Ashley Etienne, former communications director to Vice President Kamala Harris, said that Harris’ speech on the economy on Wednesday was “nothing novel” or “fresh, new” adding that the Harris campaign needs to “take greater risk.”
While speaking on CNN with anchor Wolf Blitzer, Etienne was asked about tariffs and Harris’ economic policy. Etienne said Harris needs to “remind people that your life was not better under Donald Trump.”
“I felt like there was absolutely nothing novel about what happened today,” Etienne added about Harris’ economic speech in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, noting her comment was “a little critical” of Harris. “I mean to give an economic speech at an economic club in Pittsburgh, I mean there’s nothing about that that feels fresh, new.”
“My point is to her and her team…the only way you can beat Donald Trump is you’ve got to take greater risk,” Etienne said noting that Latino and Black men as an example, may not “have heard themselves” in her speech. “What I know about the Vice President is she actually sees people and they need to put that on display.”
Newsweek has reached out to Harris’ campaign via email Tuesday evening for comment.
In her speech, Harris spoke about her policy noting middle-class tax breaks, cutting the price of childcare and elder care, and getting working people access to paid leave. Harris also highlighted her policy compared to Trump’s saying, “The American people face a choice between two fundamentally very different paths for our economy. I intend to chart a new way forward and grow America’s middle class.”
Harris then ripped Trump saying that he “intends to take America backward.” Harris added that Trump plans to raise taxes on the middle class pointing to his economic agenda and give tax cuts to big corporations and billionaires.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
This is a developing story that will be updated as information becomes available.
