WSJ What’s News - A Look at Harris and Trump’s Policy Flip Flops

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

A.M. Edition for Oct. 8. The WSJ’s Tarini Parti and Natalie Andrews talk us through the issues–from abortion and Medicare to fracking and marijuana–that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have changed their stance on as they try to win votes. Plus, a judge rules that Google must make it easier for app stores to compete on Android. And, Samsung issues a rare apology over an expected earnings miss. Azhar Sukri hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Markets always present challenges. Good advice and active management turn challenges into opportunities, because passive investing simply isn't an option. Dynamic funds, invest with advice. Visit dynamic.ca slash advice to learn more. Google is told to make it easier for app stores to compete on Android. Plus, Kamala Harris is proposing a Medicare benefit that could help her win over middle-aged voters.

And we'll look at the issues where Harris and Donald Trump have flip-flopped, and what that tells us about the race for the White House. They still need to attract mainstream voters, voters that maybe are a little more centrist, voters who maybe are concerned about the extremes that the parties talk about. It's Tuesday, October the 8th. I'm Azhar Sukri for The Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas. Here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have both done their fair share share of flip-flopping on policy.

Harris has backed away from some of the more liberal positions she embraced a few years ago, while Trump has recently staked out policy stances that suggest he would be a different president than he was during his term. Journal politics reporters Tarini Party and Natalie Andrews have been tracking how the two presidential candidates have shifted on key issues, and they join me now to help explain these moves. Natalie, you've been looking at Trump's policy line-up. Abortion is a pretty high-profile issue that's seen as a weakness for his party, and last week he said he'd veto a national ban. seen as a weakness for his party, and last week he said he'd veto a national ban. What else has he flip-flopped on?

Abortion is certainly a key place where Donald Trump has tried to carve out some sort of way to alleviate voter concerns. But he's also noticeably said he would oppose the SALT cap, which he actually enacted during his first term as president. He said that he's going to support a ballot initiative in Florida that would legalize cannabis use for adults who are 21 and over, which is something that his administration didn't support when he was president. And notably, he campaigned in 2016 on repealing the Affordable Care Act, and that is not really

where he is this time in the debate. He said, I have concepts of a plan, but there's no real health care plan in his policy. And Tarini Harris has had a few flip flops of her own, fracking most notably she supported banning it in 2019, but has since backed away from that position, but also Medicare, am I right? That's right. When Kamala Harris first joined the Senate, she was representing California,

which is a much more liberal constituency. And so she supported Medicare for All, went on to run for president in 2020. And in the 2019 Democratic primary, where you had all these Democrats running to woo the Democratic base, a lot of people, including Harris, tried to shift to the left on some issues. Healthcare was interesting for Harris because she actually tried to start moving to the center on this particular issue, even though on others she moved to the left. So

she softened her position on Medicare for All and released a proposal that would expand access to Medicare, but also keep private insurance intact. Then when she became Biden's running mate, she further moved to the center and supported his plan, which was basically to expand on the Affordable Care Act, which is where she is now. Looking at both of your stories, they had some really great visuals showing how the candidates have changed over time on their key positions. And what they point to is that both of them, as you say, have overwhelmingly shifted towards the centre, not just on health care, but many other issues as well.

What does that show, Natalie? Well, candidates often when they have to get through a primary will try to appeal to the party's most fervent base. This race is certainly unique in that both of these candidates didn't really have to compete much in a primary. Harris didn't have a primary and Trump had a few

challengers, but quickly took the lead. They still need to attract mainstream voters, voters that maybe are a little more centrist, voters who maybe are concerned about the extremes that the parties talk about. A lot of voters who put themselves kind of in the middle worry about polarization. And so these are politicians tacking to say, hey, I am more of a mainstream candidate. I mean, I guess it's not unusual for politicians to start moving towards the center. But do they risk alienating some of their base perhaps? Natalie first.

On abortion, Donald Trump saying that he thinks that women need more weeks to decide on abortion face, perhaps? Natalie first. Natalie Fierro, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times,

The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New York Times, The New It seems to have angered a lot of people who really, really staunchly oppose abortion.

However, if their choices are Trump and Harris, it seems they will pick Trump. And Tarini, who does Harris risk leaving behind on the Democratic side? So there are progressives who have been frustrated with some of Harris's moves. But what I've heard over and over again from these activists is that the alternative is Donald Trump. So for them, they would rather have Harris, and some of them do understand that some of this is political, that what's going to end up mattering is how she governs. They believe that if she is elected, she will have some sort of balance, even though she is for now shifting to the centre on many issues.

