Former President Donald Trump is framing his showdown with Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election as a choice between more and less taxation.
Mr. Trump told voters Wednesday at a campaign rally in Georgia that he wanted them to keep more of their money.
Referring to her as “the Tax Queen,” Mr. Trump said Ms. Harris wants Uncle Sam to have more of their hard-earned money through various tax hikes, including the death tax and creating a new levy on unrealized capital gains.
“It will crash the stock market,” Mr. Trump said of Ms. Harris’ plan. “We will have a 1929-type depression. This woman is crazy.”
Mr. Trump turned to the big screen to show footage of Ms. Harris boasting about working with President Biden to end the Trump tax cuts and news reports warning that doing so would hurt working families.
“If Kamala gets four more years, she will obliterate our economy, destroy millions of jobs, and destroy your family finances forever,” he said. “I will pass historic tax cuts for our workers and small businesses,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump vowed to keep the 2017 tax cuts in place. He has promised to stop taxing restaurant tips, Social Security benefits, and overtime.
He also wants to create a new tax deduction for interest payments on U.S.-manufactured cars.
Critics warn that his vision will blow a massive hole in the budget and add to the rising national deficits and debt.
Mr. Trump insists his plan to slap tariffs on foreign imports will help fill that revenue gap.
Georgia has long been a GOP-friendly state, but that changed in 2020 when President Biden, riding anti-Trump sentiment, cobbled together a winning coalition of women, people of color, and young voters.
Ms. Harris is aiming to recreate that alliance, in part by rallying supporters with former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama.
The final Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll of the election cycle showed that Mr. Trump had a 47% to 43% lead over Ms. Harris, with 8% of voters still on the fence. The poll had an error margin of 3.1 percentage points.
The survey found that Ms. Harris is struggling to recreate the support Mr. Biden received from Black voters on his way to winning the state’s electoral votes in 2020. It also found that Mr. Trump has done a better job of solidifying his base of support after 95% of Republicans said they are backing him, compared to 89% of Democrats who said the same about Ms. Harris.
Ms. Harris has a 6-point edge among independents.
Mr. Trump visited Georgia as the early-vote tally steered toward 1 million ballots cast.
Mr. Trump is closing with a busy schedule. He has rallies scheduled for Thursday in Arizona and Nevada before he travels to Michigan for stops on Friday and Saturday.
He closes out the week with a big rally at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The rally Wednesday night featured a guest appearance from conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
“Kamala Harris shouldn’t have a job. She has no skills,” Mr. Carlson said. “How did we wind up with a system where Kamala Harris — who couldn’t change the tire on your truck, much less drive it — how did she wind up at the top of the pyramid? And once she is there, she will lecture you.
“It is too much,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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