Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says former US President Donald Trump is on a desperate political move and trying to defame Vice President Kamala Harris by calling her “communist”. Krugman told the New York Times, “Donald Trump has been using an ugly word to describe Vice President Kamala Harris,” “No, I don’t mean privately calling her the B-word, although he reportedly does. I mean ‘communist.
’” According to Krugman, Trump and his supporters have started labelling Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as “communists” in response to the growing momentum of their political campaign. “Ronald Reagan was a part of Operation Coffee Cup, an effort to convince voters that government health insurance, in the form of Medicare, would destroy American freedom”, he wrote in the NYT op-ed. ALSO READ| Donald Trump gushes over Kamala Harris' appearance on Time Magazine's cover, compares her 'beautiful' looks with.
.. The Nobel Prize-winning economist points out that, “Harris obviously isn't a communist.
” Krugman argues that this tactic revives former President Ronald Reagan's “redbaiting” strategies, which sought to convince Americans that government programs like Medicare would lead to the loss of their freedoms. Krugman wonders why the ‘communist’ attack on Harris? Krugman goes on to explain that Harris's policies align more closely with those of a social democrat, someone who believes in government programs like Medicare and Social Security to mitigate the negative effects of a market economy on individuals. “America’s social safety net is less comprehensive than those in Western Europe.
Even so, we have a universal retirement system, Social Security, and universal health care for seniors, Medicare,” he said. Krugman notes that these programs have “overwhelming [American] public support”, including a significant number of Republicans. “So where does this Kamala-the-communist stuff come from?” Krugman wonders.
He suggests, “It could be that Republicans believe they can convince voters that a moderately center-left Democrat who is a former prosecutor is a communist because she’s a Black woman — a twist, perhaps, on the “welfare queen” trope of another era.” ALSO READ| Donald Trump publicly admits plan to flee US if he loses 2024 elections, tells Elon Musk ‘we’ll meet next time in..
.' However, Krugman also entertains the possibility that this attack is less calculated and more a reflection of the desperation within Trump’s camp. Krugman posits that Trump's repeated use of "Commie-la" to describe Harris is a sign of how much President Joe Biden 's potential withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race has unsettled him.
“Trump and MAGA seem to be responding by throwing lots of stuff at the wall and hoping some of it sticks,” Krugman concludes. “So since nothing else seems to be working, hey, why not call her a communist?”.
