Should Kamala Harris fight fire with fire in the battle over economic policy?

Much as many would, understandably, like it to be otherwise, the presidential election is not yet over, it is not yet in the bag for Kamala Harris, and there remains a near even chance that Donald J Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States on 25 January 2025.

Certainly, since Joe Biden pulled out of the race, Vice-President Harris has enjoyed something of a honeymoon, and has built up more momentum with what seems to be the inspired choice of Tim Walz as her own VP pick. Yet, as the Republicans constantly point out, she has avoided interviews and other opportunities for the media to subject her policies to hard examination.

Indeed, she has been decidedly policy-light since she inherited the Democratic nomination. But she has now begun to scope out her approach on the most crucial issue of all – the economy.

Inflation shows up as the single most important issue for the voters, and “pocket book” politics have always been central. As things stand now, it is the issue that could yet rescue the contest for Trump, or even propel Harris to a more decisive victory than anyone would have thought possible even a few weeks ago. And, after a period of some characteristic chaos, Trump has also decided to focus on the issue – at least to the extent that he can ever focus on anything before veering off into wisecracks.

Yes, unusually. Trump is helped, because he has inflation on his side, so to speak. In a series of sometimes bizarre moments, the former president has blamed the Biden administration, and Harris personally, for the spike in prices that has eroded living standards in the US and the Western world more generally.

For instance, waving two packs of Tic Tacs around – surely a presidential first – Trump