CBS anchor and upcoming vice presidential debate moderator Margaret Brennan opened “Face the Nation” Sunday teasing how they would tell viewers why former President Trump is “wrong” to claim Vice President Harris went “full communist.”
“With the presidential contest lineup set to be formally locked in this week, both sides turn their attention to issue number one on minds of voters: the economy and inflation,” Brennan previewed.
After showing clips of both presidential candidates, she zeroed in on “a new line of false attack” against Harris’s price control plan by Trump.
“Kamala went full communist. You heard that? She went full communist. She wants to destroy our country after causing catastrophic inflation,” Trump said during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
NBC NEWS HOST PRESSES GOV. WHITMER ON HARRIS’ PRICE CONTROL PLAN: IS IT ‘ANY MORE THAN A GIMMICK?’
“We’ll tell you why that’s wrong,” Brennan said.
Brennan later brought up the “communist” accusation while speaking with Democratic Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.
“Republicans, as you know, are accusing Harris of advocating for price controls like in communist countries where the government sets a price rather than the marketplace. You said it is not price control. Can you explain how you define what an excessive price is if you don’t have a benchmark?” Brennan asked.
“Well, first, these are types of statutes that exist in state law. The Texas Attorney General has prosecuted price gouging violations, and I don’t think anyone is going to claim that he is into price fixing and neither is the vice president. This has to be evidence-based,” Beshear answered.
He added, “It is just making sure that coming out of the pandemic, or in difficult times, that people aren’t increasing the price of food just to make a bigger profit. All of it is just making sure that capitalism stays within the guardrails, and it is not new. We’ve been doing this in the states for a long time.”
During the segment, Brennan suggested Beshear’s defense of Harris’ policy was akin to anti-trust policies “which is something JD Vance actually supports.”
CBS announced that Brennan alongside “CBS Evening News” host Norah O’Donnell will moderate the upcoming vice presidential debate between Republican candidate JD Vance and Democratic candidate Tim Walz on Oct. 1.
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Though Brennan referenced Republican criticism of Harris’ price control policies, other media outlets have since called out Harris for appearing to play into the “communist” label.
“But more to the point: If your opponent claims you’re a ‘communist,’ maybe don’t start with an economic agenda that can (accurately) be labeled as federal price controls,” Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell wrote Friday. “We already have plenty of economic gibberish coming from the Republican presidential ticket. Do we really need more from the other side, too?”
