Josh Weinstein, president and CEO of Carnival Corp, the cruise line's parent company, told investors in late June that the company wants to continue to be known as a "cost leader" in the industry.

Its new ship is a great example of this. Carnival says it's seeing strong demand from its US market. But instead of building a new vessel, the company acquired Firenze and its sister ship from Costa Cruises, another Carnival Corp brand, in 2022.

I went on Carnival Firenze for work, which meant I had to cave on the ship's premium WiFi at $85 for all four nights.

Internet connectivity, specialty dining, and drinks packages are always extra on mass market ships. But over the last few years, cruise giants have added more irresistible pay-to-play amenities to their vessels, all while still luring travelers in with affordable base fares.

On Norwegian's newer ships, for example, this means paying $10 for a round of mini-golf or $29 for an hour at the VR arcade.

Not bad compared to Royal Caribbean's new Icon of the Seas, where travelers have to pay $200 for the fanciest restaurant or $49 for a ropes course that could be completed in less than a minute.

The mini-golf course wasn't nearly as flashy as Norwegian's. But mini-golf is mini-golf, no matter the number of bright lights and animated courses.

The same was true for Firenze's ropes course. While it didn't have the same thrilling floor drop as Icon of the Seas', the multi-part walkway was longer, more diverse, and, more importantly, free.

I much preferred it to the one on Icon.

The arcade was one of the few activities that wasn't free. Then again, they rarely are.

But don't book Firenze if you're seeking a quiet, relaxing ship. I struggled to find a peaceful public space where I could churn out some work without being distracted by the loud music and guests.

The only truly quiet space could've been the spa. But again, I wasn't going to pay for a massage.

Just know that the latter isn't a must-do. Some singers in the cheesy song-and-dance production "Dear Future Husband" were painfully off-key.

And if you want to munch on a bag of popcorn during the movie, you'll have to pay $4. Smelling the buttery snack without having one in my hands was a torturous tease.

Moda Bar and Lounge also had singers, if you count karaoke night.

But if you want a drink to accompany the entertainment, you'll have to spend about $13 for cocktails and $9 for beers and seltzers.

So, late-night foosball it was — for four nights in a row. At least it was free.

But that doesn't exempt Carnival Firenze from the industry-wide push for more pay-to-play amenities. There's a reason the company saw a spike in onboard spending in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same time last year — despite rising ticket prices.

I doubt it's solely because of increased participation at Firenze's live "Deal or No Deal" game show, which starts at $25 to play. Or the $4 shuttle from the port at Ensenada, Mexico on day three to downtown (which I regret not paying for).

Norwegian and Royal Caribbean's newer ships had complimentary dining that was as good as, if not better, than the premium options. I still crave Norwegian Prima's free food hall.

I can't say the same for my no-fee dining experience on Firenze.

The cruiseliner has a kitschy Italian theme, as its name might suggest. But if I had wanted to continue the Italian tune with some shrimp scampi and burrata at the Il Viaggio restaurant, I would've had to drop more than $40.

So, instead, I had my nightly meals in the mediocre main dining room, which served the same dinner dishes as the buffet.

None of my Carnival Firenze dinners were stellar, and finding a piece of plastic in my pasta didn't help, either.

But continuing my ritual on Firenze would've meant coughing up $5 per glass. It was tempting, especially as the main dining room server stopped by every table with a tray of the colorful concoctions.

My no-spend requirement meant I had to snub the almost $40 teppanyaki lunch, $1.50-a-piece empanada, and $6 Korean barbecue steak pizza (the pizza stand had free and upcharged pies).

That meant none of my lunches were standouts. The burgers were too heavy (mine came with a slab of fried mozzarella), the salsa verde at the sandwich stand was inedible, and the buffet was forgettable.

Even worse, the chicken wings at the buffet cost extra. Oh, Carnival.

It was the only light and fresh meal I had on the ship. I couldn't understand why it and another salad stand were closed until the last day of the cruise.

But a quick pick-me-up at the coffee shop would have required me to break my no-spend rule, too.

The buffet had free coffee, Lipton, and Bigelow's green tea bags. But if you want something closer to your neighborhood coffee shop, the onboard café charges $4.50 for a latte and $4 for a doughnut.

