Summary

The 2024 United States presidential election will be the 60th quadrennial presidential election, set to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

Voters in each state and the District of Columbia will choose a slate of electors to the U.S. Electoral College, who will then elect a president and vice president for a term of four years.

The Democratic Party candidate for president is current vice president Kamala Harris and her Vice President is current Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The Republican Party candidate for president is former president Donald Trump and his vice president is current Ohio Senator JD Vance.

OnAir Post: 2024 US Presidential Race

News

Prosecutors lay out new evidence in Trump election case
Associated PressOctober 3, 2024 (01:39)

A newly unsealed court filing lays out fresh details from the landmark criminal case against former president Donald Trump after trying to overturn the 2020 election. It argues that the former president is not entitled to immunity from prosecution

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U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Wednesday granted special counsel Jack Smith’s motion to file a redacted motion arguing against presidential immunity for Donald Trump in his federal election interference case in Washington. Smith filed his hefty, 165-page redacted brief on the matter thereafter.

The special counsel filed the brief under seal last week after Chutkan sided with him on his request to file an “oversized” brief addressing the Supreme Court’s July 1 immunity decision. Trump had opposed Smith’s request to file the jumbo briefing.

We’re learning new details about Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. A newly unsealed court filing from the Justice Department argues the former president should still face trial after the Supreme Court ruled presidents have immunity for official acts. Amna Nawaz discussed the latest with Carrie Johnson and Mary McCord.

Harris and Trump debate
PBS NewsHour, September 10, 2024 – 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm (ET)

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump face off Tuesday night for their first and possibly only debate before Election Day. The state of the race as they meet in Philadelphia is starkly different than it was just more than two months ago, when Trump debated President Joe Biden in a performance that accelerated calls for Biden to leave the race. Since then, Biden ended his campaign and endorsed Harris, Trump survived an assassination attempt, and both tickets named running mates and made their cases to voters at their national party conventions.

PBS News’ special coverage will begin with the PBS News Hour at 6 p.m. EDT.

At 8 p.m., our digital special preshow begins, with a look back at major moments from the candidates and where they stand on key issues.

The PBS News simulcast of the ABC Presidential Debate will begin at 9 p.m. EDT. After the debate concludes, PBS News special coverage offers debate analysis from Amy Walter, of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Republican strategist Kevin Madden and Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross.

Around 11 p.m., coverage continues online, as PBS News’ Deema Zein hosts a post-debate show with correspondents Lisa Desjardins and Laura Barrón-López about the night’s major moments and what’s next for both candidates

It’s an historic night that could shape the course of the presidential election that is now just 55 days away. Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump are set to face off in Philadelphia in their first, and potentially final, debate. While a majority of Americans don’t believe the debate will impact their vote, nearly a third say the matchup could influence their pick.

NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter join Geoff Bennett to discuss the latest political news, including a look ahead to Tuesday night’s debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, what the candidates hope to accomplish and new polls showing the race is tied.

Promises Kamala Harris has made so far in her campaign
CNN, Tami Luhby and Way MulleryAugust 19, 2024

With her presidential campaign in full swing, Vice President Kamala Harris is revealing how she will address the key issues facing the nation.

In policy proposals, speeches and rallies, she has voiced support for continuing many of President Joe Biden’s measures, such as providing tax credits to middle-class and lower-income families, lowering drug costs and eliminating so-called junk fees. She describes her vision as “an opportunity economy” that focuses on strengthening the middle class and punishes bad actors who try to unfairly raise costs.

But Harris has made it clear that she has her own views on some key matters, particularly Israel’s treatment of Gazans in its war with Hamas. Generally, her agenda contains an amped-up series of progressive proposals, though her campaign has confirmed that she’s moved away from several of her more notable left-leaning stances from her 2020 presidential run, such as her interest in a single-payer health insurance system and a ban on fracking.

Promises Donald Trump has made so far in his campaign for a second term
CNN, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn et alAugust 19, 2024

Since launching his third bid for the White House, former President Donald Trump has insisted on the campaign trail that life was better under his administration, and he has vowed to reverse many of the policies enacted since he left office. His successor’s sweeping climate change agenda, new restrictions on guns and protections for transgender people would all be on the chopping block, he has said.

In rolling back the calendar to before January 2021, Trump also wants to pick up where his administration left off on many of his first-term priorities, and his ideas will sound familiar to anyone who paid attention to his first campaign eight years ago. He has said he plans to finish building the wall between the US and Mexico that he first promised in 2016, remove all undocumented individuals, implement more tariffs on imports and increase American energy production.

His quest to pick up new support has also led him to dangle promises to specific audiences, including proposing in Las Vegas to eliminate income taxes on tipped wages. He has also floated ambitious but vague ideas to position America for the future by embracing flying cars, promoting cryptocurrency and promising to build 10 new “Freedom Cities.”

With their running mates solidified, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump spent their weekends on the campaign trail. But between their appeals to voters, a flurry of concerns flooded the internet, from cyber-security threats to false allegations involving artificial intelligence. Laura Barrón-López has more.

Flawed research into election fraud can undermine democracy
The Conversation, John Kuk et alJuly 30, 2024

Bad electoral science can cause lasting harm to democracy, undermining public confidence in the voting process.

That’s the main finding from our study published in the peer-reviewed journal Public Opinion Quarterly in July 2024, looking at the impact of academic claims of electoral fraud in the 2020 South Korean general election.

The ruling Democratic Party won that vote by a larger margin than expected, leading supporters of the opposition United Future Party to allege the rigging of early voting results.

But what started as a typical post-election dispute took a turn when one U.S.-based election fraud researcher analyzed the data and concluded that close to 10% of votes for the Democratic Party were fraudulent. That finding spread quickly across South Korean media, appearing in more than 300 news stories; meanwhile, the scholar conducted prime-time TV interviews about the alleged fraud.

What wasn’t immediately clear to the public – although South Korean political scientists and statisticians later explained – was that the analysis was based on a misunderstanding of the election data and the South Korean voting system.

Although the electoral science research was flawed, the damage was done: The erroneous claims of fraud severely eroded public confidence in the electoral process in South Korea. As a direct consequence, the National Election Commission was compelled to revert to costly hand counting of votes in the subsequent general election in order to avoid any accusations of vote rigging.

And our study shows that the impact is larger than one might expect.

In an experiment, we randomly varied information given to 1,750 South Korean voting-eligible adults a few months after the 2020 election. A control group was given no information about foreign academic research into electoral fraud, while others were given academic research suggesting either a high chance or a slim chance of fraud.

Those handed research alleging a high chance of fraud were 12 percentage points more likely to believe that fraud actually occurred compared with those not exposed to such research. This equates to a jump of 52% in the likelihood that someone would believe that fraud occurred.

Respondents shown academic research alleging a high risk of fraud were also 65% more likely to click a link demanding an election fraud investigation, we found.

These effects were concentrated among supporters of the losing party in the 2020 election.

Why it matters

As political polarization deepens across advanced democracies, disputes over election fraud allegations have become commonplace.

And analysis by academic researchers and other experts into alleged fraud can have substantial influence, as the controversy surrounding American economist John Lott’s fraud claims relating to the 2020 U.S. presidential election has shown.

Our study underscores how academic research can significantly shape public perceptions of election integrity. The findings highlight how voters’ responses align with preexisting beliefs – losing party supporters found fraud claims more credible, while winning party supporters showed little change.

Crucially, our findings also reveal how publicizing flawed academic research on election fraud can exacerbate political polarization and undermine democracy itself.

Bad research can lead to widespread mistrust in electoral processes, eroding foundational belief in democratic institutions and deepening political divisions.

What still isn’t known

Our research looked only at South Korea. As one of the most stable democracies in Asia, the country shares similarities with other advanced democracies. But some of our findings may not be applicable to other countries’ elections.

Specifically, where elections have been fairly administered but polarization is high, false information alleging fraud is more likely to widen the gap in perception between supporters and opponents of the winning party. Conversely, in countries plagued by actual election fraud, such information could mobilize opposition against the offending parties, increasing election monitoring and fostering democracy.

And while media played a critical amplifying role in spreading the flawed analysis to the South Korean public, our study did not look at the extent to which traditional media versus social media contributed. We suspect flawed research can spread more easily via social media, where it faces fewer gatekeepers and can be shared by partisans indiscriminately.

What’s next

Our findings reveal the danger posed when flawed research influences public opinion.

Moving forward, we aim to investigate strategies to combat the impact of such misleading findings on public opinion. Scientists have long balanced maintaining objectivity and rigor with communicating findings that can shape minds.

