WASHINGTON (AP) — Kamala Harris ‘ campaign actively warns business leaders Donald Trump There is a pattern of disrespect at a level that threatens democracy and the rule of law US economic growth — a closing statement designed to illustrate the potential consequences for companies and workers if he returns to the White House.

This is such a position Trump’s team He refuses because they told voters that if he wins Tuesday’s election, prices will be lower and growth will be stronger than ever. The former president, a billionaire who made his name in real estate, has advocated higher tariffs to bring more factories to the United States and tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, saying it would lead to more investment.

The competing positions boil down to a fundamental divide between the two candidates on how to guide the world’s largest economy: Harris’ team argues that the rule of law creates certainty that can improve markets and workers, while Trump says tariffs will be raised and tax cuts are key to growth.

Gene Sperling, who guided three Democratic presidents on economic policy and currently advises them Harris campaignHe made what he described as a “common sense” example to financiers and others about the dangers of a second Trump administration.

“A president who targets people, who targets CEOs, who targets corporations, who targets journalists and who targets the opposition will have a devastating impact on investment confidence, which has been solid for the last four years but has also been a part of America’s strength since its founding,” Sperling said. “It could have an impact,” he said.

But John Paulson, a Trump supporter and billionaire hedge fund investor who sees himself as a possible treasury secretary, pushes back against the Harris campaign’s criticism, saying the world is more stable and inflation is lower under Trump.

“This is completely false,” he said of Sperling’s claim that the rule of law is at risk. “When people make these claims, they are completely bogus. They are not based in reality. Trump is a brilliant businessman. He wants to reduce wasteful spending and stimulate growth.”

Trump called his opponent’s handling of the economy “stupid” and claimed the stock market would crash if he lost the election, even though the S&P 500 stock index rose nearly 50% during his presidency. Joe Biden term.

“We will give our companies the lowest taxes, the lowest cost of energy, the lowest regulatory burden, and free access to the best and biggest market on the planet,” Trump said at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. “The problem is that if there were more of these idiots running our country, we would no longer have a big and best market because we are a nation in decline.”

The effort of the Harris team, January 6, 2021 uprising Information at the US Capitol about Trump’s history of using the bully pulpit to attack companies like Amazon, Merck, Comcast, as well as the Federal Reserve John Deere and Toyota. Their argument is that companies will be less likely to make long-term investments if democratic values ​​are under attack and election results are rejected.

In addition to Sperling, company executives are also hearing from former treasury secretary Robert Rubin; Kenneth Chenault, former CEO American Express; and Brian Deese, Biden’s former National Economic Council director.

A person familiar with the conversations said representatives of the Harris campaign did not need to press too hard on the issue. Seemingly apolitical CEOs privately raise this issue as their main concern about Trump’s presidency; The person insisted on anonymity to describe private conversations with business leaders who wanted to stay out of the election spotlight.

But Vanessa Williamson, a senior administration expert at the Brookings Institution, said the Harris campaign had somewhat underestimated the risks given the potential dangers.

“Overall, Americans have been able to accept the basic rule of law as is,” Williamson said. “The extreme cronyism and fraud that is common in some other countries would truly be unimaginable here, which is of course a great thing. “But it also makes it difficult for people to understand how important government is to the functioning of markets.”

Both campaigns are vying for support from the business community. Trump received the support of billionaire Elon MuskIt owns Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Billionaires like the Microsoft founder Bill Gates and billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban They support Harris.

Most disagreements focused on policy differences. Trump has said the higher corporate tax rates favored by Harris would deter investment, while Harris’ team has attacked Harris’ plans to eliminate Biden-era incentives to build computer chips, electric vehicles and other advanced factories on the grounds that they would cost the country factory jobs.

But the argument about the importance of democratic values ​​gained credibility in October. Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics Three economists, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson, were awarded for showing that social institutions and the rule of law are critical for economic growth.

Acemoglu was among 23 Nobel Prize-winning economists who signed a letter saying Trump’s economic plans “will lead to higher prices, larger deficits and greater inequality.”

“The most important determinants of economic success include the rule of law and economic and political certainty, and Trump threatens all of these,” the letter said.

The issue has long fascinated Harris, the former California attorney general. Two White House staffers recalled Harris seeking economic research to support her understanding that the erosion of democratic standards in 2022 would hurt growth. These people insisted on anonymity to discuss the request.

Similarly, Biden was also a candidate. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients He suggested to CEOs at the Business Roundtable that Trump’s return to the presidency would create uncertainty that would hinder growth. It was a speech that contradicted Trump’s decision to impose additional tax cuts on the group.

Neither the Business Roundtable nor the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued an endorsement for November’s presidential election. The Business Roundtable has made keeping corporate tax rates at the current 21% a top legislative priority. Trump has promised further cuts to corporate interest rates for U.S. manufacturers, while Harris wants to raise that rate to 28%, though that would be lower than the 35% rate that was in effect until 2017.

Meanwhile, the Chamber emphasized that it is willing to defend the rights of its corporate members, regardless of which administration is in power.

Business Roundtable CEO Josh Bolten said in a statement this month that the organization supports the peaceful transfer of power. Trump has so far refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power after falsely claiming his 2020 loss was the result of a fraudulent election, a claim that helped spur the 2021 insurrection.

“It may take time to finalize election results, and we urge all Americans to respect the processes set forth in federal and state law for election decisions and an orderly transition,” Bolten said. he said.