I don't remember the last time I drank that much Lipton tea.

Tea bags at the program were $1.50, unbeknownst to me until I was seated. After expressing disinterest in paying, I was later offered the buffet's teas.

Like any mass-market cruise ship, the most affordable option was a windowless interior stateroom and letting Carnival assign me my cabin.

Traveling alone for work meant I had to eat the solo supplement. My interior cabin, booked fairly last minute, cost $735, including $64 in optional gratuities.

But in 2024, the cheapest itinerary starts shy of $360 per person, including taxes and fees, for the same four-night sailing — from Long Beach, California, to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico — as the one I went on.

This meant the shower — a curtain surrounding floor drains — was one of the largest I've had at sea. And all the furniture came pushed against the wall, making the cabin feel spacious for someone without physical disabilities.

But where the stateroom excels in size, it fails in design.

It was one of the ugliest rooms I've ever stayed in. The furniture looked dated, the bathroom had almost no storage, and there were no bedside outlets.

That said, the starting price of $90 a day is hard to beat. At least it encouraged me to spend more time around the ship than inside my windowless dungeon.

The surplus of complimentary onboard activities rivaled that of more expensive ships. But if my meals weren't lackluster, they were bad.

I'm sure I would have a different review if I had spent an additional $50 on the steakhouse or $100 on the chef's table. But the less-than-desirable complimentary food ultimately plagued my four nights at sea.

If you're considering cruising on Carnival Firenze, I'd recommend paying for at least one of the specialty restaurants. The money will be worth skipping the buffet and uninspiring dining room.

The future of domestic manufacturing will be shaped by federal labor and business policy. Although the president doesn't have complete control over the economy, the Oval Office has a role in shaping factors like job growth, tax incentives, and industry regulations. A March report published by The Economist and YouGov found that 22% of voters identified inflation and the price of goods as their most important issue this November. The poll is based on the responses of 1,594 likely voters between March 24 and March 26.

During their tenures in office, Trump and Biden both focused on costs and the labor force for two major American industries: auto manufacturing and steel.

If reelected, Biden plans to continue efforts to keep auto manufacturing in the US and push back against the growing Chinese auto industry. Trump has also expressed plans to protect American car manufacturers. At a March rally, Trump said he plans to raise tariffs on foreign-made cars and suggested there will be a "bloodbath" in the domestic auto industry if he isn't reelected.

As electric vehicles gain popularity, the Biden administration has said it wants to make EVs more affordable and invest in charging infrastructure across the country. Biden is also working to boost US EV manufacturing and increase tax credits for EV drivers. Trump, on the other hand, has said EVs could give Mexican and Chinese manufacturers an advantage and cut US auto jobs.

In light of the pending US Steel Corp sale to Japan's Nippon Steel for $14.9 billion, Biden has said steel should stay domestically owned — but has not yet taken regulatory steps to affect the deal. While Trump was in office, he also made efforts to protect the US metals industry, placing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Sameeksha Desai, a professor at Indiana University and the director of the school's manufacturing policy initiative, told BI that the health of the country's domestic-manufacturing industry directly affects the labor market. Unemployment soared in many manufacturing industries during the pandemic but those jobs made a modest recovery during the remainder of Trump's time in office.

As far as environmental regulations go, Biden has worked to tighten standards for vehicle pollution and expand the use of renewable energy, while Trump has called for the dismantling of clean-energy and carbon-capture tax credits and more investment in fossil fuels.

Back to top

Biden and Trump have major differences in how they view education policy, particularly student-loan debt.

Since Biden took office, his Education Department enacted a series of reforms to student-loan-repayment programs. For example, after Trump's Education Department ran up a backlog in applications to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program — which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments — Biden's department established a limited-time waiver. The initiative allowed students' past payments that had been deemed ineligible for the program since it was established in 2007 to count toward debt forgiveness.

Additionally, the Education Department is carrying out one-time account adjustments for borrowers on PSLF and income-driven repayment plans to bring borrowers' payment progress up to date. It also implemented the new SAVE income-driven repayment plan in July, which includes a provision to shorten the timeline for borrowers to have their monthly pay reduced. Two conservative groups recently halted parts of the SAVE plan from being implemented.