As polarized politics increasingly demands experts weigh in based on scientific evidence, the academic community must determine how to better inform the public while preventing flawed research from undermining trust in democratic foundations. Upholding rigorous standards while clearly communicating truth will be key.

Biden and Harris announce deal to cut Medicare prices
PBS NewsHour, August 15, 2024 – 1:30 pm (ET)
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Follow the money
CNN, Alex Leeds Matthews, Fredreka Schouten and David WrightJuly 27, 2024

Trump speaks from his NJ golf club
PBS NewsHour, August 15, 2024 – 4:30 pm (ET)
Hidden-camera video shows Project 2025 co-author
CNN, Curt Devine et alAugust 15, 2024

Last month, Russell Vought sat in a five-star Washington, DC, hotel suite, bowing his head in prayer with two men he thought were relatives of a wealthy conservative donor.

Vought, one of the key authors of Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint for a second Trump term, expected the meeting would help his think tank secure a substantial contribution. For nearly two hours, he talked candidly about his behind-the-scenes work to prepare policy for former President Donald Trump, his expansive views on presidential power, his plans to restrict pornography and immigration, and his complaints that the GOP was too focused on “religious liberty” instead of “Christian nation-ism.”

But the men Vought was talking to actually worked for a British journalism nonprofit and were secretly recording him the entire time.

North Carolina back on battleground map
CNN, Jeff Zeleny and Arit JohnAugust 15, 2024

Since President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed Harris last month, former President Donald Trump has made two trips to North Carolina, invested millions in new ads seeking to define Harris and feverishly worked to build up his campaign’s political organization across the state.

“We’re going to beat her,” Trump told supporters in Asheville Wednesday during a blistering speech aimed at his rival. “They may then get a third candidate, who knows?”

Few states have offered Democratic presidential hopefuls the number of disappointments the Tar Heel state has in recent cycles. It has been 16 years since Barack Obama delivered a North Carolina surprise in 2008 – the first and only time a Democratic candidate for the White House has carried the state in nearly five decades.

Trump’s Crucial Power Has Been Neutralized
CNN, Jeff Greenfield (Analysis)August 12, 2024

He’s no longer the “change” candidate.

f you’re compiling a list of the head-spinning, gob-smacking, I’ve-never-seen-this-before events of the 2024 campaign, here’s one more potentially decisive factor to add: A sitting vice president has become the “change” candidate.

It’s almost a violation of the laws of the political universe. By definition, a vice president looking to inherit the Oval Office has been part of the outgoing administration, and there’s only so much distance that a vice president can credibly put between them and their boss. (Often they try to find a way to praise what has happened, while hinting that things will be different, as when George H.W. Bush urged voters to “choose the horse that’s going the same way,” even as he’d pursue “a kinder, gentler nation.”).

But this time, the sudden elevation of Kamala Harris, along with the identity and character of her opponent, has — for now at least — made her the candidate who embodies change, no matter how little her policies differ from the current president. That this happened by accident rather than design does not make it any less potent as a political asset.

Can Trump Get Discipline and Stop Harris Big Mo?
2 WAY, August 12, 2024 – 4:30 pm (ET)
JD Vance says mass deportations should ‘start with 1 million
ABC News, Ivan PereiraAugust 11, 2024

The GOP vice presidential candidate discussed several issues with Jonathan Karl.

“I think we’re going to win. I also think that we have to work as hard as possible for the remainder of the election to try to persuade Americans to vote for us,” Vance told Karl. “That’s the name of the game.”

Vance elaborates on ‘pro-family’ views
The senator has come under fire for repeated comments made about childless Americans, including one during an interview in July 2021 with then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson where Vance described leading Democrats including Harris as “childless cat ladies.”

In conversations with nearly a dozen Democratic lawmakers and candidates running in competitive races across the country, a common theme emerged. With Harris and her new running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Democrats have felt a tangible bump of energy in their districts, through spikes in volunteers, donations and event turnout.

But that hasn’t resulted in a shift in campaign strategy, with most in nail-bitter races still wanting to keep the top of the ticket at an arm’s length from the campaigns they have built around local issues.

Smerconish.com 7/31/24
Smerconish.ComJuly 31, 2024

Poll question

Should presidents appoint a new Supreme Court justice every two years, each limited to an 18-year term?

Selection of Smerconish daily headlines

Michael Smerconish discusses July 30th Headlines (YouTube) from the Smerconish.com Newsletter.

 

Trump speaks at National Association of Black Journalists conference
PBS NewsHour, July 31, 2024 – 2:00 pm (ET)

Former President Donald Trump will appear at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference in Chicago on Wednesday. The Republican presidential nominee will be interviewed by reporters Rachel Scott of ABC News, Harris Faulkner of Fox News and Kadia Goba of Semafor at 1 p.m. EDT.

Wednesday 7/31/24 – Morning Meeting
2 WAY, July 31, 2024 – 9:00 am (ET)

The Morning Meeting” topics:
Are the Reds really missing the basis for Harris’ appeal?
Was Team Trump caught off guard?
Veepstakes!

Daybook from Wide World of News newsletter

Kamala Harris

2:50pm ET: the Vice President will depart Washington, DC en route to Houston, TX

7:15pm ET: the Vice President will deliver remarks at a political event

8:15pm ET: the Vice President will deliver remarks at Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.’s 60thInternational Biennial Boule

* Donald Trump

11:00am ET: the former President is scheduled to address the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, IL

6:00pm ET: the former President holds a rally in Harrisburg, PA

Joe Biden

10:00am ET: the President receives the President’s Daily Brief

11:00am ET: the President receives a briefing on the implementation of important provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act

12:45pm ET: the President will have lunch with the Vice President

2:30pm ET: the President receives a briefing on the Administration’s new actions and ongoing work to crack down on drug traffickers smuggling deadly drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States, and efforts to beat the global opioid epidemic

3:45pm ET: the President meets with U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery Penny Pritzker

JD Vance

8:00pm ET: the Vice Presidential Nominee is set to hold a rally in Glendale, AZ

* Doug Emhoff

12:30pm ET: the Second Gentleman will deliver remarks at a campaign event in Concord, NH

4:40pm ET: the Second Gentleman will deliver remarks at a campaign event in Yarmouth, ME

* Jill Biden

No official public events

Venezuelans have seen this movie before, but Maduro should beware.
CNN, Rafael Romo, CommentaryJuly 30, 2024

It happened in Caracas on June 9, 2016, when I was there to cover a series of violent protests that had broken out in Venezuela.

That sunny day, as our CNN team was walking towards the building that houses the National Assembly for interviews, we noticed a group of men heading the same way from the opposite side of the street.

“Hurry up!,” CNN en español’s correspondent in Caracas Osmary Hernández said. “I think the colectivos are up the street.” We all picked up our pace and breathed a sigh of relief when we made it to the building. Colectivos are armed groups that function like a street gang, but are closely affiliated with the socialist government and often do their dirty work.

President Joe Biden exited the 2024 race this week with an endorsement of his vice president, Kamala Harris, for the top of his party’s ticket.

Democrats, who spent weeks pressuring Biden to end his reelection campaign over concerns about his age and ability to serve, quickly coalesced around Harris, who hit the campaign trail as a candidate for the first time this week.

PBS News takes a look at what Harris has done so far and what it will take for her to become the Democratic nominee.

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Follow the money
CNN, Alex Leeds Matthews, Fredreka Schouten and David WrightJuly 27, 2024

Harris’ appeal and the new race for the White House
PBS NewsHour, David Brooks and Jonathan CapehartJuly 26, 2024

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post associate editor Jonathan Capehart join Geoff Bennett to discuss the whirlwind week in politics that has completely changed the race for the White House with Kamala Harris the new candidate at the top of the Democratic ticket and Donald Trump back on the campaign trail after an assassination attempt.

How Harris affects Democratic candidates and ballot initiatives
PBS NewsHour, Amy Walter & John YanJuly 28, 2024 (07:33)

Just 100 days out from Election Day, the U.S. political landscape is drastically different than it was a little more than a week ago. The effects of the shakeup on the Democratic presidential ticket are being felt in the battle for the House and Senate and the fight over big issues on the ballot in many states. Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter joins John Yang to discuss.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on Fox News, urging viewers to research crime statistics under Joe Biden’s administration and compare them to Donald Trump’s.

MAGA’s racist and sexist attacks on Harris
Vox, Li ZhouJuly 29, 2024

In their opening wave of attacks on the Democrats’ likely presidential nominee, some Republicans are homing in on Vice President Kamala Harris’s race and gender — despite certain party leaders’ pleas for them to steer clear.

