Trump brands Kamala Harris’s lower grocery prices policy ‘communist’

He says vice-president’s plan to ban ‘price gouging’ is ‘something straight out of Venezuela or the Soviet Union’

Kamala Harris has pledged to “go after the bad actors” inflating the price of US groceries as Donald Trump accused her of supporting “communist” economic controls.
The vice-president announced a series of economic policy proposals in a speech on Friday as both presidential contenders campaigned on the cost of living.
Ms Harris announced plans for an “opportunity economy” under which she would target grocery chains and wholesalers that she said had kept prices artificially high.
She proposed a federal ban on price gouging, a term for unjustified inflation by retailers, and accused Trump of supporting a “national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities”.
“Believe me, as president I will go after the bad actors, and I will work to pass the first ever federal ban on price gouging on food,” she told supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Trump, who launched his own economic policy offering on Thursday surrounded by grocery products, said a ban on price increases would amount to “communist” economic policy from the federal government.
He said: “Now Kamala is reportedly proposing communist price control. She wants price controls, and if they worked, I’d go all along with it, but they don’t work. They actually have the exact opposite impact and effect.
“We call it the ‘Maduro plan’, like something straight out of Venezuela or the Soviet Union,” he said in a reference to  Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan president.
Polls show that voters see inflation as one of the most significant problems facing Americans in the run-up to November’s presidential election.
The price of household staples, including eggs and milk, rose by 11 per cent in 2022, and another 5 per cent in 2023.
Inflation in the economy more widely has since almost returned to pre-pandemic levels, at 2.9 per cent, compared to the UK’s 2.2 per cent in the year to July 2024.
Economists believe high inflation over the last three years has been driven by a variety of factors, including increased consumer demand amid low interest rates and supply chain issues.
Ms Harris’s campaign has not yet set out exactly how a price gouging ban would work, although it said the rules would be enforced by state attorneys and the Federal Trade Commission. Any ban would require the consent of Congress.
A poll for The Telegraph by Redfield & Wilton Strategies earlier this month found that the economy is the most important issue for the largest group of voters in all seven swing states.
Around 70 per cent of voters in the battleground states said that the cost of living would be “extremely important” in determining their vote.
The largest group of voters in all seven states, including those where Ms Harris is ahead overall, said they trusted Trump more on the economy.
In a press conference in New Jersey on Thursday, Trump criticised the Biden administration’s record on economic policy, including the president’s industrial policy, which has been dubbed “Bidenomics”.
“Kamala Harris is a radical California liberal who broke the economy, broke the border and broke the world, frankly,” he told reporters.
Earlier this month, Trump accused Ms Harris of stealing one of his flagship policies after she said she supported ending taxes on tips received by hospitality workers.
She announced support for the policy on Saturday, months after Trump said he would make the ban a priority of his second administration if he won back power in November.
Ms Harris’s other economic policy plans include a continuation of “Bidenomics”, which looks set to be rebranded after Mr Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month.
Mr Biden told reporters on Thursday: “It doesn’t matter what the hell you call it, the economy is going to continue. With all the legislation we passed, it’s working.”
Asked about Trump’s plan to “make America affordable again”, he replied: “Well, he ought to get a job.”
Ms Harris has also proposed a new house-building programme, which she said would see three million homes constructed within four years to “end America’s housing shortage”.
She said on Friday that home ownership was “out of reach for too many American families”.
Campaign officials said she would also give each family with a newborn child $6,000 in tax credits within the first year of its life.