Harris discusses housing topics in the presidential debate

Tuesday night’s presidential debate — which could potentially be the only one of this election cycle between the Democratic and Republican nominees for the highest office in the land in November — featured a flurry of fiery moments between the two candidates. Housing, which has become a focal point of the campaign, was mentioned a few times among the myriad other issues gaining traction on the big national stage.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has gone on the campaign trail to talk about housing issues several times since rising to the top of the Democratic ticket in July, and Republican candidate Donald Trump has tied the housing issue to another of his top campaign issues of immigration. .

But with only a debate moderation team between them and campaign surrogates relegated to the sides of the stage at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, the candidates had free rein to debate each other on both the issues at hand and the party’s individual character traits to question. candidates themselves. Although housing came up several times, there was no direct question about housing issues or policy.

The first topic of the debate was about the economy and the cost of living. The Vice President immediately spoke about the cost of housing, saying it is too high. The former president used his first statement to condemn foreign nations and highlight tariffs on China as part of a broader economic plan.

Later in the debate, Harris mentioned the cost of housing for a second time, in the middle of a chapter on immigration. She also discussed her background regarding the cost of housing, while also taking a shot at her opponent.

“I grew up as a middle-class kid, raised by a hard-working mother, who worked and saved and was able to buy our first house when I was a teenager,” Harris said. “The values ​​I bring about the importance of homeownership – knowing that not everyone was handed $400 million on a silver platter and then filed for bankruptcy six times – is a value I bring to my work. We will work with the private sector and housebuilders to scale this up [the housing supply] by the end of my first term with 3 million homes.”

Trump disputed the monetary inheritance figure Harris cited, saying he received “much less” from his father Fred. A New York Times research said in 2018 that Trump did not receive that amount after his father’s death in 1999, but “received the equivalent of at least $413 million today from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day .”

When his father died, Trump and his siblings received a share of $20 million, divided between them 2016 reporting by the Times.

Harris also spoke about her plan to provide financial assistance to first-time homebuyers in a later part of the debate.

“I have a plan that will allow people to pursue what has been fleeting in terms of the American Dream by offering assistance with a $25,000 down payment for first-time homebuyers.”

When the debate turned to climate change, Harris specifically mentioned increased homeowners insurance premiums.

“You ask anyone who lives in a state who has experienced these extreme weather events who is now being denied home insurance or having their insurance increased,” Harris said. “If you ask anyone who has been victimized what that means when it comes to losing their home and not having anywhere to go, we know we can actually address this problem.”

The former president did not specifically respond to or mention housing issues in his allotted time or responses.