Members of the religious right have dubbed her a “jezebel,” while other conservative activists suggested that she’s slept her way to the top by citing past romantic relationships she’s had. GOP commentators have also echoed many of the same “birtherism” attacks that were once used against former President Barack Obama, falsely claiming that her candidacy isn’t viable because her parents were Jamaican and Indian immigrants. (Harris is a US citizen who was born in California.) And they’ve tapped into common GOP talking points about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), implying that Harris isn’t up for the job and was selected for VP solely because of her identity.

“The media propped up this president, lied to the American people for three years, and then dumped him for our DEI vice president,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said in a post on X. (Burchett has since said he wishes he hadn’t said this, while adding that it’s the “truth.”)

Harris’ Final Veepstakes as Trump Goes on the Attack
2 WAY, July 29, 2024 – 9:00 am (ET)

As soon as Vice President Kamala Harris hit the campaign trail this week, she made it clear what one of her top priorities would be if she wins the presidential election in November.

“Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency,” she said at a Wisconsin rally on Tuesday. “Because here’s the thing we all here (in) Wisconsin know: When our middle class is strong, American is strong.”

Similarly, former President Donald Trump has also promised to help the middle class, which he says has been hurt by the steep rise in prices in recent years.

“Under Biden and the radical left Democrats, inflation is wiping out our middle class,” he said at a Michigan rally last weekend.

‘We choose freedom’: Harris launches first ad
Guardian, Helen SullivanJuly 25, 2024 (01:20)

Optimistic video has Beyoncé’s anthem as a soundtrack and touches on gun violence, health care and abortion

Guardian article

‘We choose freedom’: Kamala Harris campaign launches first ad
Optimistic video has Beyoncé’s anthem as a soundtrack and touches on gun violence, health care and abortion

Helen Sullivan
Thu 25 Jul 2024 07.00 EDT
Share

The Harris for President campaign has launched its first official video, less than a week after US President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the race and his vice-president Kamala Harris said she was running for the nomination.

The ad caps a week during which Harris also broke funding records and quickly clinched enough delegate support to become the presumptive nominee in an election that is now just over 100 days away.

Released on Friday morning [?], the ad opens with shots of Harris’s smiling face behind a podium, the word Kamala, the word Harris, and the American flag. The soundtrack is the beginning of Beyoncé’s song Freedom, to which Harris entered and exited her first speech to campaign staffers after gaining lightning speed momentum on the road to becoming the presumptive nominee.

Trump v. Biden in 21 charts
MSNBC, Chris HayesMarch 12, 2024 (09:08)

Chris Hayes breaks down the apples-to-apples comparison of Trump’s record vs. Biden’s record. “These are just the facts,” says Hayes

Key voting groups are shifting
NPR News, Domenico MontanaroApril 7, 2024

There may have been a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Northeast on Friday, but there are indications some political tremors may also be taking place beneath the surface.

The latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll found that President Biden and former President Donald Trump are statistically tied, with Biden holding a slim 2-point lead, 50%-48%.

The closeness of the contest between the two candidates is to be expected. Given how well-known they are and the fact they ran against each other once already, people might think voters are locked in. But the survey found that plenty of people — about 40% — said they are at least open to changing their minds.

About

Overview

Incumbent president Joe Biden, a member of the Democratic Party, initially ran for re-election and became the party’s presumptive nominee on March 12. However, following a poor performance in the June 2024 presidential debate and increasing age and health concerns, he withdrew on July 21 and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who launched her presidential campaign the same day. She secured enough delegate endorsements to become the new presumptive nominee a day later. Biden’s withdrawal makes him the first eligible incumbent president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 not to run for re-election, and the first ever to withdraw after securing enough delegates to win the nomination. Harris will presumably be the first nominee who did not participate in the primaries as a presidential candidate since Hubert Humphrey, also in 1968.

Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, a member of the Republican Party, is running for re-election for a second, non-consecutive term, after losing to Biden in the 2020 presidential election. He became the party’s presumptive nominee on March 12. In the run-up to the election, Trump was found liable in civil proceedings for both sexual abuse and defamation in 2023 and defamation in 2024, while also being criminally convicted of 34 felonies related to falsifying business records, becoming the first president to be found guilty of a crime. On July 13, he was shot in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump was nominated during the 2024 Republican National Convention on July 15 along with his running mate, Ohio senator JD Vance. Trump and some Republicans have stated they will not accept the results of the 2024 election if they believe they are “unfair.”

Source: Wikipedia as of August 15, 2024

Debates

In April 2022, the Republican National Committee voted unanimously to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). In May 2024, the Biden campaign proposed hosting two debates outside of the CPD timetable and refusing to participate in CPD-hosted debates. Biden and Trump agreed to debates on CNN on June 27 and ABC News on September 10.

June 27: Biden vs Trump
CNN hosted the first major debate of the election on June 27, with 51 million viewers watching. Media outlets characterized Biden’s debate performance as a “disaster”. Some pundits noted that he frequently lost his train of thought and gave meandering, confused answers.

G. Elliott Morris and Kaleigh Rogers of ABC News’ 538 argued that Biden had failed to reassure voters that he was capable of serving as president for another four years.[381] After the debate, elected officials, party strategists, and fundraisers conversed about replacing Biden as the party’s candidate, including whether prominent Democrats should make a public statement asking him to step aside.[382] Biden stated that he would not be dropping out. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton reiterated their support for Biden following the debate. The debate performance led to Biden ultimately withdrawing his bid for re-election on July 21.

September 10: Harris vs Trump
The second presidential debate is scheduled to be held on September 10 and will be hosted by ABC News. On August 2, 2024, Trump announced that he was withdrawing from the debate as he had agreed only to debate Biden, not Harris. However, on August 8, 2024, ABC reported that both candidates have agreed to the debate as originally scheduled. No location details have been announced. The moderators will be David Muir and Linsey Davis. Trump has made his participation in the ABC debate contingent on Harris participating in other proposed debates. The two campaigns have not yet agreed to any other debates as of August 14.

October 1 vice presidential debate: Vance vs Walz
On August 15, 2024, vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz agreed to debate on CBS News. The network had presented four possible dates (September 17, September 24, October 1 and October 8). Vance (with the encouragement of Trump) and Walz agreed to debate on October 1.

Source: Wikipedia as of August 15, 2024

Web Links

Kamala Harris

Current Position: 49th US Vice President since 2021
Affiliation: Democrat
Candidate: 2024 Presidency
Former Positions: California US Senator from 2018 to 2020 and Attorney General  from 2011– 2017

Kamala Devi Harris (KAH-mə-lə) born October 20, 1964) is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African American and first Asian American vice president.

Harris has been described as the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2024 presidential election.

OnAir Post: Kamala Harris

Donald Trump

Donald J. TrumpCurrent Position: Republican candidate for 47th US President
Affiliation: Republican
Former Positions: President of the United States from 2017 to 2021

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.

Born and raised in Queens, New York City, Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in 1968. He became the president of his father Fred Trump’s real estate business in 1971 and renamed it The Trump Organization. Trump expanded the company’s operations to building and renovating skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. He later started various side ventures, mostly by licensing his name.

OnAir Post: Donald J. Trump

Issues

No policy positions, as of August 2, 2024, have appeared on the Kamala Harris’ campaign site.

Below are a few links to articles comparing the Harris and Trump positions on issues:

Kamala Harris

A New Way Forward

Source: Campaign site

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are fighting for a New Way Forward that protects our fundamental freedoms, strengthens our democracy, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead. As a prosecutor, Attorney General, Senator, and now Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris always stood up for the people against predators, scammers, and powerful interests. She promises to be a president for all Americans, a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, and a president who always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been her life’s work.

The following sections are from the Harris-Walz campaign site.

Build an Opportunity Economy and Lower Costs for Families

Vice President Harris grew up in a middle class home as the daughter of a working mom. She believes that when the middle class is strong, America is strong. That’s why as President, Kamala Harris will create an Opportunity Economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed—whether they live in a rural area, small town, or big city.

Vice President Kamala Harris has made clear that building up the middle class will be a defining goal of her presidency. That’s why she will make it a top priority to bring down costs and increase economic security for all Americans. As President, she will fight to cut taxes for more than 100 million working and middle class Americans while lowering the costs of everyday needs like health care, housing, and groceries. She will bring together organized labor and workers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and American companies to create good paying jobs, grow the economy, and ensure that America continues to lead the world.

