Here is a brief look at some of their policies as published by Reuters:
Vice President Harris, a Democrat, faces former President Trump, a Republican, in the 2024 U.S. presidential election race that may be decided by a thin sliver of votes in seven battleground states. The two are sharply divided on the role the U.S. government should play in Arab American lives and the world at large and on issues from the Israeli war on Gaza and Lebanon, immigration, education, religion in schools, economy and taxes.
Foreign policy: Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Harris, like President Biden, has offered unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants, but she has been increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his failure to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Harris has expressed more empathy for the Palestinian people, but has not offered any substantive change in policy from Biden.
Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and sidelined Palestinians in a series of peace deals between Arab countries and Israel as president. He has supported Israel in its fight against Hamas in Gaza, but also has said the conflict should end quickly.
Race in the United States
Harris has said White supremacy fueled a 2019 mass shooting in El Paso, Texas that killed 23 people. She has accused Trump of trying to divide Americans over race and often mentions his false claims that Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president, was not born in the United States.
Trump’s campaign rallies often highlight White resentment of a perceived threat from racial minorities and immigrants in the country illegally. He has called people in the country illegally who commit violent crimes “animals” and “vermin” and promoted false claims that Haitian immigrants were stealing pets for food in an Ohio city. He has said his economic policies helped racial minority groups in his first administration and will do so again if he is elected.
Immigration
Harris called for an “orderly and humane pathway to earned citizenship for hardworking people” during a Spanish-language town hall-style event that aired on Univision in October. She backs a bipartisan Senate bill that would provide funding for more U.S. border agents, immigration judges and asylum officers.
Trump built or upgraded 450 miles (725 km) of U.S.-Mexico border wall as president, and vows to finish it. He wants to detain all migrants caught entering the country illegally or breaking other immigration laws. He has promised the largest deportation effort in U.S. history and would deploy National Guard troops and, if necessary, the regular military. He wants to end automatic citizenship for children born to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
Education: Public schools
Harris picked a former public school teacher, Tim Walz, as her vice presidential running mate and has spoken about the need to ban guns, not books in schools, teach full U.S. history and create a pipeline of Black male teachers. The Democratic Party has said more U.S. government investment in early childhood education programs like preschool would lift wages and decrease poverty.
Trump has pledged to shut down the U.S. Department of Education. He significantly cut funding for K-12 public schools as president, while giving billions of dollars in tax credits to his private school voucher plan. Trump is promising to cut funding for public schools that teach race and gender issues he views as too liberal, and to increase funding for charter schools.
Trump proposes reducing costs at the gasoline pump by boosting domestic oil and gas production, temporarily capping credit card interest rates and making housing more affordable by eliminating some regulations and opening up some federal lands to build new housing. He has pledged to deport migrants in the country illegally, saying they drive up the cost of housing, a claim that is not backed by evidence.
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