Harris evades criticism over port strike, takes aim at Trump

Kamala Harris responded Tuesday to Donald Trump hours after the Republican said the government's economic management was responsible for the port strike.

The vice president argued that the Republican wants to "pull us back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize. ... He makes empty promise after empty promise to American workers, but never delivers." She also accused the former president of caring only about "those who own the big skyscrapers" and not "those who actually build them."

Harris also expressed support for the protesters, arguing that the strike was a matter of "fairness." She also took aim at industry executives and foreign-owned shipping companies.

With those words, the candidate sought to address her campaign's growing concern about a port shutdown that will have a multibillion-dollar economic impact as part of the country begins to decide the election with early voting. A JPMorgan analysis estimates that the daily cost of the strike could be about $5 billion per day, although estimates vary.

While the Democratic side looks at the strike with fear, Republicans are clear that it could mean an important electoral boost. Trump himself took aim at the vice president: "The strike was caused by the massive inflation that was created by the Harris-Biden regime. ... Everybody understands the dockworkers because they were decimated by this inflation, just like everybody else in our country and beyon," he said in conversation with Fox News Digital.

Political commentators also took aim at Harris for not responding directly to the criticism, which she made easier by issuing her remarks through a statement. These words, they noted, may not be enough.