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Will Biden and Harris’ “historic” drug pricing deal resonate with US voters in November?

The agreement would save older Americans $1.5 billion in the first year and the government-run Medicare health insurance system $6 billion, the statement said.

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris announced the drug price deal as they prepared for their first trip together since Biden's decision to drop out of the presidential race less than a month ago. Photo: Getty Images/TNS
Although the deal was Biden's idea, he appears to have decided to share the credit with Harris as she intensifies her fight with Republicans. Donald Trump before November Choice.

Harris has already made lowering high prices a central theme of her campaign and hopes that her drug announcements will enable her to win over voters who have long struggled with inflation.

In the United States, prescription drug prices are among the highest in the world, so many people have to pay for them out of their own pockets despite already exorbitant insurance premiums.

The two will welcome the drug pricing deal at an event in Maryland – their first joint appearance since Biden withdrew from the election following a disastrous debate with Trump.

Biden emphasized Harris' role, saying this “historic milestone” was only possible because Congress passed the post-Covid inflation reduction bill after his vice president cast the deciding vote in the Senate.

Harris added in her statement: “President Biden and I will never stop fighting for the health, well-being and financial stability of the American people.”

Vice President Kamala Harris will outline her own economic agenda in a speech on Friday. Photo: AFP

This comes a day before Harris is scheduled to outline her own economic agenda in a speech on Friday and ahead of her star appearance at the Democratic National Convention next week.

The first black and South Asian vice president of the United States has already breathed new life into the Democratic Party after the trauma of Biden's departure.

But even though she has overtaken Trump in the polls and drawn huge crowds to her rallies, she has not yet fleshed out her policies beyond broad outlines.

This includes largely adopting Biden's previous economic agenda, including his promises to eliminate “junk fees” and reduce housing costs.

Harris is also trying to maintain distance from Biden's policies and represent her own point of view.

The news portal Axios reported on Wednesday that Harris wants to “break with Biden on the issues where he is unpopular,” with rising prices at the top of the list.

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Trump supporters criticize US vice presidential candidate Tim Walz over China ties

Trump supporters criticize US vice presidential candidate Tim Walz over China ties

Biden's presidency has been plagued by inflation, and many voters rate his economic performance poorly despite otherwise good employment and growth figures.

Conversely, according to a survey by the Financial Times and the University of Michigan, more people now trust the vice president than Trump to handle the economy (42 percent to 41 percent).

Before she took the reins, Biden was at 35 percent, while Trump's number remained unchanged.

Trump will try to steal the show by holding a press conference shortly after the event.

The former Republican president, who survived an assassination attempt on July 13, has so far struggled with an election campaign that has been turned upside down by the Democratic Party's change of candidate.

Trump gave a speech on Wednesday that was supposed to focus on the economy – but in the end he drifted into personal insults: He called Harris a “madwoman”, Biden “stupid” and Harris' running mate Tim Walz a “clown”.