Fact-Checking Trump’s and Harris’s Attacks on Each Other’s Policies

We examine the two candidates’ criticisms of each other’s policies, promises and records.

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Former President Donald J. Trump has used a variety of attack lines on Vice President Kamala Harris, while she has sought to contrast her background as a prosecutor and attorney general with his conviction for falsifying business records.

In the weeks since Vice President Kamala Harris ascended to the top of the Democratic ticket, she and former President Donald J. Trump have each sought to portray the other as extreme and unfit for office.

Mr. Trump has tried out a variety of attack lines on Ms. Harris, such as falsely questioning her racial identity and the sizes of her crowds. The former president has also cast Ms. Harris as a member of the “radical left” by describing her positions and record on immigration, tax policy, climate change and criminal justice — often adding spurious extrapolations to overstate her positions even more.

For her part, Ms. Harris has sought to contrast her background as a prosecutor and attorney general with Mr. Trump’s conviction in May for falsifying business records. She has also repeated a number of claims first advanced by President Biden about Mr. Trump’s proposals for social safety nets, health care and abortion, ignoring Mr. Trump’s clarifications and contradictory evidence.

Here’s a fact check of some common talking points.

How each candidate has targeted the other:

Mr. Trump has overstated Ms. Harris’s positions to portray her as far left.
He has misrepresented her record on criminal justice.
Ms. Harris has repeated cherry-picked attacks on Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump has overstated Ms. Harris’s positions to portray her as far left.

What Was Said

“She said that a 70 to 80 percent tax hike is ‘a bold idea that should be discussed.’ She wants an 80 percent.”
— at a rally in North Carolina in July

This is misleading. Ms. Harris called a proposal to increase the top marginal tax rate for people making over $10 million annually a “bold” idea. But she did not endorse it. Nor has she called for an 80 percent tax increase on all taxpayers across the board.

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