise tariffs on imports from China to 60%.
According to the Washington-based non-profit organization “Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget,” these tariffs could generate an additional $2 trillion in government revenue between 2026 and 2035, but they could also raise prices on over $5 trillion worth of goods. According to estimates released by the Peterson Institute for International Economics in May, these tariffs combined could cost a typical median-income family $1,700 per year.
Additionally, tariffs will also increase costs for American importers. Moody’s estimates in April that Trump’s proposed tariffs would lead to a loss of 675,000 jobs in the U.S. economy.
However, the Biden-Harris administration is also not soft on imposing tariffs on China. In May of this year, Biden imposed tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports in several areas deemed strategically important to national security, including steel and aluminum, traditional semiconductors, electric vehicles, battery components, critical minerals, solar panels, cranes, and medical products. The Biden administration’s intent is to weaken Beijing’s key technological development and encourage companies to prioritize production in the United States.
Trump and Harris have different views on how to handle the expiration of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) next year. The TCJA was one of the landmark achievements of Trump’s first term.
Trump stated that one of his main goals is to expand a series of comprehensive tax cuts in the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”. The tax breaks for individual income and estate taxes provided in the act will expire at the end of next year.
At a campaign rally, Trump pledged to provide more tax cuts for individuals and businesses of all income levels. “To provide economic relief to workers and families, we will further reduce taxes,” he said in a speech on August 14, “This has given us a great economy.”
For individuals, the TCJA will maintain seven ordinary tax brackets and TCJA thresholds and rates. The top tax rate will remain at 37% (reduced from 39.6% before TCJA), and the alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption threshold will remain at a higher level. The standard deduction will remain approximately double what it was before the TCJA. For itemized households, the cap on mortgage interest deductions will remain at $750,000 in mortgage debt, and a maximum of $10,000 in state and local tax deductions.
According to the analysis by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, if the provisions of the TCJA were extended, over 45% of the benefits from the act would go to affluent families.
In contrast, Harris’s commitment to tax relief focuses on middle-income families. She promises to expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC), expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), increase health insurance premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), reduce taxes on middle and lower-income families, and provide down payment assistance to eligible first-time homebuyers.
Harris proposed that starting in 2025, the deductible amount for each child under 5 years old would be permanently increased to $3,600, and for children over 5 years old, it would be increased to $3,000. The proposal would also raise the maximum age for eligible children from 16 to 17 years old, with the deduction amount fully refundable. Harris also proposed providing an average of $25,000 in assistance to eligible first-time homebuyers.
As for corporate taxation, Trump and Harris have opposite attitudes. Trump hopes to reduce the corporate tax rate from the current law-mandated 21% to 15%. On the other hand, Harris proposes to increase the corporate income tax rate from the current 21% to 28%.
Inflation is one of the most concerning economic issues for American voters. Trump and Harris have each presented their own solutions.
In a speech on August 14th, Trump stated that he plans to sign an executive order on his first day back in the Oval Office instructing all agency heads and cabinet members to “use all tools and powers at their disposal to combat inflation and drive consumer prices” down rapidly.
Trump said that one of his strategies to lower prices is to “eliminate costly regulations that kill jobs.” He also stated that he would reduce prices by increasing oil and natural gas production.
Harris’s plan to tackle high prices is to combat “price gouging by corporations”.
In an April press release, Harris’s campaign team stated that her first hundred days in office would include “an unprecedented federal ban on price gouging for food and groceries – setting clear rules of the road to explicitly inform big corporations that they cannot unfairly exploit consumers and drive excessive profits from food and groceries”.
However, Harris’s team’s proposal has sparked significant criticism as it evokes the economic planning of communist countries.
Washington Post columnist Katherine Lander wrote in an article that Harris’s plan is a comprehensive price control scheme enforced by the government across every industry (not just food). Supply and demand will no longer determine prices or profit levels. This could lead to shortages, black markets, hoarding, and distortions seen in other countries when attempts were made to control price growth through legislative means.
Researchers EJ Anthony and Andrew Puzde of the Heritage Foundation published an article stating that inflation is not caused by businesses but by the economic policies of the Biden-Harris administration, including massive government spending, a significant increase in the money supply, and the heavy costs of overregulation.
In February 2021, before the American Rescue Plan and its $1.9 trillion government spending were passed, renowned economist Larry Summers warned that the plan would “create inflation pressure that we have not seen in our generation.” Unfortunately, this prophecy came true. The following year, after the passage of the $1 trillion Inflation Reduction Act, the United States experienced inflation levels unprecedented since the 1980s.
Improving border security and other immigration-related issues remain top concerns for voters in the 2024 election. Trump and Harris both focus on border issues as centerpieces of their respective campaigns.
Trump advocates for the construction of a border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. During his time in office, he constructed or refurbished approximately 458 miles of border wall. In his 2024 campaign, he vowed to complete the construction of the border wall. The total length of the U.S.-Mexico border is 1,954 miles.
Harris claimed that this wall was a “medieval vanity project” during her 2019 presidential primary campaign. However, after taking over from Biden as the Democratic candidate, she changed her stance and said she would seek to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars for the construction of the border wall.
