Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?

Are you better off than you were four years ago?  That was the first and most important question at the presidential debate this week.  It was also the first of many questions that Vice President Kamala Harris was content to not answer, but rather deflect and lie about her Administration’s record on inflation, immigration, and foreign policy, all of which have been disastrous for our country.  Rather than pay attention to soundbites and “fact checks,” every American should examine Harris’ pledges and proposals in the context of what her Administration has delivered for the past four years.  And we should be mindful that she and her partner, Joe Biden, have been weak, failures, and dangerous for our country.

In the debate, Vice President Harris stated that her economic plan was “about lifting up the middle class and working class of America,” and she has made bringing down costs for American families a pillar of her campaign.  She acknowledged that homes were unaffordable, especially for young families, and on the campaign trail she has acknowledged that the cost of everyday items, such as groceries and gas, are too high for families.  

This is all well and good – but missing from these statements is any recognition that it was her own Administration that drove up these costs in the first place.  Overregulation has made it more difficult to build new homes, increasing costs in the housing market.  Her Administration’s keystone legislation, the “Inflation Reduction Act,” massively increased government spending, driving inflation even higher.  From day one, her Administration’s energy policies have targeted our own oil and natural gas industries, while a botched approach to the Middle East has led to widespread instability in a region that is essential to global energy markets.  All this has combined to deliver higher energy costs and the worst inflation in decades. Harris has neither acknowledged these grievous missteps, nor has she offered any new direction that would solve these issues. In fact, the only concrete proposals offered by her campaign have been targeted price controls.  She is chasing her socialist losses with more socialism!

During the debate, President Trump repeatedly highlighted the immigration crisis facing our nation.  Kamala Harris responded by saying that she was the “the only person on this stage who has prosecuted transnational criminal organizations for the trafficking of guns, drugs, and human beings.”  In reality, there’s almost no substance to that claim whatsoever.  As an actual prosecutor, she supported San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policy.  Her Administration has not gone after drug cartels and has failed to keep poisonous fentanyl out of our communities.  More immigrants have entered our country in the last four years than under any Administration in U.S. history – and it isn’t even close.  That level of illegal immigration is literally unsustainable, and the fact that Harris wants Americans to believe she will fix this problem is ridiculous.  She is in the White House right now – she could actually close the border tomorrow if she really wanted to.  But she won’t do it now and she won’t do it as President either, which leaves the American people to pay the high cost.

Four years ago, the world was, objectively, a safer place.  Putin hadn’t invaded Ukraine.  Iran was incapable of providing weapons to Russia to kill innocent Ukrainians.  Hamas, with the support and direction of Iran, hadn’t murdered Israelis and Americans.  China wasn’t saber-rattling against Taiwan and ramming Philippine ships.  And, vitally, Afghanistan hadn’t seen an American casualty for over a year as our military continued to draw down in a responsible and strategic manner. 

The foreign policy failures of the Biden-Harris Administration are staggering; but at the debate, instead of accountability, Kamala Harris blamed, deflected, and outright lied to propel her career forward.  Most egregiously, she blamed the Trump Administration for her Administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.  Let’s be clear: When Kamala Harris says she and Biden executed the Trump plan for her Afghanistan withdrawal, she is lying.  It’s that simple. 

She also must have forgotten that Vladimir Putin didn’t take an inch of Ukraine’s territory under President Trump.  That war—like the Iranian-backed invasion of Israel by Hamas—happened with Kamala Harris and Joe Biden in charge and as a direct result of their weakness and failure to deter America’s adversaries.  Americans should consider what we are risking if this same leadership is granted another four years in office.

President Trump asked Americans a simple question during the debate: If Kamala Harris really wanted to do all of the things she is promising, why hasn’t she done them in the last three and half years, or why not do them now?  After all, she is the sitting Vice President.  She is not the candidate of change – she is the candidate of more of the same.  Rather than pay attention to scripted answers and the “fact-checks” of biased moderators, Americans should answer this question for themselves and vote accordingly.