One of the most ridiculous statements made by Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is that she is ready to “turn a new page.” This is a terrible slogan and a sarcastic one.
People are scratching their heads: What’s going to happen in the next four years? What’s going to happen in the last four years?
Still, if we want to know what the next four years of Harris’ presidency will look like, we can only speculate. Harris is sticking to some terrible policies that offer a glimpse into the framework of a socialist government run by pleasure and taxpayer money.
But the vice president has had no problem lying about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s policies, reversing her own, and obfuscating other key points, making it hard to determine what her actual policies are.
I understand that Trump lies a lot too, but we already know that. What do we know about Harris?
Harris is being dishonest. A lot.
Harris, the prosecutor turned politician, knows how to communicate effectively, and when she can’t, there are only two reasons: she’s either being purposely unclear or she’s lying.
Harris’ lies have become even more pronounced over the past month. In an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on Tuesday, Harris said, “Four years ago, when we took office, we had the worst unemployment since the Great Depression.” She made similar statements during her debate with Trump.
Her claims are grossly exaggerated.
During the COVID-19 pandemic that began in early 2020, the unemployment rate spiked to 14.8%. However, by December 2020, the unemployment rate had fallen to 6.7%, which is high compared to recent years but far from the worst level since the 1930s.
For example, in October 2009, nine months after President Barack Obama took office, the unemployment rate was 10.2 percent.
The crux of Harris’ false claim is that the Biden-Harris administration has improved the economy, but inflation has soared to a 40-year high in the summer of 2022 and the costs of basic necessities like food and housing remain painfully high for millions of Americans.
A Primerica survey released last year found that 72% of middle-class families said their income was not keeping up with the rising cost of living, and 74% said they were unable to save for the future.
Harris has also repeatedly reversed course on fracking to extract oil and gas. Who can keep up? I am very concerned that she is reversing course on something as important as energy production. It is vital for the American economy, especially in Texas where I live, to utilize our abundant resources.
OPINION: Bernie Sanders told the truth about Kamala Harris trying to deceive voters. Believe him.
If Harris changes her mind based on what is politically convenient, what will she do while in office? I can’t do whatever is convenient, and I don’t think you can either.
Harris has done the same on abortion: In a post on X that appeared to be a response to a misleading ProPublica article about a woman who died after taking an abortion-inducing pill, she denounced a Georgia law that bans abortions after a viable heartbeat.
“So much is at stake in this election, including restoring freedoms that have been taken from us,” Harris wrote. “If Donald Trump gets his chance, he will sign a nationwide abortion ban into law, making even more of these horrific realities.”
President Trump has said multiple times that he has no interest in signing a federal abortion ban and that such a ban is not necessary because the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Harris makes this false claim about Trump for obvious reasons: “reproductive rights” are a hallmark of the Democratic Party, and her claim that Trump would take away those rights is meant to scare progressive voters. But our current system, where states can make their own abortion laws, is the most democratic system on this issue we’ve had in decades.
This month, Harris’ campaign began running ads trying to link Trump to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. Trump has repeatedly said he has no involvement with the foundation’s plans, even going so far as to disavow them.
Yet Harris continues to make the false allegations because Project 2025 is being demonized in the press, and because claiming Trump’s ties to the organization makes her opponent look extremist. It’s all a matter of guilt by association.
Harris says very little in many words
Harris also frequently spews “word salad,” which Webster’s Dictionary defines as “an empty, incoherent, incomprehensible, or meaningless series of words or comments.”
Here’s one example from Harris’ speech Wednesday: “I grew up understanding that local kids are local kids, and it should be in all of our vested interests to ensure that kids grow up with the resources they need to realize their God-given potential.”
There’s so much to say, even though there’s so little to say.
In the same speech, Ms. Harris seemed unable to sell her economic plan, saying she would take on big corporations that engage in price gouging, even as she acknowledged that few businesses actually resort to price gouging.
Some of Harris’ spin was so bad it bordered on good. At the NABJ event, she was asked about Secret Service protection for President Trump after the second assassination attempt.
“Do you have complete confidence in the Secret Service?” one reporter asked.
“I think so… but go back to Ohio. Not everyone has Secret Service. And right now there are too many people in our country who don’t feel safe,” Harris responded.
She continued, “I mean, I look at things like Project 2025 and the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law that came into effect in Florida. Members of the LGBTQ community don’t feel safe right now. Immigrants and people with immigrant backgrounds don’t feel safe right now. Women don’t feel safe right now. So, yes, I do feel safe… but that doesn’t change how I feel about the importance of fighting for the safety of everyone who lives in this country.”
It’s sneaky to spin the issue and make it someone else’s problem. The thing is, there’s a big difference between feeling unsafe and being the target of two assassination attempts. That didn’t seem to matter to the VP.
A more outspoken candidate would have taken the opportunity to highlight the need for increased security and accountability within the Secret Service to prevent the spread of political violence. But Harris wasn’t interested in making a point that benefited society at large or defended Trump. She was interested in expressing ideas that would make her appear sympathetic to other groups. Instead, the remarks made her appear insensitive.
OPINION: The real threat to democracy isn’t Trump. It’s the would-be assassins trying to kill him.
Do I want to continue this for the next four years?
Whenever I hear Harris speak, I groan — half because I don’t understand what she’s trying to say, and the other half because I don’t agree with her policy positions or political stances.
Harris’s kind of sophistry is unfortunately common among politicians, but it shouldn’t be. While it’s nice to see fact-checks after debates and major speeches, it doesn’t seem to stop the Harris team from being dishonest, deliberately confusing, and constantly changing on key policy issues.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four children. Sign up for her newsletter, “The Right Track,” delivered to your inbox.