If elected, Trump promises to implement mass deportations of illegal immigrants. Data from the Department of Homeland Security and the Pew Research Center shows that there are 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.
At the end of the Democratic National Convention, Harris pledged to “reform our broken immigration system” and “create a path to citizenship and ensure our border security.”
During his first term, Trump launched a program called the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. Under the initiative, over 65,000 asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border who are not from Mexico were returned to Mexico.
Harris stated that if elected, she would close private detention centers, restrict deportations, and advocate for citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
With the ongoing war in Ukraine for two and a half years, the Hamas-Israel conflict enduring for ten months, and the Chinese Communist Party’s threat to attack Taiwan, foreign affairs are one of the key issues of concern for American voters.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Trump stated that if re-elected president, he could end the war between Russia and Ukraine. In May 2023, he spoke at a CNN town hall event saying, “The Russians and Ukrainians, they are dying. I want them to stop dying. I’ll get it done – I’ll get it done in 24 hours.”
In Ukraine’s resistance to Russia, Harris follows Biden’s policies, offering strong support to Ukraine. In June, Harris represented the country at the Ukraine Peace Summit, meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky for the sixth time. At the Munich Security Conference in February, she reaffirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to supporting Ukraine “as needed.”
In the Israel-Hamas conflict, Trump has been a staunch supporter of Israel. He vowed to end the Gaza war and release American “hostages.” At the 2024 Republican National Convention, he addressed Hamas, stating, “We want the hostages back, they better come back before I take office, or you will pay a very heavy price.”
In the Israel-Hamas conflict, Harris generally aligns with Biden, supporting Israel. However, she has at times been more critical of Israel’s military strategies than Biden. She called for a ceasefire in March before Biden, and publicly criticized Israel for what she deemed insufficient humanitarian efforts during the easing of Palestinian cross-border attacks.
When it comes to China, Trump takes a tough stance. In addition to levying tariffs on Chinese goods, he also advocates for new restrictions on China’s infrastructure in the U.S. and proposes building a missile defense system.
On the Taiwan issue, Trump said Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense costs, likening the U.S. to an insurance company and stating that Taiwan has not provided any protection in return.
On countering the Chinese Communist Party, Harris follows in Biden’s footsteps. She stated at the Democratic National Convention that America, not China (the CCP), should win the competition of the 21st century.
On the Taiwan issue, Harris pledged in September 2022 to “continue to support Taiwan’s self-defense, which aligns with our long-term policy.”
Concerning NATO, Trump demanded that member countries pay enough dues. In February of this year, Trump stated that he had warned during his presidency that if Russia attacked NATO allies who failed to fulfill their financial obligations, he would not intervene.
Harris, like Biden, strongly supports NATO. In a speech at the Munich Conference, she stated, “NATO is the core of our global security policy. For President Biden and me, our sacred commitment to NATO still stands firm.”
She said, “I firmly believe that our commitment to building and maintaining alliances helps America become the world’s most powerful and prosperous nation. These alliances prevent wars, defend freedom, and maintain stability from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.”
As the saying goes, “Planting trees for ten years, raising children for a hundred years.” Education is the foundation of a country’s future. Trump and Harris have very different views on education.
Trump’s Agenda47 campaign proposed eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. During Trump’s presidency, he proposed cutting billions of dollars from the Department of Education’s budget. In a campaign video, Trump stated that he wanted schools to be controlled by states rather than the federal government.
Trump supports a school choice program. This program allows public education funds allocated per student to be transferred to non-public schools, including private schools, religious schools, and homeschools. Trump’s campaign team stated that allowing parents to use up to $10,000 from 529 education savings accounts to pay for their chosen K-12 school tuition.
On the contrary, the 2025 Democratic Platform opposes the use of private school vouchers and tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and “other plans that would divert taxpayer-funded resources out of public education.”
In terms of curriculum development in primary and secondary schools, Trump and Harris have distinctly opposite views.
Trump’s campaign team detailed a plan that focuses on public schools allowing prayer, expanding parents’ education rights, advocating patriotism and the “American way of life.” Specific points include abolishing so-called “awakening” or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the field of education and reinstating a commission established in 1776. The commission would focus on the history of the founding of the United States and “values.” Trump also called for cuts to federal funding for schools or programs that criticize racial theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content that is not suitable for our children.
Harris opposes bans on books and class content. “We want to ban assault weapons, they want to ban books,” has become one of her most popular slogans at campaign rallies.
Abortion rights have been a focal point of debate in past elections for both parties.
Last May, Trump hailed the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Roe v. Wade decision as a “great victory.” The ruling reversed the 1973 decision protecting abortion rights.
In April of this year, Trump stated on the Truth Social social media platform that states should handle abortion issues according to the desires of voters, adding that he supports exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.
Harris’s views on abortion align with Biden’s stance. She supports ensuring that all American women have access to legal abortion.
During an interview on MSNBC, Harris stated, “Every person, regardless of gender, should understand that if a fundamental freedom, like the right to make decisions about one’s own body, can be taken away, then be aware that other freedoms might be threatened as well.”