Cut Taxes for Middle Class Families

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe that working families deserve a break. That’s why under their plan more than 100 million working and middle-class Americans will get a tax cut. They will do this by restoring two tax cuts designed to help middle class and working Americans: the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Through these two programs, millions of Americans get to keep more of their hard-earned income. They will also expand the Child Tax Credit to provide a $6,000 tax cut to families with newborn children. They believe no child in America should live in poverty, and these actions would have a historic impact.

Unlike Donald Trump, Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are committed to ensuring no one earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes. They believe that we need to chart a New Way Forward by both making our tax system fairer and prioritizing investment and innovation. They will ensure the wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations pay their fair share, so we can take action to build up the middle class while reducing the deficit. This includes rolling back Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, enacting a billionaire minimum tax, quadrupling the tax on stock buybacks, and other reforms to ensure the very wealthy are playing by the same rules as the middle class. Under her plan, the tax rate on long-term capital gains for those earning a million dollars a year or more will be 28 percent, because when the government encourages investment, it leads to broad-based economic growth and creates jobs, which makes our economy stronger.

Make Rent More Affordable and Home Ownership More Attainable

Vice President Harris has always stood up for renters and homeowners—as Attorney General of California, she took on the big banks to deliver $20 billion for middle-class families who faced foreclosure and helped pass a homeowner bill of rights, one of the first of its kind in the nation.

Vice President Harris knows that a home is more than a house—it represents financial security and an opportunity to build intergenerational wealth. But for too many Americans, homeownership is too far out of reach. Vice President Harris has put forward a comprehensive plan to build three million more rental units and homes that are affordable to end the national housing supply crisis in her first term. And she will cut red tape to make sure we build more housing faster and penalize firms that hoard available homes to drive up prices for local homebuyers.  Vice President Harris knows rent is too high and will sign legislation to outlaw new forms of price fixing by corporate landlords.

As more new homes are built and affordable housing supply increases, Vice President Harris will provide first-time homebuyers with up to $25,000 to help with their down payments, with more generous support for first-generation homeowners. This will help more Americans experience the pride of homeownership and the financial security that it represents and brings – offering more Americans a path to the middle class and economic opportunity.

Grow Small Businesses and Invest in Entrepreneurs

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that small businesses—neighborhood shops, high-tech startups, small manufacturers, and more—are the engines of our economy. Just as she did as Senator and Vice President, Kamala Harris will always support small businesses and invest in entrepreneurs as president.

She has led the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to increase access to capital for small businesses and bring venture capital to parts of middle America that have for too long been overlooked, driving a record 19 million new business applications, tripling the Small Business Administration’s lending to Black-owned businesses, and more than doubling small-dollar lending to Latino and women-owned businesses. She has also championed expanding federal contracts for minority-owned small businesses

As part of her Opportunity Economy agenda, she has put forward a plan to help small businesses and entrepreneurs innovate and grow. She has set an ambitious goal of 25 million new business applications by the end of her first term—over 10 million more than Trump saw during his term. To help achieve this, she will expand the startup expense tax deduction for new businesses from $5,000 to $50,000 and take on the everyday obstacles and red tape that can make it harder to grow a small business. She will drive venture capital to the talent that exists all across our country including in rural areas, and increase the share of federal contract dollars going to small businesses.

Take on Bad Actors and Bring Down Costs

As Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris took on the big banks to deliver for homeowners, stood up for veterans and students being scammed by for-profit colleges, and fought for workers and seniors who were defrauded.

As President, she will direct her Administration to crack down on anti-competitive practices that let big corporations jack up prices and undermine the competition that allows all businesses to thrive while keeping prices low for consumers. And she will go after bad actors who exploit an emergency to rip off consumers by calling for the first-ever federal ban on corporate price gouging on food and groceries, which will build on the anti-price gouging statutes already in place in 37 states.

Just as she did as Vice President, she will take on Big Pharma to lower drug prices and cap insulin costs, not just for seniors but for all Americans. And she’ll keep fighting to bring down prescription drug costs by taking on pharmacy middlemen, who raise consumers’ prices for their own gain and squeeze independent pharmacies’ profits.

Strengthen and Bring Down the Cost of Health Care

As Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris took on insurance companies and Big Pharma and got them to lower prices. As a Senator, she fought Donald Trump’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Vice President Harris will make affordable health care a right, not a privilege by expanding and strengthening the Affordable Care Act and making permanent the Biden-Harris tax credit enhancements that are lowering health care premiums by an average of about $800 a year for millions of Americans. She’ll build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s successes in bringing down the cost of lifesaving prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries by extending the $35 cap on insulin and $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket spending for seniors to all Americans. Her tie-breaking vote on the Inflation Reduction Act gave Medicare the power to go toe to toe with Big Pharma and negotiate lower drug prices. As President, she’ll accelerate the negotiations to cover more drugs and lower prices for Americans. As Vice President, she also announced that medical debt will be removed from credit reports, and helped cancel $7 billion of medical debt for 3 million Americans. As President, she’ll work with states to cancel medical debt for even more Americans.

And Vice President Harris has led the Administration’s efforts to combat maternal mortality. Women nationwide are dying from childbirth at higher rates than in any other developed nation. The Vice President called on states to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage from two months to twelve: today, 46 states do so—up from just three near the Administration’s start.

Protect and Strengthen Social Security and Medicare

Vice President Harris will protect Social Security and Medicare against relentless attacks from Donald Trump and his extreme allies. She will strengthen Social Security and Medicare for the long haul by making millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes. She will always fight to ensure that Americans can count on getting the benefits they earned.

Support American Innovation and Workers

Working with President Biden, Vice President Harris helped pass landmark legislation—the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the American Rescue Plan—that has supported more than 60,000 infrastructure projects, spurred more than $900 billion in private sector investments, and doubled investments in construction of new manufacturing facilities. This has included investing billions to help connect all Americans to accessible, affordable internet. After decades of offshoring, manufacturing is returning across America, from major cities to rural counties, creating good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs for those without college degrees. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, more than 1.6 million manufacturing and construction jobs have been created and American workers are rebuilding roads and bridges using materials made in America. Three times more auto jobs per month have been created under their watch than under the Trump Administration—even before the pandemic. And with these investments, the Biden-Harris Administration is showing how America can meet the moment and build the industries of the future while creating high-quality union jobs in the electric vehicle and battery supply chains.

As President, Kamala Harris will build on this Administration’s progress to ensure American industries and workers thrive. Vice President Harris will continue to support American leadership in semiconductors, clean energy, AI, and other cutting edge industries of the future. She’ll also fight for unions, because as Vice President of the most pro-labor administration in history, she knows that unions are the backbone of the middle class. She’ll sign landmark pro-union legislation, including the PRO Act to support workers who choose to organize and bargain and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act to make the freedom for public service workers to form unions the law of the land. During her leadership as Vice President, unions representing those from auto workers to truck drivers to care workers won record wage increases amidst record job creation with clear support for the right to collectively bargain from the White House. Vice President Harris will not tolerate unfair trade practices from China or any competitor that undermines American workers.

She’ll fight to raise the minimum wage, end sub-minimum wages for tipped workers and people with disabilities, establish paid family and medical leave, and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers.

Provide a Pathway to the Middle Class Through Quality, Affordable Education

Vice President Harris will fight to ensure parents can afford high-quality child care and preschool for their children. She will strengthen public education and training as a pathway to the middle class. And she’ll continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class. To date, Vice President Harris has helped deliver the largest investment in public education in American history, provide nearly $170 billion in student debt relief for almost five million borrowers, and deliver record investments in HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions. She helped more students afford college by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by $900—the largest increase in more than a decade—and invested in community colleges. She has implemented policies that have led to over one million registered apprentices being hired, and she will do even more to scale up programs that create good career pathways for non-college graduates.

Invest in Affordable Child Care and Long Term Care

Vice President Harris cast the deciding vote on the American Rescue Plan, which made historic investments in the care economy. As President, she will fight to lower care costs for American families, including by expanding high-quality home care services for seniors and people with disabilities and ensuring hardworking families can afford high-quality child care, all while ensuring that care workers are paid a living wage and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Lower Energy Costs and Tackle the Climate Crisis

As Attorney General, Kamala Harris won tens of millions in settlements against Big Oil and held polluters accountable. As Vice President, she cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in history. This historic work is lowering household energy costs, creating hundreds of thousands of high-quality clean energy jobs, and building a thriving clean energy economy, all while ensuring America’s energy security and independence with record energy production. As President, she will unite Americans to tackle the climate crisis as she builds on this historic work, advances environmental justice, protects public lands and public health, increases resilience to climate disasters, lowers household energy costs, creates millions of new jobs, and continues to hold polluters accountable to secure clean air and water for all. As the Vice President said at the international climate conference, COP28, she knows that meeting this global challenge will require global cooperation and she is committed to continuing and building upon the United States’ international climate leadership. She and Governor Walz will always fight for the freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis.

Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda

Vice President Harris’ lowering costs agenda is a stark contrast to Donald Trump’s plans to jack up prices, weaken the middle class, cut Social Security and Medicare, eliminate the Department of Education and preschool programs like Head Start, and end the Affordable Care Act. Project 2025 would give him unprecedented control to implement his destructive agenda, including another handout to his billionaire friends and giant corporations. His plans would increase costs for families by at least $3,900 a year by slapping a Trump sales tax on imported everyday goods that American families rely on, like gas, food, clothing, and medicine. Trump would raise rents and add $1,200 a year to the typical American mortgage. Trump asked Big Oil executives to give his campaign money so he could roll back regulations and cut taxes for Big Oil to boost their profits, and Trump’s plans would push gas prices up. Trump’s economic plans would also trigger a recession by mid-2025, cost America over 3 million jobs, threaten hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs, increase the debt by over $5 trillion, send inflation skyrocketing, and hurt everyone but the richest Americans.

 

Safeguard Our Fundamental Freedoms

Vice President Harris’ fight for our future is also a fight for freedom. In this election, many fundamental freedoms are at stake: the freedom to make your own decisions about your own body without government interference; the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride; and the freedom that unlocks all the others: the freedom to vote.

Restore and Protect Reproductive Freedoms

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz trust women to make decisions about their own bodies, and not have the government tell them what to do.

Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom – and now he brags about it. In his words, “I did it, and I’m proud to have done it.” He even called for punishment for women who have an abortion.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Vice President Harris has driven the Administration’s strategy to defend reproductive freedom and safeguard the privacy of patients and providers. As Governor, Tim Walz led Minnesota to become the first state to pass a law protecting a woman’s right to choose following the overturning of Roe. Vice President Harris has traveled America and heard the stories of women hurt by Trump abortion bans. Stories of couples just trying to grow their family, cut off in the middle of IVF treatments. Stories of women miscarrying in parking lots, developing sepsis, losing the ability to ever have children again – all because doctors are afraid they may go to jail for caring for their patients. As President, she will never allow a national abortion ban to become law. And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, she will sign it.

Protect Civil Rights and Freedoms

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe many fundamental freedoms are at stake in this election. They will fight to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to participate in our democracy by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights and the Freedom to Vote Acts—laws that will enshrine voting rights protections, expand vote-by-mail and early voting, and more. Her Administration will also continue to protect Americans from discrimination, building on her work to secure $2 billion in funding for Offices of Civil Rights across the federal government. And as President, she’ll always defend the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride.  In 2004, she officiated some of the nation’s first same-sex marriages and as Attorney General, she refused to defend California’s anti-marriage equality statewide referendum. As President, she’ll fight to pass the Equality Act to enshrine anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQI+ Americans in health care, housing, education, and more into law.

Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda

Donald Trump is a threat to our fundamental rights and freedoms. He brags that he is “proudly” responsible for handpicking Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe, unleashing Trump Abortion Bans in states across the country, putting women’s lives at risk and threatening doctors and other health providers with jail time. He said there should be “punishment” for women who have an abortion and calls abortion bans “a beautiful thing to watch.” If elected, Trump will ban abortion nationwide, restrict access to birth control, force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions, and jeopardize access to IVF.

Trump and his allies continue to demonize and attack LGBTQI+ individuals and families. His Project 2025 agenda will eliminate federal rules that protect LGBTQI+ Americans from discrimination. And Trump is directly attacking the bedrock of our democracy: the right to vote. His baseless claims of a stolen election in 2020 inspired states to slash voter protections and purge their voting rolls.

Ensure Safety and Justice For All

As a prosecutor, district attorney, and attorney general, Kamala Harris has fought to ensure everyone has the right to safety, to dignity, and to justice. Everyone should have the freedom to live in safe communities – that’s why Vice President Harris is fighting to keep our communities safe from gun violence and crime, secure our borders and fix our broken immigration system, tackle the opioid and fentanyl crisis, and ensure no one is above the law—including the president.

Make Our Communities Safer From Gun Violence and Crime

As a prosecutor, Vice President Harris fought violent crime by getting illegal guns and violent criminals off California streets. During her time as District Attorney, she raised conviction rates for violent offenders—including gang members, gun felons, and domestic abusers. As Attorney General, Vice President Harris built on this record, removing over 12,000 illegal guns from the streets of California and prosecuting some of the toughest transnational criminal organizations in the world.

In the White House, Vice President Harris helped deliver the largest investment in public safety ever, investing $15 billion in supporting local law enforcement and community safety programs across 1,000 cities, towns, and counties. President Biden and Vice President Harris encouraged bipartisan cooperation to pass the first major gun safety law in nearly 30 years, which included record funding to hire and train over 14,000 mental health professionals for our schools. As head of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, she spearheaded policies to expand background checks and close the gun show loophole. Under her and President Biden’s leadership, violent crime is at a 50-year low, with the largest single-year drop in murders ever.

As President, she won’t stop fighting so that Americans have the freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities, and places of worship. She’ll ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks, and support red flag laws that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. She will also continue to invest in funding law enforcement, including the hiring and training of officers and people to support them, and will build upon proven gun violence prevention programs that have helped reduce violent crime throughout the country.

Secure Our Borders and Fix Our Broken Immigration System

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe in tough, smart solutions to secure the border, keep communities safe, and reform our broken immigration system. As Attorney General of California, Vice President Harris went after international drug gangs, human traffickers and cartels that smuggled guns, drugs, and human beings across the U.S.-Mexico border. As Vice President, she supported the bipartisan border security bill, the strongest reform in decades. The legislation would have deployed more detection technology to intercept fentanyl and other drugs and added 1,500 border security agents to protect our border. After Donald Trump killed the border deal for his political gain, she and President Biden took action on their own—and now border crossings are at the lowest level in 4 years, their administration is seizing record amounts of fentanyl, and secured funding for the most significant increase in border agents in ten years. As President, she will bring back the bipartisan border security bill and sign it into law. At the same time, she knows that our immigration system is broken and needs comprehensive reform that includes strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.

Tackle the Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis

Vice President Harris is committed to ending the opioid epidemic and tackling the scourge of fentanyl. She’s seen the devastating impact of fentanyl on families up close—she has met and mourned with those who have lost loved ones to fentanyl overdoses. As Attorney General, she prosecuted drug traffickers, seizing over 10,000 kilos of cocaine and 12,000 pounds of methamphetamine. In the White House, she helped direct more than $150 billion to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs and delivered billions of dollars in investments to states to fund lifesaving programs. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the FDA made the overdose-reversal drug naloxone available over-the-counter. This past year, the number of overdose deaths in the United States declined for the first time in five years. As President, she will sign the bipartisan border bill that will fund detection technology to intercept even more illicit drugs and she’ll keep fighting to end the opioid epidemic.

Ensure No One Is Above the Law

Vice President Harris believes that no one is above the law. She’ll fight to ensure that no former president has immunity for crimes committed while in the White House. She will also support common-sense Supreme Court reforms—like requiring Justices to comply with ethics rules that other federal judges are bound by and imposing term limits—to address the crisis of confidence facing the Supreme Court.

Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda

Donald Trump is a convicted criminal who only cares about himself. He’s proven that time and time again – from caving to the gun lobby and doing nothing to address gun violence to killing the bipartisan border security deal that would secure our border and keep America safe, just to help himself politically. If elected president, Trump will implement his Project 2025 agenda to consolidate power, bring the Department of Justice and the FBI under his direct control so he can give himself unchecked legal power and go after his opponents, and rule as a dictator on “day one.” Not only will Trump fail to tackle violence in our communities or fix our broken immigration system – he will make us less safe. He says we should “get over” gun violence and he is pushing for more guns on our streets and wants to arm teachers in our classrooms. He’ll advance his cruel immigration agenda which includes separating children from their parents. And he is refusing to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election if he loses a second time.

Keep America Safe, Secure, and Prosperous

Vice President Harris will never waver in defense of America’s security and ideals. As Vice President, she has confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances, and engaged with our brave troops overseas. As commander in chief, she will ensure that the United States military remains the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world, that we unleash the power of American innovation and win the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. And Vice President Harris will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and will always honor their service and their sacrifice.

Stand With Our Allies, Stand Up to Dictators, and Lead on the World Stage
Vice President Harris is ready to be Commander in Chief on day one. She has helped restore American leadership on the world stage, strengthened our national security through her travels to 21 countries and meetings with more than 150 world leaders, defended American values and democracy, and advanced America’s interests.

