Van Jones praises Harris’s economic agenda: ‘Thank goodness’

CNN political commentator Van Jones praised Vice President Harris’s recently debuted economic agenda, saying he is glad that a Democrat is “boldly” discussing price gouging. 

“Thank goodness we’re finally hearing from a Democrat aggressively on price gouging,” Jones told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Friday evening. “Democrats have no problem dragging in technology CEOs, grilling them, you know, going after them … but most Americans don’t have a problem with technology CEOs. It’s these grocery stores ripping people off, the big grocers.” 

Harris unveiled her economic platform Friday during a rally in North Carolina, and a central plank of her economic policy is creating a federal ban on price gouging. The plan, however, does not offer many details on how the ban would be put into effect. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, food prices have increased 25 percent between 2019 and 2023, which is one of the largest jumps in recent decades. The price increase was part of a larger uptick in inflation tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain disruptions. 

Biden, Harris and other Democrats have accused large grocery chains and other big businesses of keeping higher-than-necessary prices, even after the COVID pandemic was declared over. In March, Biden assembled a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) task force to investigate price gouging. 

“The supply chain stuff has worked itself out long ago they are just ripping people off,” Jones said in the interview Friday. “The Biden administration did put together a task force of the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice to look into it, but … Biden never felt comfortable talking about the fact that he was going after this price gouging.” 

Jones added that Harris “feels comfortable” talking about the issues with prices because of her “strength” and “politics of joy.” 

“She knows that Americans are getting ripped off, and she wants to do something about it,” he said. 

The proposal is part of a larger effort to lower grocery costs as Americans continue to confront inflation, which peaked at 9 percent in June 2022. Inflation fell below 3 percent in August for the first time since March 2021. 

Harris’s plan, which analysts say could cost up to $1.7 trillion, also calls for the FTC and state attorneys general “to investigate and impose strict new penalties on companies that break the rules.”

Inflation and higher grocery prices remain a top-of-mind issue for most voters, and President Biden struggled to defend his economic record and agenda due to the high prices before he dropped out of the presidential race. 

Former President Trump and other Republicans have hit Harris for the plan calling it “socialist” and saying she is trying to enact policies used in Venezuela and Cuba. 

The vice president pushed back at the critics during her speech in North Carolina Friday. 

“Prices are still too high,” Harris said. “While many grocery chains pass along these savings, others still aren’t. Look, I know most businesses are creating jobs, contributing to our economy and playing by the rules, but some are not, and that just is not right. And we need to take action when that is the case.”

She has also attacked Trump’s economic plan, which focuses on imposing a 60 percent tariff on Chinese goods, a 100 percent tariff on foreign cars and a 10 percent tariff on foreign goods across the board, as a plan that will increase prices. 

“That will devastate Americans. It will mean higher prices on just about every one of your daily needs,” she said during her rally in Raleigh, N.C. “A Trump tax on gas, Trump tax on food, a Trump tax on clothing, a Trump tax on over-the-counter medication.”