Harris sticks to economic pitch in first Hispanic media interview

Vice President Harris pushed her economic message in her first Hispanic media interview as the Democratic presidential nominee, bashing former President Trump’s economic message and business record.

In a 10-minute radio interview with Edna Chapa, an entertainment reporter known as “Angel Baby,” Harris made the case that her economic proposals are fundamentally sound, dismissing Trump’s as bluster.

“I think it’s important for people to not get distracted by, you know, his name on a tower when you — really, we ought to look at the fact that he bankrupts businesses that he’s involved in, and economists have talked about his plan going forward and how it would contribute to America’s deficit and actually cost American middle-class families more than they are paying now,” Harris told Chapa.

The full interview aired on Uforia radio stations and was livestreamed on the radio network’s sites and app.

Uforia is TelevisaUnivision’s audio division, and it runs stations in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas. According to TelevisaUnivision, Uforia is the top Spanish-language audio platform in the United States, with 18 million listeners.

Since Harris became the Democratic nominee, the party’s candidates have gained ground with Latino voters, including on economic issues, according to a recent poll by UnidosUS.

In the survey, 45 percent of respondents said they trust Democrats to deliver better solutions on inflation, the top issue for Latinos, compared to only 39 percent who said the same last November.

Republicans have also picked up some undecided voters on that issue: In August, 27 percent of respondents said the GOP had better cost-of-living policies, compared to 21 percent last November.

In her interview with Chapa, Harris first laid out her economic proposals, then leaned into the two presidential nominees’ contrasts on that issue.

“Goldman Sachs, which is a very highly respected financial adviser and leader, has said that I — my plan will increase the gross national product and the GDP, and that Trump’s plan would actually lower it. So, these are objective analyses by some of the smartest economists in the country and in the world,” Harris said.

Goldman Sachs analysts released a paper Tuesday estimating that Trump’s proposed tariffs and immigration crackdowns would hit growth, outweighing any impulse to the economy from lower taxes.

Conversely, those analysts estimated that Harris’s spending and tax credit proposals would “more than offset” any deceleration caused by the higher corporate income tax she proposes.

The vice president also took the opportunity to attack Trump’s personal business record, framing the GOP nominee as out of touch and financially ineffective.

“And I just have to say this, is that you also have to look at this guy — you know, he talks about being so rich. He inherited hundreds of millions of dollars from his father and went bankrupt six times,” Harris said.

“And I think that we know that when we look at somebody who actually has come from a working background and understands the needs of working people, that’s when working people benefit. And that’s the contrast in this election.”

The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.