Tareen Ippati and Natalie Andrews, thank you very much indeed for your time. Thanks for having me. Thank you. Well, as part of her pitch to what could be a crucial group of voters, Harris is proposing a new Medicare benefit for in-home care for seniors. Harris campaign officials say the proposal, which she's set to discuss today during a television interview,

would allow many seniors to get support without going to a nursing home. The officials said the benefit, which would require congressional approval, would be paid for from the savings from proposals Harris has made to lower prescription drug costs. The plan is aimed at the so-called Sandwich Generation group of middle-aged voters who

are grappling with raising children while attending to their aging parents. According to Harris' aides, many in that group haven't decided how they will vote. Coming up, Google receives another legal blow, and competition heats up in its core search ad business. Those stories and more after the break. How to stop losses work on Kraken? Let's say I have a birthday party on Wednesday night, but an important meeting Thursday morning. So sensible me, pre-book a taxi for 10pm with alerts.

Voila! I won't be getting carried away and staying out till 2. That's Stop Loss Orders on Kraken, an easy way to plan ahead. Go to kraken.com and see what crypto can be. Non-investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss. See kraken.com slash legal slash ca dash pru dash disclaimer for info on Kraken's undertaking for registering Canada. A judge has ordered Alphabet's Google to make it easier for third-party mobile app store

developers to compete on phones and tablets that use the company's Android software. The injunction stems from Google losing an antitrust case last December, brought by Fortnite developer Epic Games. Epic, which operates its own app store, argued that Google used its power to take excess profits from app developers through its Play Store catalogue. Google plans to appeal that ruling. The judge yesterday ordered Google to allow third parties to access its Play Store to build competing offerings. He also barred the company from paying incentives to app developers to release an app first or exclusively on its Play Store. The injunction is set to take

effect next month, with many of the remedies lasting three years. The Play Store is one of the main ways Google makes money from its Android mobile operating system. A Google executive said that the company will ask the courts not to implement the remedies while the legal process moves forward. And while Google faces the prospect of more App Store competition, its grip on the nearly $300 billion search ad business is also loosening. Search offerings from Amazon, TikTok and Perplexity, the AI search startup backed by Jeff Bezos, are starting to eat into its lead. According to research firm eMarketer, Google's share of the US search ad market will drop

below 50% next year for the first time in over a decade. Journal reporter Miles Krupper says the threat to Google is that more people are now starting their searches on other platforms and brands are shifting their ad spend accordingly. Google's doing a few things to combat this. They're rolling out their own AI-powered summaries in search and they're starting to insert ads directly in those summaries, to combat this. Google's also been leaning into a visual search tool it calls Lens and has said that they're going to start adding more shopping advertisements in the results from lens searches. So you might take a photo of a chair that you see out in the world and think, I want to buy that chair.

And Google Lens will take you to a page with results about that chair and potentially now ads about that chair as well. Starting today, you can catch an Uber between New York City and LaGuardia Airport for around a fifth of the normal price. The catch? You could be sharing your $18 ride with up to 13 other people in a van, and you'll only be able to get on or off at three spots in Manhattan. Other shuttle services to LaGuardia have long existed,

but they can take longer than a car and booking isn't as familiar to people as firing up the Uber app on your phone. It's Uber's first venture into airport shuttles, and it says it plans to expand to other ones. the Uber app on your phone. It's Uber's first venture into airport shuttles, and it says it plans to expand to other ones. 15% of its bookings came from airport trips last year. And moving markets today, Samsung has issued a rare apology. The South Korean electronics giant projected a sharp slowdown in earnings growth for the next quarter, in part as a result of China flooding the lower-end chip market.

It admitted it's struggling to catch up with rivals in the advanced AI chip space, and vowed to step up efforts to become competitive again. Its shares have lost more than a fifth of their value this year. Shares in mainland China jumped on the first day. After a long national holiday, the Hong Kong market, which had largely been open during that period, crashed more than 9 per cent. And European drink stocks have fallen after Beijing said it would impose anti-dumping tariffs on brandy imported from the European Union. Remy Cointreau fell as much as 7% in morning trading, while Pernod Ricard was down about

3%. LVMH, which makes Hennessy Cognac, dropped more than 4%. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said today the tariffs would take effect on Friday. Its move follows the European Union's decision to slap tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. And that's it for What's News for Tuesday morning. Today's show was produced by Daniel Bach and Kate Bullivant with supervising producer Christina Roker. I'm Azhar Sukri for the Wall Street Journal, filling in for Luke Vargas.

We'll be back tonight with a new show. Until then, thanks for listening.