Vice President Harris has been a tireless and effective diplomat on the world stage. She has met with China’s Xi Jinping, making clear she will always stand up for American interests in the face of China’s threats, and traveled to the Indo-Pacific four times to advance our economic and security partnerships. She visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone to affirm our unwavering commitment to South Korea in the face of North Korean threats. Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, she met with President Zelenskyy to warn him about Russia’s plan to invade and helped mobilize a global response of more than 50 countries to help Ukraine defend itself against Vladimir Putin’s brutal aggression. And she has worked with our allies to ensure NATO is stronger than ever.

Vice President Harris will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to protect U.S. forces and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. Vice President Harris will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and she will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. She and President Biden are working to end the war in Gaza, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. She and President Biden are working around the clock to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done.

From advising on tough decisions in the Oval Office and the Situation Room, to serving on the Senate Select Committee on the Intelligence, to going after transnational criminal organizations as California’s Attorney General, Vice President Harris brings extensive national security experience—and it’s no surprise more than 350 foreign policy and national security experts have endorsed her.

Invest in America’s Sources of StrengthSupport Service Members, Veterans, Their Families, Caregivers, and Survivors

Vice President Harris will make sure that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. She will invest in the competitive advantages that make America the strongest nation on Earth—American workers, innovation, and industry—and will work to ensure America remains a leader in the industries of the future, from semiconductors to clean energy to artificial intelligence. She has stood up to China’s unfair economic practices to protect American workers, businesses, and families. And she has advanced our economic cooperation around the world, from rallying international leaders at an AI summit in the UK, to convening semiconductor business leaders in East Asia, to spurring private investment across Africa.

Support Service Members, Veterans, Their Families, Caregivers, and Survivors

Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe we have a sacred obligation to care for our nation’s service members, veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. These Americans represent the bravest among us who have put their lives on the line to defend the promise of America, stand up for our values, and protect our fundamental freedoms. Vice President Harris and President Biden have delivered the most significant expansion of benefits and services for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances in more than 30 years. The son of an Army veteran who served as a command sergeant major, Governor Walz was the ranking member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, where he passed legislation to help stem veterans’ suicides.

They will fight to end veteran homelessness, investing in mental health and suicide prevention efforts, and eliminating barriers to employment and expanding economic opportunity for military and veteran families. A Harris-Walz administration will continue to ensure that service members, veterans and their families receive the benefits they have earned.

Trump’s Project 2025 Agenda

Someone as dangerous as Donald Trump should never again be allowed to serve as commander-in-chief. In office, he cozied up to dictators and turned his back on allies. He undercut America’s competitive edge, boasting that not a single American factory would close under his watch, and then doing nothing as factories shuttered. He’s said he would let Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to our NATO allies. And he calls soldiers who gave their lives in defense of American democracy “suckers” and “losers.” Top American military generals and national security officials–including those who worked for Trump–have warned that he is “dangerous” and “unfit” to lead, and now he is surrounded by ultra-loyalists who enable his worst impulses.

Donald Trump

Mission

Source: Campaign site

I left behind my former life because I could not sit by and watch career politicians continue bleeding this country dry and allow other nations to take advantage of us on trade, borders, foreign policy, and national defense. As President, I took on every powerful special interest, fixing globalist trade deals, ending foreign wars, securing the border, and standing up to Big Pharma and China. Together, we put America First and returned power to the American People.

The corrupt government cartel is once again destroying our country. We are a nation that surrendered in Afghanistan, and allowed Russia to devastate Ukraine, China to threaten Taiwan, and Iran to build a nuclear weapon. We are a nation where free speech is no longer allowed, crime is rampant like never before, terrorists are invading our southern border, and the economy is in a recession. We are a nation that is hostile to liberty, freedom, and faith.

Our populist movement to Make America Great Again is the only force on earth that will lead our country back to safety, prosperity, and peace. I will never stop fighting for you, the American People, against the failed political establishment. I take the slings and arrows for you so that we can have our country back. Together, we will finish the job of saving our country once and for all and raise the next generation of strong American Patriots and Leaders.

Platform Overview

Source: Campaign site

  1. Seal the border and stop the migrant invasion
  2. Carry out the largest deportation operation in american history
  3. End inflation, and make america affordable again
  4. Make america the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!
  5. Stop outsourcing, and turn the united states into manufacturing superpower
  6. Large tax cuts for workers, and no tax on tips!
  7. Defend our constitution, our bill of rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms
  8. Prevent world war three, restore peace in europe and in the middle east, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country — all made in america
  9. End the weaponization of government against the american people
  10. Stop the migrant crime epidemic, demolish the foreign drug cartels, crush gang violence, and lock up violent offenders
  11. Rebuild our cities, including washington dc, making them safe, clean, and beautiful again.
  12. Strengthen and modernize our military, making it, without question, the strongest and most powerful in the world
  13. Keep the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency
  14. Fight for and protect social security and medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age
  15. Cancel the electric vehicle mandate and cut costly and burdensome regulations
  16. Cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children
  17. Keep men out of women’s sports
  18. Deport pro-hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again
  19. Secure our elections, including same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship
  20. Unite our country by bringing it to new and record levels of success

Full Platform (source for rest of this issues section)

Inflation

DEFEAT INFLATION AND QUICKLY BRING DOWN ALL PRICES

Our Commitment: The Republican Party will reverse the worst Inflation crisis in four decades that has crushed the middle class, devastated family budgets, and pushed the dream of homeownership out of reach for millions. We will defeat Inflation, tackle the costof-living crisis, improve fiscal sanity, restore price stability, and quickly bring down prices. Inflation is a crushing tax on American families. History shows that Inflation will not magically disappear while policies remain the same. We commit to unleashing American Energy, reining in wasteful spending, cutting excessive Regulations, securing our Borders, and restoring Peace through Strength. Together, we will restore Prosperity, ensure Economic Security, and build a brighter future for American Workers and their families. Our dedication to these Policies will make America stronger, more resilient, and more prosperous than ever before.

1. Unleash American Energy
Under President Trump, the U.S. became the Number One Producer of Oil and Natural Gas in the World — and we will soon be again by lifting restrictions on American Energy Production and terminating the Socialist Green New Deal. Republicans will unleash Energy Production from all sources, including nuclear, to immediately slash Inflation and power American homes, cars, and factories with reliable, abundant, and affordable Energy.

2. Rein in Wasteful Federal Spending
Republicans will immediately stabilize the Economy by slashing wasteful Government spending and promoting Economic Growth.

3. Cut Costly and Burdensome Regulations Republicans will reinstate President Trump’s Deregulation Policies, which saved Americans $11,000 per household, and end Democrats’ regulatory onslaught that disproportionately harms low- and middle-income households.

4. Stop Illegal Immigration
Republicans will secure the Border, deport Illegal Aliens, and reverse the Democrats’ Open Borders Policies that have driven up the cost of Housing, Education, and Healthcare for American families.

5. Restore Peace through Strength
War breeds Inflation while geopolitical stability brings price stability. Republicans will end the global chaos and restore Peace through Strength, reducing geopolitical risks and lowering commodity prices.

Immigration

SEAL THE BORDER, AND STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION

Our Commitment: Republicans offer an aggressive plan to stop the open-border policies that have opened the floodgates to a tidal wave of illegal Aliens, deadly drugs, and Migrant Crime. We will end the Invasion at the Southern Border, restore Law and Order, protect American Sovereignty, and deliver a Safe and Prosperous Future for all Americans.

1. Secure the Border
Republicans will restore every Border Policy of the Trump administration and halt all releases of Illegal Aliens into the interior. We will complete the Border Wall, shift massive portions of Federal Law Enforcement to Immigration Enforcement, and use advanced technology to monitor and secure the Border. We will use all resources needed to stop the Invasion— including moving thousands of Troops currently stationed overseas to our own Southern Border. We will deploy the U.S. Navy to impose a full Fentanyl Blockade on the waters of our Region—boarding and inspecting ships to look for fentanyl and fentanyl precursors. Before we defend the Borders of Foreign Countries, we must first secure the Border of our Country.

2. Enforce Immigration Laws
Republicans will strengthen ICE, increase penalties for illegal entry and overstaying Visas, and reinstate “Remain in Mexico” and other Policies that helped reduce Illegal Immigration by historic lows in President Trump’s first term. We will also invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members from the United States, ending the scourge of Illegal Alien gang violence once and for all. We will bring back the Travel Ban, and use Title 42 to end the child trafficking crisis by returning all trafficked children to their families in their Home Countries immediately.

