Harris, Trump lay out visions for economy

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump laid out rival visions for the economy, the top issue for many US voters, ahead of the vice-president's first major solo interview since entering the White House race.

The Democrat portrayed herself as a supporter of the US middle class struggling with high prices in her speech in Pittsburgh, accusing Trump, in contrast, of supporting people who "own the big skyscrapers".

Republican Trump, for his part, doubled down on his protectionist vision.

With less than six weeks to go until election day, the vice-president and the former president are neck and neck in the polls and are both reaching out to undecided voters on key issues such as the economy.

Harris vowed to "chart a new way forward" in a speech in Pittsburgh, an industrial city in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.

"For Donald Trump, our economy works best if it works for those who own the big skyscrapers. Not those who actually build them. Not those who wire them. Not those who mop the floors," she said.

Harris focused on boosting investment in US manufacturing, as well as repeating earlier promises of tax breaks for families and small businesses.

She said nearly 200,000 factory jobs moved abroad during Trump's time in the White House, "making Trump one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing".

Since replacing US President Joe Biden as candidate in July, polls have shown that Harris is gaining on Trump in terms of whom voters trust most on the economy, but that voters remain unfamiliar with her policies.

Trump's campaign said her speech was "full of lies" and that she had already had three and a half years as part of the Biden administration to tackle problems like low prices.

The Republican is making similar pledges to boost US manufacturing, but based largely on his plans to impose sweeping tariffs on foreign imports.

"You're going to have protection from them coming in because we're going to put on from 50 to 200 percent tariffs," Trump told supporters in Mint Hill, North Carolina, another crucial battleground state.

Trump, meanwhile, plans to return to the Pennsylvania town of Butler, where a gunman made an attempt on his life at a rally in July, his campaign said on Wednesday.

He will hold a rally on Oct 5 in Butler "on the very same ground where he came within a quarter of an inch of losing his life," it said.

Agencies via Xinhua