The Saturday morning editions of the network morning shows took different approaches to Vice President Kamala Harris’s radical proposal to install price controls on food. ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today barely touched it, portraying it as if it were just another proposal, while CBS Saturday Morning was more willing to say the proposal was more politics than actual economics.
ABC was the worst offender, as White House correspondent Mary Bruce put a positive spin on the proposal during the top-of-the-show rundown, “Vice President Kamala Harris details her vision ahead of the Democratic Convention. The policies aimed at protecting your pocketbook. Donald Trump, taking aim.”
Why would Trump want to take aim at the idea of protecting voters’ pocketbooks? To find out, viewers had to wait a few minutes for a report from Jay O’Brien, who played a clip of Harris urging people to “compare my plan with what Donald Trump intends to do. He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts year after year. You know, I think, if you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for.”
Labeling Harris’s agenda “ambitious,” O’Brien continued, “Harris's ambitious agenda, much of which would have to be cleared by Congress, calling for a federal ban on price gouging of groceries, up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time home buyers, a tax credit of up to $6,000 for families of a newborn, and capping the cost of insulin at $35 and other out-of-pocket prescription drug prices at $2,000.”
O’Brien did play a generic Trump clip, but it didn’t give viewers any insight into the history of price controls leading to shortages, “Kamala Harris is a radical California liberal who broke the economy.”
NBC White House correspondent Allie Raffa was only marginally better, “promising to address the issue at the top of voters' minds. Her plan includes an expanded child tax credit up to $6,000 for families with newborns and up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time home buyers. Harris also saying she’ll work with Congress to impose a federal ban on what her campaign calls price gouging in the food industry.”
She then played a clip of Harris declaring, “Most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy, and playing by the rules, but some are not.”
Unlike O’Brien, Raffa did manage to play a clip of Trump attacking Harris’s price control scheme, but made it sound like he was talking about inflation:
RAFFA: Former President Trump blaming Harris for rising inflation during his own event this week.
TRUMP: Something straight out of Venezuela or the Soviet Union.
CBS correspondent Natalie Brand was the best of the trio. As part of her report, she interviewed Prof. Steven Hamilton, who liked the housing parts of Harris’s plan, “But he's skeptical of Harris's call for a federal ban on price gouging on groceries and other goods.”
Hamilton didn’t mention shortages or black markets, but did suggest no serious economist would ever propose such a thing, “I think that's really, frankly, more of a, kind of, populist, you know, thing rather than something driven by real economics.”
Brand also played a clip of Trump calling Harris a “radical left person” who “wants to put price controls all over the place, which will end up driving up your prices, not down your prices.”
And drive down supply, but ABC and NBC would rather not talk about that.
Here are transcripts for the August 17 shows:
ABC Good Morning America
8/17/2024
7:00 AM ET
MARY BRUCE: Vice President Kamala Harris details her vision ahead of the Democratic Convention. The policies aimed at protecting your pocketbook. Donald Trump, taking aim.
…
JAY O’BRIEN: Fresh off the vice president laying out her economic plan in the first major policy speech of her just weeks old campaign.
KAMALA HARRIS: Compare my plan with what Donald Trump intends to do. He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts year after year. You know, I think, if you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for.
O’BRIEN: Harris's ambitious agenda, much of which would have to be cleared by Congress, calling for a federal ban on price gouging of groceries, up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time home buyers, a tax credit of up to $6,000 for families of a newborn, and capping the cost of insulin at $35 and other out-of-pocket prescription drug prices at $2,000.
Meantime, Donald Trump holding his own rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, today after spending the week slapping Harris and the Biden administration's handling of the economy.
DONALD TRUMP: Kamala Harris is a radical California liberal who broke the economy.
***
NBC Today
8/17/2024
7:06 AM ET
ALLIE RAFFA: Promising to address the issue at the top of voters' minds. Her plan includes an expanded child tax credit up to $6,000 for families with newborns and up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time home buyers. Harris also saying she’ll work with Congress to impose a federal ban on what her campaign calls price gouging in the food industry.
KAMALA HARRIS: Most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy, and playing by the rules, but some are not.
RAFFA: Former President Trump blaming Harris for rising inflation during his own event this week.
DONALD TRUMP: Something straight out of Venezuela or the Soviet Union.
***
CBS Saturday Morning
8/17/2024
NATALIE BRAND: But he's skeptical of Harris's call for a federal ban on price gouging on groceries and other goods.
KAMALA HARRIS: So, believe me, as president, I will go after the bad actors.
STEVEN HAMILTON: I think that's really, frankly, more of a, kind of, populist, you know, thing rather than something driven by real economics.
BRAND: Vice president Harris is also calling to expand the child tax credit to families with newborns. Her proposals would require Congressional approval.
DONALD TRUMP: Radical left person wants to put price controls all over the place, which will end up driving up your prices, not down your prices.