3. Begin Largest Deportation Program in American History
President Trump and Republicans will reverse the Democrats’ destructive Open Borders Policies that have allowed criminal gangs and Illegal Aliens from around the World to roam the United States without consequences. The Republican Party is committed to sending Illegal Aliens back home and removing those who have violated our Laws.

4. Strict Vetting
Republicans will use existing Federal Law to keep foreign Christian-hating Communists, Marxists, and Socialists out of America. Those who join our Country must love our Country. We will use extreme vetting to ensure that jihadists and jihadist sympathizers are not admitted.

5. Stop Sanctuary Cities
Republicans will cut federal Funding to sanctuary jurisdictions that release dangerous Illegal Alien criminals onto our streets, rather than handing them over to ICE. We will require local cooperation with Federal Immigration Enforcement.

6. Ensure Our Legal Immigration System
Puts American Workers First Republicans will prioritize Merit-based immigration, ensuring those admitted to our Country contribute positively to our Society and Economy, and never become a drain on Public Resources. We will end Chain Migration, and put American Workers first!

Economy

BUILD THE GREATEST ECONOMY IN HISTORY

Our Commitment:
American Workers are the most productive, talented, and innovative on Earth. The only thing holding them back is the suffocating policies of the Democrat Party. Our America First Economic Agenda rests on five pillars: Slashing Regulations, cutting Taxes, securing Fair Trade Deals, ensuring Reliable and Abundant Low Cost Energy, and championing Innovation. Together, we will restore Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for all Americans.

1. Cut Regulations
Republicans will slash Regulations that stifle Jobs, Freedom, Innovation and make everything more expensive. We will implement Transparency and Common Sense in rulemaking.

2. Make Trump Tax Cuts Permanent and No Tax on Tips
Republicans will make permanent the provisions of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that doubled the standard deduction, expanded the Child Tax Credit, and spurred Economic Growth for all Americans. We will eliminate Taxes on Tips for millions of Restaurant and Hospitality Workers, and pursue additional Tax Cuts.

3. Fair and Reciprocal Trade Deals
Republicans will continue forging an America First Trade Policy as set forth in Chapter 5, standing up to Countries that cheat and prioritizing American Producers over Foreign Outsourcers. We will bring our critical Supply Chains back home. President Trump turned American Trade Policy around, protecting U.S. Producers, and renegotiating failed agreements.

4. Reliable and Abundant Low Cost Energy
Republicans will increase Energy Production across the board, streamline permitting, and end market-distorting restrictions on Oil, Natural Gas, and Coal. The Republican Party will once again make America Energy Independent, and then Energy Dominant, lowering Energy prices even below the record lows achieved during President Trump’s first term.

5. Champion Innovation
Republicans will pave the way for future Economic Greatness by leading the World in Emerging Industries. Crypto Republicans will end Democrats’ unlawful and unAmerican Crypto crackdown and oppose the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. We will defend the right to mine Bitcoin, and ensure every American has the right to self-custody of their Digital Assets, and transact free from Government Surveillance and Control. Artificial Intelligence (AI) We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing. Expanding Freedom, Prosperity and Safety in Space Under Republican Leadership, the United States will create a robust Manufacturing Industry in Near Earth Orbit, send American Astronauts back to the Moon, and onward to Mars, and enhance partnerships with the rapidly expanding Commercial Space sector to revolutionize our ability to access, live in, and develop assets in Space.

Affordability

BRING BACK THE AMERICAN DREAM AND MAKE IT AFFORDABLE AGAIN FOR FAMILIES, YOUNG PEOPLE, AND EVERYONE

Our Commitment:
Republicans offer a plan to make the American Dream affordable again. We commit to reducing Housing, Education, and Healthcare costs, while lowering everyday expenses, and increasing opportunities.

1. Housing Affordability
To help new home buyers, Republicans will reduce mortgage rates by slashing Inflation, open limited portions of Federal Lands to allow for new home construction, promote homeownership through Tax Incentives and support for first-time buyers, and cut unnecessary Regulations that raise housing costs.

2. Accessible Higher Education
To reduce the cost of Higher Education, Republicans will support the creation of additional, drastically more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year College degree.

3. Affordable Healthcare
Healthcare and prescription drug costs are out of control. Republicans will increase Transparency, promote Choice and Competition, and expand access to new Affordable Healthcare and prescription drug options. We will protect Medicare, and ensure Seniors receive the care they need without being burdened by excessive costs.

4. Lower Everyday Costs
Republicans will reduce the Regulatory burden, lower Energy costs, and promote Economic Policies that drive down the cost of living and prices for everyday goods and services

Trade

PROTECT AMERICAN WORKERS AND FARMERS FROM UNFAIR TRADE

Our Commitment:
The Republican Party stands for a patriotic “America First” Economic Policy. Republicans offer a robust plan to protect American Workers, Farmers, and Industries from unfair Foreign Competition. We commit to rebalancing Trade, securing Strategic Independence, and revitalizing Manufacturing. We will prioritize Domestic Production, and ensure National Independence in essential goods and services. Together, we will build a Strong, Self-reliant, and Prosperous America.

1. Rebalance Trade
Our Trade deficit in goods has grown to over $1 Trillion Dollars a year. Republicans will support baseline Tariffs on Foreignmade goods, pass the Trump Reciprocal Trade Act, and respond to unfair Trading practices. As Tariffs on Foreign Producers go up, Taxes on American Workers, Families, and Businesses can come down.

2. Secure Strategic Independence from China
Republicans will revoke China’s Most Favored Nation status, phase out imports of essential goods, and stop China from buying American Real Estate and Industries.

3. Save the American Auto Industry
Republicans will revive the U.S. Auto Industry by reversing harmful Regulations, canceling Biden’s Electric Vehicle and other Mandates, and preventing the importation of Chinese vehicles.

4. Bring Home Critical Supply Chains
Republicans will bring critical Supply Chains back to the U.S., ensuring National Security and Economic Stability, while also creating Jobs and raising Wages for American Workers.

5. Buy American and Hire
American Republicans will strengthen Buy American and Hire American Policies, banning companies that outsource jobs from doing business with the Federal Government.

6. Become the Manufacturing Superpower
By protecting American Workers from unfair Foreign Competition and unleashing American Energy, Republicans will restore American Manufacturing, creating Jobs, Wealth, and Investment.

Seniors

CHAPTER SIX: PROTECT SENIORS

Our Commitment:
President Trump has made absolutely clear that he will not cut one penny from Medicare or Social Security. American Citizens work hard their whole lives, contributing to Social Security and Medicare. These programs are promises to our Seniors, ensuring they can live their golden years with dignity. Republicans will protect these vital programs and ensure Economic Stability. We will work with our Great Seniors, in order to allow them to be active and healthy. We commit to safeguarding the future for our Seniors and all American families.

1. Protect Social Security
Social Security is a lifeline for millions of Retirees, yet corrupt politicians have robbed Social Security to fund their pet projects. Republicans will restore Economic Stability to ensure the long-term sustainability of Social Security.

2. Strengthen Medicare
Republicans will protect Medicare’s finances from being financially crushed by the Democrat plan to add tens of millions of new illegal immigrants to the rolls of Medicare. We vow to strengthen Medicare for future generations.

3. Support Active and Healthy Living
Republicans will support increased focus on Chronic Disease prevention and management, Long-Term Care, and Benefit flexibility. We will expand access to Primary Care and support Policies that help Seniors remain in their homes and maintain Financial Security.

4. Protect Care at Home for the Elderly
Republicans will shift resources back to at-home Senior Care, overturn disincentives that lead to Care Worker shortages, and support unpaid Family Caregivers through Tax Credits and reduced red tape.

5. Protect Economic Foundations for Supporting Seniors
Republicans will tackle Inflation, unleash American Energy, restore Economic Growth, and secure our Borders to preserve Social Security and Medicare funding for the next Generation and beyond. We will ensure these programs remain solvent long into the future by reversing harmful Democrat policies and unleashing a new Economic Boom.

Education

 CULTIVATE GREAT K-12 SCHOOLS LEADING TO GREAT JOBS AND GREAT LIVES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Our Commitment:
Republicans offer a plan to cultivate great K-12 schools, ensure safe learning environments free from political meddling, and restore Parental Rights. We commit to an Education System that empowers students, supports families, and promotes American Values. Our Education System must prepare students for successful lives and well-paying jobs.

1. Great Principals and Great Teachers
Republicans will support schools that focus on Excellence and Parental Rights. We will support ending Teacher Tenure, adopting Merit pay, and allowing various publicly supported Educational models.

