Explainer: The policy positions of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump
Seeing the two candidates side by side cannot be more of a study in contrasts, read below for what their stances are on different issues
With the US election about to reach its conclusion before all that's left is the counting, Americans will make a choice that will affect the course of their country for the next four years.
Seeing the two candidates side by side cannot be more of a study in contrasts, read below for what their stances are on different issues.
Hamas-Israel War
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris stands firmly on Israel's side, much like President Joe Biden has, having said, "I have my entire career and life supporting Israel and the Israeli people" during her only Presidential debate with Donald Trump. While she has called for a Gaza ceasefire, her support for the Palestinian people was couched in language that made it clear that that support was dependent on Israel remaining "secure."
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She has not supported an arms embargo on Israel despite calls for it from within her own party.
Republican candidate Donald Trump has also been strongly pro-Israel and condemned student protesters who supported Palestine with nonviolent sit-ins on US college campuses.
He has made claims that the war "would not have happened" had he been president at the time, but as always offered no details on how that would be.
During his previous term as the president, he moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem and stopped labelling Israeli settlements on the West Bank illegal even though they go against international law.
Economy
The economic policies of Harris follow Biden's "Bidenomics", which included investments in infrastructure and green energy.
She has said multiple times on the campaign trail that one of her highest priorities is "to support and strengthen the middle class", and to create "an opportunity economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed."
Trump has taken another angle, focusing on high food and housing costs and claiming on his campaign website that he intends to "end inflation and make America affordable again".
His stated strategies of high tariffs on China and Europe, removing protections on natural preserves in Alaska to oil drilling and most significantly, from the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants to "make America affordable again" have been met with scepticism from economists around the world.
Taxes
Harris supports raising taxes specifically on corporations, again following Biden's path. She also plans to reduce taxes on the middle class, saying during her acceptance speech that she would "pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans".
Trump on the other hand plans to further cut taxes for businesses and the wealthy, claiming that doing so would trickle down to lower prices for the middle and lower classes. The results from his previous presidency showed that this merely increases the income gap, as the extra money gained by the wealthy simply goes back into their pockets.
Trump has also called on abolishing the tax on Social Security payments, a move that would be welcomed by retired Americans but would at the same time punch a big hole in the fund.
Abortion
Perhaps one of the most contentious points during this election, Harris has been a long-time supporter of abortion rights.
She has made abortion central to her campaign and has stated that "when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as president of the United States, I will sign it into law," multiple times.
This comes as a backdrop against the conservative majority US Supreme Court that Trump created which effectively overturned the constitutional right to abortions in 2022.
It allowed Republican states to outright make abortion illegal, to the point that doctors who provided life-saving abortion services could be prosecuted, and even those who travelled outside of the state for an abortion could be arrested and tried on their return.
The three judges Trump appointed while he was president were pivotal in the landmark decision, which Democrats have used to rally supporters as abortion restrictions have been introduced in numerous states.
Immigration
Harris supported a bipartisan border security bill which would have included hundreds of millions in funds for border wall construction. This bill was sunk by congressional Republicans in February 2022 at Trump's demand.
He has been accused of stopping the bill so that he could continue campaigning on immigration policies.
She said that if she is elected president she would revive that bill and sign it into law.
Trump has had immigration at the top of his list, just like he did in 2016 when "Build the wall" was his signature slogan.
Beyond sealing the border and increasing enforcement, he has promised the biggest mass deportations of undocumented migrants in US history.
Children of undocumented residents would no longer be eligible for citizenship under another Trump presidency, although this would face significant legal obstacles.
Foreign Policy
Harris has vowed to support Ukraine for as long as is needed, as well as being a long-time advocate of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Trump is seeking an isolationist policy, seeking to untangle the US from its alliances, trade deals and conflicts around the world.
He has claimed he would end the Ukraine-Russia war in 24 hours, with no information on how that would be accomplished.
Climate
Harris helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which has given hundreds of billions of dollars to renewable energy and EV programmes.
However, her previous stance on fracking - a technique for recovering gas and oil from shale rock that can damage the environment - has changed since 2019 when she said she wished to ban it.
Her new position on the matter is that the US needs to diversify its energy sources to reduce reliance on foreign oil.
Trump undid hundreds of environmental protections during his time as president, and he has vowed to continue that should he be elected again, ostensibly to help the American car industry.
He has attacked the EV industry many times throughout his political career, though that angle shifted to a more positive one when Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, became a large supporter and his biggest donor.
He also has spoken viciously about wind farms, vowing to halt them all should he be elected.