During his term so far, Biden's administration has canceled $153 billion in student debt for 4.3 million borrowers. And there's still more to come — Biden unveiled details in early April about a new student-loan-forgiveness plan after the Supreme Court struck down his first attempt.

However, that new plan is not set to be implemented until the fall, and should Trump win the presidential election, it could jeopardize Biden's relief efforts. After the Supreme Court decision on debt relief, Trump posted on his campaign website that the ruling was "only made possible through President Trump's strong nomination of three distinguished and courageous jurists to the Supreme Court."

While in office, Trump worked to weaken the borrower defense to repayment, an avenue for relief for thousands of borrowers who were defrauded by the schools they attended. For-profit schools like Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institutes, for example, misrepresented their programs and forced students to take on debt they could not afford. While Biden's administration enacted a range of relief for defrauded borrowers, it's unlikely those efforts would continue under Trump if he were reelected.

More broadly, student-loan borrowers would likely face very different outcomes under a Biden or Trump presidency. While plans for relief would likely continue should Biden win a second term, a Trump presidency could halt the efforts Biden's Education Department already enacted — meaning borrowers would continue to repay their loans without new avenues for relief.

Additionally, the Education Department would likely face more budget cuts under Trump. While in office, Trump proposed cutting billions of dollars from the department, which included eliminating PSLF.

However, he did support capping the amount parents can borrow through PLUS loans, which are loans parents can take out to cover up to the full cost of their kid's education. Those loans have the highest federal-student-loan interest rate, making them difficult to pay off. Trump's budget also called for an extension of the Pell Grant, a grant for those who demonstrate financial need, to incarcerated people.

Back to top

Eighty percent of voters believe it's important for Biden and Trump to talk about healthcare costs on the campaign trail, a poll by KFF found.

Biden has worked to expand the Affordable Care Act, while Trump has said he hopes to "repeal and replace" the law and make cuts to Medicare. However, Trump has not publicly outlined an alternate affordable healthcare plan.

In March, the Biden administration expanded the 2022 PACT Act to provide healthcare for millions more veterans, including those who were exposed to toxins while in training or in active service during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and post-9/11 combat zones. This follows a 2018 law signed by Trump that allows some veterans to seek VA-funded care at their community medical facilities. Trump has not mentioned new veteran healthcare initiatives as part of his reelection campaign.

The price of pharmaceutical drugs is also a priority for voters, as some Americans say they are unable to access prescriptions due to high costs and drug shortages. While in office, Biden signed the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions to lower the price of insulin to $35 a month. His administration is also negotiating lower prices for 10 major pharmaceuticals, including medications to manage diabetes, arthritis, and heart conditions. The Inflation Reduction Act would require Trump to continue these drug price negotiations should he win a second term. Trump has not focused on drug affordability in his 2024 campaign.

Ninety percent of Democratic voters believe Biden has done more to address healthcare costs, compared to 91% of Republicans who believe Trump did more to address costs while he was in office, a KFF poll of 1,309 US adults found.

Nearly two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Biden — along with Vice President Kamala Harris — is emphasizing abortion access as part of his reelection platform. The president said he hopes to restore the Constitutional right to abortion if reelected, despite an evolving stance on the issue during his 50-year political career. Both Biden and Trump support access to IVF following an Alabama Supreme Court decision in February that ruled frozen embryos can be considered people under state law.

If reelected, Trump has said he would not sign a nationwide abortion ban if it were passed by Congress, but his personal stance on the issue has varied during his time in the public eye — and many Americans worry about GOP efforts to limit reproductive healthcare access. Trump said at an April campaign rally that abortion should be a state issue, which could allow state legislatures to continue passing bans that restrict abortion access and place doctors who perform the procedure at risk of prosecution. In an April interview with Time Magazine, Trump also said he would "let red states monitor women's pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans."

Trump has also said he will ban all gender-affirming healthcare and hormone therapies for minors if he returns to office. Biden signed an executive order in 2022 to enhance protections for transgender children and has taken steps toward banning so-called conversion therapy.

