By Raul Castillo
Aug 18, 2024, 3:49 PM EDT
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called his Democratic rival Kamala Harris a “communist” and claimed that her economic proposals follow the “Maduro plan,” a reference to the price control policies applied in Venezuela by the leader of the Chavista regime.
“(Harris) became a communist. She wants to destroy our country. After causing catastrophic inflation, Comrade Kamala announced that she wants to institute socialist price controls,” Trump said at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
The former president was referring to the economic plan Harris presented on Friday, which includes working with Congress to approve the first federal ban on price gouging.
According to a statement from Harris’ campaign, the ban will set clear rules to prevent large corporations from artificially raising prices to make more profits.
“It never worked. It never, ever has worked,” Trump added of price controls. “This is the Maduro plan in Venezuela, like the old Soviet Union. Yes, they tried it (…). It will cause rationing, hunger and skyrocketing prices, just like his inflation-reduction law.”
The Republican candidate then invited a Venezuelan supporter on stage, who recalled the rise to power of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who initially imposed price controls in that country, leading to a serious economic crisis.
Personal attacks
During the rally in Pennsylvania, Trump continued his personal attacks on Harris, at a time when several Republicans are asking him to focus his criticism on her policies.
“I’m much more handsome than she is,” Trump said. “I’m a more attractive person than Kamala.”
The former president made the comments while referencing a recent Time magazine cover featuring Harris, according to The Hill.
“Time magazine doesn’t have any pictures of her. They have an amazing artist drawing her,” he said. “They took a lot of pictures that didn’t turn out well, so they hired a cartoonist.”
He also criticized President Joe Biden.
“What happened to Biden? I was running against Biden and now I’m running against somebody else,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Who am I running against? Harris?’ I said, ‘Who the hell is Harris?’”
Trump’s attacks come as several Republicans, including his former adviser Kellyanne Conway, have called on him to avoid personal insults and focus on policy in his campaign rhetoric, according to The Hill.
“The winning formula for President Trump is very clear,” Conway told Fox Business last week. “It’s less name-calling, more insight and that contrast of policies.”
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