6 insights from Kamala Harris' MSNBC interview with Stephanie Ruhle

Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for a one-on-one interview with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday, just hours after delivering a speech in Pittsburgh outlining her economic priorities.

Harris emphasized in both her speech and the interview that her policies were aimed at strengthening the middle class and claimed that Trump favors the rich.

Here are the most important findings from the approximately 30-minute interview.

Addressing voters’ concerns about the economy

Ruhle, who has long covered economic issues, first asked Harris why she thought polls showed that more voters believed Trump could handle the economy better than she did.

“The facts, as far as I know, are this: Donald Trump has given us the worst economy since the Great Depression, if you look at the employment numbers, for example,” Harris said.

Ruhle then provided context. “It was during COVID and [un]Employment was so high because we shut down the government, we shut down the country,” she said.

“Even before the pandemic, he had lost at least 200,000 manufacturing jobs, by most people's estimates,” Harris countered. “He's lost manufacturing facilities, ask the auto workers. He's lost auto factories. We've built over 20 new auto factories.”

While polls show Harris catching up on economic issues, the vice president also made sure to highlight the views of outside experts to further back up those numbers.

Trump's agenda will include “tariffs on a scale that will cause the average worker to spend 20 percent more on basic necessities, an estimated $4,000 a year. To the point that leading economists in our country, from Nobel Prize winners to people at Moody's and Goldman Sachs, have compared my plan to his and said my plan would grow the economy, his would shrink it.”

Tax increases for corporations and the rich

Trump has proposed cutting the corporate tax rate from 21% to 15% and promised to permanently extend the tax cuts enacted during his presidency. Harris, meanwhile, has proposed raising the rate to 28%. She framed this decision in terms of equity, setting a limit for those who do not have to worry about higher taxes.

“First of all, taxes will not increase for anyone making less than $400,000 a year,” Harris said. “Their taxes will not increase. And in fact, my plan will cut taxes for 100 million Americans, including $6,000 a year for young couples in the first year of their child's life.”

Ruhle asked Harris if she would borrow money to keep her promise to reinstate the child tax credit if Democrats fail to gain control of both houses of Congress and raise the corporate tax rate.

“We're going to have to raise corporate taxes,” she replied, adding: “We're going to have to make sure that the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share, that's it. It's about paying their fair share.”

Rühle then asked how she wanted to find the right balance in taxing companies without causing them to move away.

“I work with a lot of CEOs and have spent a lot of time with CEOs. And I can tell you that the business leaders who are actually part of the engine of the American economy agree that people should pay their fair share.”

On Trump’s claim that he is a “protector” of women

Ruhle asked Harris to respond to comments made by Trump in which he called himself a “protector” of women. At a rally on Monday, Trump also told women: “You will no longer be afraid of all the problems that our country has today. You will be protected, and I will be your protector. Women will be happy, healthy, confident and free. They will no longer think about abortion.”

“So Donald Trump is also the one who said women should be punished for making a decision about their own bodies and their futures that is theirs,” Harris responded. “I think we can all agree that because of his attitude toward women, he also elected three members of the Supreme Court of the United States who did what he intended: They overturned the protections of Roe v. Wade, and now in state after state, laws are being passed that punish women.”

“Look,” she added, “I think the thing about Donald Trump is that the women of America don't need him to say he's going to protect them. The women of America need him to trust them.”

Refutes Trump's claim that she “lied” about her work at McDonald's

During the election campaign, Trump accused Harris of making up her story that she had worked in a McDonald's restaurant as a child.

“Have you ever had two beef patties, lettuce with special sauce, cheese, pickles and onions served on a sesame seed bun in your life?” asked Ruhle, repeating the fast-food chain’s famous jingle.

“I did,” Harris replied with a laugh, adding, “One reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald's is because there are people in our country who work at McDonald's and are trying to support a family – I worked there as a student, I was a kid – who work there and are trying to support a family and pay the rent. I think part of the difference between me and my opponent is our perspective on the needs of the American people.”

Describes flat-rate tariffs as a “sales tax for the American people”

Ruhle asked Harris whether Trump's proposal to impose blanket tariffs on foreign imports was a good economic strategy, pointing out that President Biden has already imposed such tariffs on some Chinese goods.

“Part of it is you don't just throw around the idea of ​​tariffs across the board, and that's part of the problem with Donald Trump,” Harris replied. “Frankly, and I say this with all sincerity, he's just not very serious about his stance on some of these issues. And you have to be serious.”

Most economists view blanket tariffs as tax increases on American consumers because they indiscriminately drive up prices. Harris echoed that view on Wednesday.

“It would be a sales tax for the American people,” she said.

Was Rühle the right choice for the interview with Harris?

Although Trump frequently interviews Fox News hosts who make no secret of their support for his candidacy, many conservatives found the decision to select Ruhle to interview Harris inappropriate.

Last week, Ruhle, who has spent her career focusing mainly on economic issues, was a guest on HBO’s Real Talk with Bill Maherwhere she openly spoke out in favor of voting for Harris.

“She's running against Trump, we have two options,” Ruhle told New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, who was skeptical about supporting either Trump or Harris. “There are some things you may not know the answer to, and in 2024 – unlike in 2016 for many Americans – we know exactly what Trump is going to do, who he is and what kind of threat he poses to democracy.”

In a post on Truth Social over the weekend, Trump criticized Maher, Ruhle and Stephens.

“This week he had MSDNC's 'dumb as a rock' bimbo Stephanie Ruhle on the show, along with a Trump-hating loser, Bret Stephens, who seemed totally confused and unsure, much like Maher himself,” Trump wrote.