Harris Calls Trump ‘One Of The Biggest Losers Ever On Manufacturing’

Vice President Kamala Harris called Donald Trump a “loser” who failed to grow domestic manufacturing under his watch in one of her strongest speeches yet against the former president.

“All told, almost 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his presidency, starting before the pandemic hit, making Trump one of the biggest losers ever on the economy,” Harris said in remarks Wednesday that channeled Trump’s own hyperbole.

Harris painted Trump as an out-of-touch rich guy who’s only looking out for himself and his rich friends.

“And as Andrea said,” Harris said, referring to a previous speaker at the event, “not everybody was handed, on a silver platter, $400 million and then filed for bankruptcy six times.”

“Oh, I said that,” she interjected. “I actually said that.”

These were some of the vice president’s most direct attacks on Trump since becoming the Democratic nominee — on a key issue that’s weighing on swing voters.

Harris was in western Pennsylvania to lay out her plans for bolstering the middle class, which she called “the defining goal of my presidency.”

Her vision for an “opportunity economy” includes a $6,000 tax credit for new parents and $25,000 in down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers to get their footing in a challenging housing market. She also pledged tax credits for steel and other manufacturing sectors and investments in apprenticeship programs for the skilled trades.

Harris presented herself as a product of the middle class, recalling her mother “sitting at that yellow Formica table, late at night, cup of tea in hand, with a pile of bills in front of her, just trying to make sure she paid them off at the end of the month.” Whereas Trump, Harris noted, used family money to launch a real estate empire that went under a handful of times.

“You see, for Donald Trump, our economy works best for those who own the big skyscrapers, not those who actually build them, not those who wire them, not those who mop the floors. Well, I have a very different vision,” Harris said.

Harris knocked Trump on his lofty campaign promises about bringing factories roaring back to life, a key part of his pitch in 2016. The coronavirus pandemic set back Trump’s progress on that front — he rode a steady climb in manufacturing-sector job growth that began under former President Barack Obama, but which reversed in the pandemic, resulting in a net job loss of 188,000 jobs in this area under Trump’s watch.

Trump’s campaign ignored the remarks about manufacturing in its statement on Harris.

“Personal savings are down, credit card debt is up, small business optimism is at a record-low, and people are struggling to afford homes, groceries, and gas. Every time Kamala speaks, it becomes increasingly clear that ONLY President Trump will Make America WEALTHY Again,” said Trump’s national press secretary Karoline Leavitt.