Input Stories

Last night, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump engaged in a freewheeling conversation at their first—and possibly only—presidential debate.

Moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC News, and taking place at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the debate covered a series of issues critical to the manufacturing industry.

Manufacturing jobs: Harris touted the Biden–Harris administration’s record on increasing manufacturing jobs, while Trump claimed that the United States was actually losing jobs and called for additional tariffs.

• “We have created over 800,000 new manufacturing jobs while I have been vice president,” said Harris. “We have invested in clean energy to the point that we are opening up factories around the world. Donald Trump said he was going to create manufacturing jobs. He lost manufacturing jobs.”
• “Let me just tell you, they lost 10,000 manufacturing jobs this last month,” said Trump. “They’re building big auto plants in Mexico, in many cases owned by China … and they think they’re going to sell their cars into the United States because of these people. What they have given to China is unbelievable. But … [w]e’ll put tariffs on those cars so they can’t come into our country.”

Economy: Trump said that his administration would cut taxes and boost the economy, while Harris called for an “opportunity economy” and highlighted advanced manufacturing as critical to America’s growth.

• “Everybody knows what I’m going to do,” said Trump. “Cut taxes very substantially—and create a great economy like I did before.”
• “Part of building a clean energy economy includes investing in American-made products, American automobiles, said Harris. “It includes growing what we can do around American manufacturing and opening up auto plants, not closing them like what happened under Donald Trump.”

Trade: Harris emphasized the need to invest in “American-based technology” and said Trump’s actions had benefited China, while Trump argued that he forced European countries to support American interests.

• “The Trump administration resulted in a trade deficit, one of the highest we’ve ever seen in the history of America,” said Harris. “He invited trade wars. … he ended up selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernize their military—basically sold us out.”
• “We were being ripped off by European nations both on trade and on NATO,” said Trump. “I got them to pay up by saying one of the statements you made before: if you don’t pay, we’re not going to protect you.”

Immigration: Trump said that an influx of immigrants was harming the U.S. economy, while Harris touted her support for a comprehensive immigration and border bill.

• “Bad immigration is the worst thing that can happen to our economy,” said Trump. “They have—and she has—destroyed our country with policy that’s insane.”
• “The United States Congress, including some of the most conservative members of the United States Senate, came up with a border security bill, which I supported,” said Harris. “But you know what happened to that bill? Donald Trump got on the phone, called up some folks in Congress and said kill the bill. And you know why? Because he preferred to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem.”

Our take: “Last night’s debate brought to the surface key distinctions from the candidates on taxes, trade and America’s role in the world, which are critical to the future of manufacturing and manufacturing workers in the United States,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “Both candidates highlighted their support for our industry, but we must remain clear-eyed about the significant challenges ahead. Ensuring a competitive tax structure and addressing the complexities of global trade will be essential to advancing manufacturing in the United States.”

• “Manufacturers must bridge the political divides in our country, as we’ve done historically in divided government, and serve as a unifying force for our nation and for the defense of freedom and democracy. The NAM will continue leading the fight for a manufacturing competitiveness agenda and the industry’s priorities.”
• “We call on all manufacturers to join our effort in advocating those policies that will unleash manufacturing’s full potential and to push back on ideas that would harm our workers and hand other countries an advantage. As always, our industry’s mission is to improve the quality of life, provide lifelong career opportunities, invest more in communities and lead boldly on the world stage.”