Back to top

Housing costs present a major challenge for both Biden and Trump as millennials and Gen Zers find themselves priced out of many markets.

The state of the housing market can be summed up by two compelling statistics.

A Gallup survey of 1,013 adults released in April 2023 showed that only 21% of Americans said it was a good time to purchase a home, while 78% said it was a bad time to buy one.

Millennials will play a crucial role in this November as voters in their 30s and early- to mid-40s with growing families cannot live in the communities where they grew up because of the scarcity of available homes and elevated costs.

Affordable housing has been a top concern for Biden, who's aware of the saliency of an issue that could make or break his reelection bid.

With the current 30-year fixed-rate mortgage currently above 7%, many potential buyers simply aren't purchasing homes and are continuing to rent.

For decades, housing has failed to keep up with demand. After the Great Recession and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the problem only grew worse. Now, many would-be sellers have decided to stay put, exacerbating a housing shortage that has become one of the most pressing public-policy issues on the local, state, and federal levels.

In the swing state of Nevada, which Biden wants to keep in his column this fall, he recently talked about his efforts to tackle the housing crisis, including the 1.7 million housing units currently under construction. He also noted that his administration planned to create an additional 2 million affordable homes, with thousands of the units poised to be built in the Silver State. However, there's no official timeline for when these homes will be completed.

Housing affordability will also be a key issue in other battleground states including Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

Biden also called for more office-to-residential conversions, adding that the administration would create a program to "help communities build and renovate housing or convert housing from empty office spaces into housing."

Such conversions have become increasingly popular in recent years. With legions of employees able to work remotely during the pandemic, many companies have opted to not renew their office leases.

Trump has also zeroed in on the issue. While campaigning in Iowa last year, he said that the key to driving down housing costs was to lower energy costs.

"We'll get the prices way down," he said, referring to energy costs, "and then the interest rates down and then the home builders will start building again."

Trump's record on affordable housing has been mixed. In 2019, he created a White House council to remove impediments to the construction of affordable housing. But during his presidency, Trump also called for major cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's budget. In 2020, he sought to end the Community Development Block Grant program — which offers annual grants to states and local municipalities to fund redevelopment and community services — in the next year's budget, arguing that housing policies were best handled at the state and local levels.

A second Trump term would likely mean the federal government would be more hands-off in shaping housing policy than the Biden administration has been.

Back to top

Biden has long been an ally of organized labor — even becoming the first sitting US president to walk a picket line last year — but Trump is looking to chip away at the president's union support this fall.

In April 2019, Biden launched his 2020 presidential campaign at a Teamsters union hall in Pittsburgh, putting his primary rivals on notice of his longtime relationship with organized labor. At that time, labor advocates were pushing hard to allow fast-food employees at restaurants like Chipotle and McDonald's to unionize.

Once in office, Biden prioritized passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law, with one of its selling points being the creation of thousands of well-paying union jobs. And last year, Biden's Department of Labor tweaked a rule in how it calculates prevailing wages for construction workers, with the changes affording them higher pay and more workplace protections.

In recent decades, public-sector unions have become increasingly diverse, with more female, Black, and Latino members who have often thrown their support behind Democratic candidates.

But Trump has been successful in earning endorsements from influential police unions like the Police Officers Association of Michigan and the Florida Police Benevolent Association.

Trump's mission is clear: He wants to win over more union households in battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin. In 2016, Trump made strong gains with these voters, but Biden flipped many of them back into the Democratic column in 2020, promising robust support for the automobile industry. In January, Biden earned the backing of the United Auto Workers after joining them on the picket line, with UAW president Shawn Fain saying: "Joe Biden bet on the American worker while Donald Trump blamed the American worker." Trump responded that Fain "didn't have a clue."

In March, Biden gave the auto industry slightly more time to adopt strict new rules for tailpipe emissions, in a huge win for organized labor, as automakers and unions were concerned about meeting the administration's initial electric vehicle transition proposals. In a second term, Biden is poised to continue his administration's push to advance EV production. Meanwhile, Trump has said that the transition to electric vehicles would decimate the auto industry and benefit China and Mexico.

