CNN host Kasie Hunt says Harris is 'Republican' and Trump is 'liberal' on their economic policies

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CNN host argues Harris has 'Republican' economic polices and Trump has 'liberal' polices

CNN host Kasie Hunt suggested on Thursday that Kamala Harris had "Republican" economic policies and Donald Trump had "liberal" ones. 

CNN host Kasie Hunt argued on Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris' policies on the economy appeared "Republican" and that former President Trump's seemed "liberal."

Wall Street Journal reporter Annie Linskey began the "CNN This Morning" panel discussion by saying that both Trump and Harris were focusing on investing in manufacturing and industrial policy. 

"What Annie just said is in fact correct, but it does in fact sound like Harris is the Republican in this scenario and Donald Trump is the liberal in terms of the nature of the policies," Hunt said in response. 

Harris delivered a policy speech at The Economic Club of Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Harris emphasized her "middle-class upbringing." She said she wanted to "build a strong middle-class," with proposals she's rolled out in recent weeks like increasing the tax break for new small businesses and giving a $25,000 credit to first-time homebuyers.

HARRIS DODGES QUESTIONS ON LOWERING PRICES BY DESCRIBING ‘MIDDLE-CLASS’ ROOTS: NEIGHBORS ‘PROUD OF THEIR LAWN’

CNN's Kasie Hunt said Thursday that Donald Trump's policy proposals appeared liberal, and VP Harris' seemed conservative. (Screenshot/CNN)

Hunt pointed to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who took aim at Trump's tariff proposals after Trump said on Tuesday during a rally in Pennsylvania that he would put a 200% tariff on John Deere if they move production of skid steer loaders and compact track loaders to an existing facility in Mexico.

Trump has called for steeper tariffs on China and other countries and has said he wants to slash the corporate tax rate on companies that produce their products in the U.S. 

"The one thing when we talk about tariffs, we have to remember, he‘s talking about free and fair trade, reciprocal trade," The America First Policy Institute's Marc Lotter told the CNN panel on Thursday. "He will talk about tariffs if a country is not treating us fairly." 

Harris spoke about lowering costs, investing in American innovation and entrepreneurship, and leading global competitors in the industries of the future during her speech in Pennsylvania.

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Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

"I think that the challenge in what he’s talking about is, you know, tariffs can work if it’s very strategic, he’s not talking about them in a very strategic way. It’s much more of a like, ‘What audience am I talking to? Okay, you get something, you get something,’ and think about if you think about 200% tariff on John Deere, that’s a tax on farmers, people who really cannot handle more taxes. He talked about tariffs in a way that doesn‘t actually clarify that the companies pay the tariff, which means they pass on the cost to us," liberal CNN commentator Karen Finney said. 

During Harris' speech on Wednesday, the vice president said that during Trump's four years in the White House, "[M]anufacturing jobs went down across our country and across our economy. All told, almost 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost during his presidency, starting before the pandemic hit, making Trump one of the biggest losers ever on manufacturing."

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RNC spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital in a statement, "President Trump successfully imposed tariffs and negotiated new trade deals that leveled the playing field for American agriculture and manufacturing – allowing U.S. industries to send more made-in-America goods across the world. Kamala Harris opposed the USMCA and failed to open foreign markets for our farmers, ranchers, and manufacturers – allowing the trade deficit in goods to reach over $1 trillion a year. Under dealmaker President Trump, American farmers, manufacturers, and auto workers got the best trade deals in history, and he will once again put America First when we send him back to the White House."

Fox News' Kristine Parks and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.