2. Universal School Choice
Republicans believe families should be empowered to choose the best Education for their children. We support Universal School Choice in every State in America. We will expand 529 Education Savings Accounts and support Homeschooling Families equally.

3. Prepare Students for Jobs and Careers
Republicans will emphasize Education to prepare students for great jobs and careers, supporting project-based learning and schools that offer meaningful work experience. We will expose politicized education models and fund proven career training programs.

4. Safe, Secure, and Drug-Free Schools
Republicans will support overhauling standards on school discipline, advocate for immediate suspension of violent students, and support hardening schools to help keep violence away from our places of learning.

5. Restore Parental Rights
Republicans will restore Parental Rights in Education, and enforce our Civil Rights Laws to stop schools from discriminating on the basis of Race. We trust Parents!

6. Knowledge and Skills, Not CRT and Gender Indoctrination
Republicans will ensure children are taught fundamentals like Reading, History, Science, and Math, not Leftwing propaganda. We will defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children using Federal Taxpayer Dollars.

7. Promote Love of Country with Authentic Civics Education
Republicans will reinstate the 1776 Commission, promote Fair and Patriotic Civics Education, and veto efforts to nationalize Civics Education. We will support schools that teach America’s Founding Principles and Western Civilization.

8. Freedom to Pray
Republicans will champion the First Amendment Right to Pray and Read the Bible in school, and stand up to those who violate the Religious Freedoms of American students.

9. Return Education to the States
The United States spends more money per pupil on Education than any other Country in the World, and yet we are at the bottom of every educational list in terms of results. We are going to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send it back to the States, where it belongs, and let the States run our educational system as it should be run. Our Great Teachers, who are so important to the future wellbeing of our Country, will be cherished and protected by the Republican Party so that they can do the job of educating our students that they so dearly want to do. It is our goal to bring Education in the United States to the highest level, one that it has never attained before!

Governance

BRING COMMON SENSE TO GOVERNMENT AND RENEW THE PILLARS OF AMERICAN CIVILIZATION

Our Commitment:
Republicans offer a plan to renew American Civilization with Common Sense Policies that supports families, restores Law and Order, cares for Veterans, promotes beauty, and honors American History. We commit to strengthening the Foundations of our Society for a brighter future.

1. Empower American Families
Republicans will promote a Culture that values the Sanctity of Marriage, the blessings of childhood, the foundational role of families, and supports working parents. We will end policies that punish families.

2. Rebuild Our Cities and Restore Law and Order
Republicans will restore safety in our neighborhoods by replenishing Police Departments, restoring Common Sense Policing, and protecting Officers from frivolous lawsuits. We will stand up to Marxist Prosecutors, vigorously defend the Right of every American to live in peace, and we will compassionately address homelessness to restore order to our streets.

3. Make Washington D.C. the Safest and Most Beautiful Capital City
Republicans will reassert greater Federal Control over Washington, DC to restore Law and Order in our Capital City, and ensure Federal Buildings and Monuments are well-maintained.

4. Take Care of Our Veterans
Republicans will end luxury housing and Taxpayer benefits for Illegal Immigrants and use those savings to shelter and treat homeless Veterans. We will restore Trump Administration reforms to expand Veterans’ Healthcare Choices, protect Whistleblowers, and hold accountable poorly performing employees not giving our Veterans the care they deserve.

5. Make Colleges and Universities Sane and Affordable
Republicans will fire Radical Left accreditors, drive down Tuition costs, restore Due Process protections, and pursue Civil Rights cases against Schools that discriminate.

6. Combat Antisemitism
Republicans condemn antisemitism, and support revoking Visas of Foreign Nationals who support terrorism and jihadism. We will hold accountable those who perpetrate violence against Jewish people.

7. Overcome the Crisis in Liberal Arts Education
Republicans support the restoration of Classic Liberal Arts Education.

8. Restore American Beauty
Republicans will promote beauty in Public Architecture and preserve our Natural Treasures. We will build cherished symbols of our Nation, and restore genuine Conservation efforts.

9. Honor American History
Republicans celebrate our Great American Heroes and are proud that the Story of America makes everyone free. We will organize a National Celebration to mark the 250th Anniversary of the Founding of the United States of America.

Democracy

GOVERNMENT OF, BY, AND FOR THE PEOPLE

Our Commitment:
Republicans will offer a clear, precise, and USA oriented plan to stop the Radical Left Democrats’ Weaponization of Government and its Assault on American Liberty. We will restore Government of, by, and for the People, ensuring Accountability, protecting Individual Liberties, and fixing our once very corrupt Elections. We commit to upholding the Constitution of the United States, appointing judges who respect the rule of law, and defending the Rights of all Americans to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. We will maintain the Supreme Court as it was always meant to be, at 9 Justices. We will not allow the Democrat Party to increase this number, as they would like to do, by 4, 6, 8, 10, and even 12 Justices. We will block them at every turn.

1. Republicans Will Stop Woke and Weaponized Government
We will hold accountable those who have misused the power of Government to unjustly prosecute their Political Opponents. We will declassify Government records, root out wrongdoers, and fire corrupt employees.

2. Republicans Will Dismantle Censorship & Protect Free Speech
We will ban the Federal Government from colluding with anyone to censor Lawful Speech, defund institutions engaged in censorship, and hold accountable all bureaucrats involved with illegal censoring. We will protect Free Speech online.

3. Republicans Will Defend Religious Liberty
We are the defenders of the First Amendment Right to Religious Liberty. It protects the Right not only to Worship according to the dictates of Conscience, but also to act in accordance with those Beliefs, not just in places of Worship, but in everyday life. Our ranks include men and women from every Faith and Tradition, and we respect the Right of every American to follow his or her deeply held Beliefs. To protect Religious Liberty, Republicans support a new Federal Task Force on Fighting Anti-Christian Bias that will investigate all forms of illegal discrimination, harassment, and persecution against Christians in America.

4. Republicans Will Protect and Defend a Vote of the People, from within the States, on the Issue of Life
We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).

5. Republicans Will End Left-wing Gender Insanity
We will keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition, reverse Biden’s radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulations, and restore protections for women and girls.

6. Republicans Will Ensure Election Integrity
We will implement measures to secure our Elections, including Voter ID, highly sophisticated paper ballots, proof of Citizenship, and same day Voting. We will not allow the Democrats to give Voting Rights to illegal Aliens.

7. Republicans Will Protect Americans in the Territories.
The territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico are of vital importance to our National Security, and we welcome their greater participation in all aspects of the political process

National Security

RETURN TO PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH

Our Commitment:
Keeping the American People safe requires a strong America. The Biden administration’s weak Foreign Policy has made us less safe and a laughingstock all over the World. The Republican Plan is to return Peace through Strength, rebuilding our Military and Alliances, countering China, defeating terrorism, building an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, promoting American Values, securing our Homeland and Borders, and reviving our Defense Industrial Base. We will build a Military bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. Our full commitment is to protecting America and ensuring a safe and prosperous future for all.

1. The National Interest
Republicans will promote a Foreign Policy centered on the most essential American Interests, starting with protecting the American Homeland, our People, our Borders, our Great American Flag, and our Rights under God.

2. Modernize the Military
Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World. We will invest in cuttingedge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our Troops with higher pay, and get woke Leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible.

3. Strengthen Alliances
Republicans will strengthen Alliances by ensuring that our Allies must meet their obligations to invest in our Common Defense and by restoring Peace to Europe. We will stand with Israel, and seek peace in the Middle East. We will rebuild our Alliance Network in the Region to ensure a future of Peace, Stability, and Prosperity. Likewise, we will champion Strong, Sovereign, and Independent Nations in the Indo-Pacific, thriving in Peace and Commerce with others.

4. Strengthen Economic, Military, and Diplomatic Capabilities
Republicans will strengthen Economic, Military, and Diplomatic capabilities to protect the American way of life from the malign influences of Countries that stand against us around the World.

5. Defend America’s Borders
Against all odds, President Trump has completed Hundreds of Miles of Wall, and he will quickly finish the job. Republicans will mobilize Military personnel and assets as necessary to crack down hard on the cartels that traffic drugs and people into our Country.

6. Revive our Industrial Base
Our Industrial Base is critical to ensuring good jobs for our people but also the reliable production of vital Defense platforms and supplies. Our Policy must be to revive our Industrial Base, with priority on Defense-critical industries. Equipment and parts critical to American Security must be MADE IN THE USA.

7. Protect Critical Infrastructure
Republicans will use all tools of National Power to protect our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure and Industrial Base from malicious cyber actors. This will be a National Priority, and we will both raise the Security Standards for our Critical Systems and Networks and defend them against bad actors