Politics usually feels like a shouting match. Honestly, by the time the 2024 election cycle hit full swing, most of us were just trying to filter out the noise. But when you strip away the rallies and the viral clips, the actual presidential candidates 2024 policies tell a much more specific story about where the country was headed.
The two main camps didn’t just disagree on details. They lived in different universes.
On one side, you had the Trump-Vance ticket pushing "Agenda 47." It was basically a blueprint for a massive overhaul of how the federal government functions. Then you had Kamala Harris, who stepped in for Joe Biden and tried to balance the existing administration’s record with some newer, more "populist" economic tweaks.
People often think these platforms are just vague promises. They're not. They were actually pretty detailed roadmaps for taxes, the border, and how much you pay for a gallon of milk.
The big economic split: Tariffs vs. tax credits
Everyone cares about their wallet. It's the one thing that actually moves the needle for most voters. But the way the 2024 candidates approached your bank account was wildy different.
Donald Trump went all-in on tariffs. He proposed a "universal baseline tariff" of 10% to 20% on basically everything coming into the U.S. If it was from China, he wanted that number at 60%. His logic? It forces companies to build stuff here. Critics, including most mainstream economists, argued this would just act as a massive sales tax on American consumers.
He also wanted to make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. He even floated the idea of getting rid of income tax entirely and replacing it with tariff revenue. It’s a bold swing. Kinda risky, too.
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Harris and the "Opportunity Economy"
Kamala Harris took a different route. She focused on what she called the "Opportunity Economy." Instead of broad tariffs, she leaned into targeted tax credits.
- The Newborn Bonus: A $6,000 tax credit for families during the first year of a child's life.
- Small Business Boost: Raising the startup expense deduction from $5,000 to $50,000.
- Housing Help: $25,000 in down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers who’ve paid rent on time for two years.
She also wanted to hike the corporate tax rate to 28%. Trump, meanwhile, wanted to drop it even lower, down to 15% for companies that make their products in America. It was a classic "trickle-down" versus "middle-out" debate, just updated for the 2020s.
The border: Not just a wall anymore
In 2016, it was all about the wall. By 2024, the conversation around immigration policy had shifted toward enforcement and legal mechanics.
Trump’s plan was, frankly, massive. He talked about the "largest domestic deportation operation in American history." We’re talking about using the National Guard and even moving overseas troops to the border. He also wanted to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents via executive order. Legal experts are still arguing over whether he can actually do that without a Constitutional amendment.
Harris, on the other hand, tried to pivot to a more centrist "border security" stance. She backed a bipartisan border bill that would have funded thousands of new agents and given the president the power to "shut down" the border if crossings hit a certain limit. She really leaned into her history as a prosecutor to show she wasn't "soft" on the issue.
Healthcare and the "MAHA" factor
One of the weirdest twists in the 2024 cycle was the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement. When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed Trump, it brought a focus on food dyes, pesticides, and "chronic disease" into the GOP platform. Trump started talking about cleaning up the food supply, which isn't exactly a traditional Republican talking point.
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On the flip side, Harris doubled down on the Affordable Care Act. She wanted to make the increased subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act permanent. She also focused heavily on "medical debt," promising to work with states to cancel billions of dollars of it for millions of Americans.
The abortion divide
This was arguably the biggest policy gap.
Trump’s stance was basically: "It’s back in the states' hands." He took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade but generally avoided backing a federal ban, saying the voters in each state should decide.
Harris made a national law to restore reproductive rights a cornerstone of her campaign. She spent a lot of time in "blue" and "purple" states telling voters that if Congress passed a bill to codify Roe, she’d sign it on day one.
Energy: "Drill, Baby, Drill" vs. The Green Transition
The 2024 presidential candidates' policies on energy were polar opposites. Trump wanted to declare an "energy emergency" to blast through regulations and ramp up oil and gas drilling. He also promised to slash electricity bills by 50% in his first year—a goal many experts called impossible given how the power grid actually works.
Harris stayed the course on the Biden administration’s "green" goals. She supported the massive investments in EVs and solar power found in the Inflation Reduction Act. However, she did have to do some fancy footwork regarding fracking. After opposing it years ago, she spent 2024 clarifying that she wouldn’t ban it, largely because you can’t win Pennsylvania without supporting the natural gas industry.
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Nuance matters: What actually happened?
Looking back from 2026, we can see how these promises hit reality. Trump won, and the implementation of these policies has been... intense.
The attempt to eliminate the Department of Education, a key part of the "Agenda 47" platform, faced massive legal hurdles. While the administration tried to move K-12 functions to the Labor and HHS departments, it wasn't as simple as just signing a paper.
Also, that promise to cut energy bills by 50%? It hasn't happened. In fact, power prices have stayed high in many areas because the demand for AI data centers is sucking up more electricity than the new drilling can offset.
Actionable insights: How to navigate these shifts
If you're trying to figure out how these policies affect your life today, here’s what you need to focus on:
1. Watch the Tariffs: If you buy imported goods or run a business that relies on global parts, those 10-20% tariffs are the biggest factor in your pricing. Keep an eye on the "exclusion" lists the administration occasionally releases.
2. State-Level Rights: On issues like abortion and education curriculum, the "federalist" approach means your zip code matters more than ever. If you're unhappy with the direction, the most immediate impact you can have is in your local and state elections.
3. Tax Planning: The 2017 tax cuts were set to expire in 2025. With the current administration, those are largely being extended. Talk to a pro about how the "no taxes on tips" or the new caregiver tax credits might apply to your specific filing.
The 2024 election wasn't just a popularity contest. It was a choice between two fundamentally different ways of running a country. Whether you’re a business owner looking at corporate rates or a parent looking at school vouchers, these policies aren't just "politics"—they're the rules of the game we're all playing now.