A Gallup poll conducted in August found that 67% of Americans approved of labor unions, a marked increase from the 48% who backed unions in 2009.

With many Americans working multiple jobs and inflation continuing to take a toll on people, labor unions have fought for higher wages for employees. Looking at the Gallup survey, 61% of Americans said that unions help the economy more than they hurt it, a figure that exceeded the previous high-water mark from 1999.

Trump has made the economy the hallmark of his campaign, touting low pre-COVID-19 unemployment numbers, especially among Black Americans. In both September 2019 and February 2020, the overall unemployment rate hit 3.5%, which at the time represented a 50-year low.

When Biden took office in January 2021, the unemployment rate, which rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, sat at 6.4%. But unemployment hit a modern low of 3.4% in both January 2023 and April 2023, a figure that hadn't been seen since 1969. In April 2023, Black unemployment hit a record low of 4.7%.

The unemployment rate has risen since last year, and it remains at 4.0% as of June.

Biden has overseen a strong job market throughout much of his administration. In May, the US added 272,000 jobs, far exceeding the 182,000 jobs that were projected. The latest figure represents the 41st-straight month of job growth, which is tied to the president's argument that his policies have created an economy in which the number of jobs — and wages — have risen.

Back to top

Earlier this year, the White House released Biden's tax priorities should he secure a second term. They're largely focused on ensuring big corporations and the wealthy pay what Biden deems their fair share.

According to the White House's fact sheet, Biden's tax plan would seek to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, and the minimum corporate tax rate from 15% to 21%. This differs from Trump's tax plan: His 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act established a 21% corporate income tax rate — a decrease from 35% — and Trump would maintain that rate, Bloomberg reported.

Additionally, Biden wants to require billionaires — the richest 0.01%, or people worth $100 million or more — to pay at least 25% of their income on taxes every year.

The White House said that Biden's tax plan would cut taxes for middle- and low-income people by $765 billion over 10 years. This would be accomplished by restoring the fully refundable expanded child-tax credit, which was first enacted under the American Rescue Plan in 2021 and gave $3,000 per child to families with children over the age of 6, and $3,600 per child to families with children under the age of 6.

Biden would also increase the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is a refundable tax credit for working individuals or couples.

While Trump has not yet released a detailed tax plan, many of the provisions in his 2017 tax law are set to expire in 2025. Biden's tax plan would support extending Trump's tax cuts for households making under $400,000 a year, but some Republican lawmakers want all of Trump's provisions extended past 2025, and they introduced a bill last year to make the tax law permanent.

Trump has also proposed a 10% tariff on goods coming into the US, along with a 60% tariff on all imports from China. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank, has said the proposed 10% tariff would raise taxes for Americans by over $300 billion a year. Trump recently said during an interview with Time Magazine, however, that the 10% tariff could end up being higher.

Given that Democrats and Biden are on board to extend some of Trump's tax cuts for low- and middle-income households, there's likely to be some bipartisan agreement over taxes under either a Trump or Biden presidency. But there's a significant divide over how much wealthy individuals and corporations should be taxed.

Back to top

During his presidency, Trump imposed sweeping, unprecendented tariffs on imported goods. While Biden has left some of Trump's tariffs in places, he is far from the self-proclaimed "Tariff Man."

Unlike traditional Republicans, Trump is proudly a protectionist. While he's changed his views on many other policy issues, the former president has for decades bashed the US trade deficit and sweeping deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying the agreements had harmed workers.

Trump's tariff barrage relied on Section 232, a provision of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allowed his commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, to declare some imports a national-security risk. The former president wasn't afraid to use this power against US allies, which outraged European and Canadian leaders. In response, other nations imposed retaliatory tariffs. But Trump's approach helped secure the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a NAFTA substitute.

But those disputes paled in comparison to China's reaction. Beijing, by far the biggest target of Trump's tariffs and other trade actions, responded by suspending purchases of US agricultural exports and imposing other retaliatory tariffs. The Trump administration spent billions bailing out US farmers as it tried to manage the political and actual costs of the trade war. Trump and China eventually announced a deal to soothe tensions, but Beijing never purchased the additional US goods it said it would under the so-called "Phase 1" agreement.

In response to criticism, Trump argued that foreign countries were footing the bill. Many economists pointed out that tariffs are paid by US importers. Consumers are also likely to face higher costs on goods that are subject to high tariffs. Both Biden and Trump's teams dispute that tariffs can lead to higher costs for consumers. Some economists have found evidence that Trump's actions caused a spike in the price of washers, dryers, new cars, furniture, and other goods. In an April interview with Time Magazine, Trump disputed that tariffs end up costing consumers more. In comments to reporters, Tai defended Biden's decision to keep in place some Trump-era tariffs, arguing that previous price increases "were about the chaos and unpredictability that it created."

Many economists have long been skeptical about countries engaging in trade wars and the tit-for-tat cycle of tariffs that result. An analysis by CNBC suggested that Trump's tariffs were equivalent to one of the largest tax increases in decades based on the revenue they generated for the Treasury Department. Unsurprisingly, not everyone on Trump's team was on board: Gary Cohn, a former president of Goldman Sachs who served as a Trump economic advisor, resigned his White House post shortly after Trump announced high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

As a candidate, Biden criticized Trump's trade war with China. As president, Biden brokered a deal with the European Union to largely end Trump's tariffs on its member nations. But Biden has left Trump's tariffs on China largely untouched. In fact, Biden wants to triple US tariffs on Chinese steel. Biden also recently imposed higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, solar cells, and other goods.

If he returns to office, Trump wants to impose more tariffs. He's proposed everything from a flat 10% tariff on every product that enters the US to a 100% tariff on all imported cars.

Back to top

The US is not returning to a pre-2016 trade consensus, that much is clear.

Trump dramatically shifted the Republican Party away from its largely held belief that free trade would help all nations. Biden, like many Democrats in the 1990s, also championed this mindset, which led to the sweeping North American Free Trade Agreement and paved the way for China to join the World Trade Organization.

Biden and his top officials have signaled they also favor a paradigm shift. Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, has argued for a move away from a "colonial mindset" that all too often led to supply chains that preyed on developing countries. The Biden administration's focus is best seen in one of his biggest trade shifts: withdrawing US support for digital trade principles that some progressive lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, say were hijacked by Big Tech companies. Other Democrats have criticized the administration's approach.

Biden has left some of Trump's tariffs in place, illustrating the protectionist bent that continues to take hold in Washington. In April, Biden pushed for even higher tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum amid his reelection push. European leaders are also concerned about Biden's pursuit of climate-related tax credits that may lure green jobs away from their countries to the US.

If Biden and Trump have anything in common it's their stance on China. Biden has used his trade powers to restrict US investment in Chinese technology, particularly semiconductors, quantum computing, and some artificial-intelligence sectors. As Bloomberg News reported, Biden has even surpassed Trump in adding more Chinese companies and individuals to an export blacklist.

As president, Trump fixated on the US trade deficit even as some economists argued against reading too much into such figures. Still, the trade gap grew under his watch.

Overall, Trump's combative trade policy led to mixed results. He didn't see the fruits of his biggest trade deal, which went into effect in July 2020: the USMCA, a revamped North American trade deal known Experts at Brookings Institution have praised the treaty for growing regional trade. Unlike NAFTA, the USMCA also contains new provisions on digital trade and labor protections. The Biden administration has used the deal to push Mexico over its labor practices.

While Trump has bragged about brokering a historic trade deal with China, economists found that Beijing never lived up to its commitment to purchase an additional $200 billion worth of US exports. He successfully ended US support for the TransPacific Partnership, a massive trade deal that President Barack Obama supported with the hopes it would align much of the region more closely with the US. Trump has pledged to kill the Biden administration's new Asian trade talks, which the former president has dubbed "TPP two."

Some Trump allies have signaled that he'll push the envelope even further if he wins in November. Politico reported that some of the former president's top economic advisors are discussing how to devalue the dollar to boost US exports. It's a risky proposition, as it could drive up the costs of some items that have already risen because of inflation.

Back to top

Charles is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate developer that owned 25,000 apartments throughout the Northeast at its peak in 2004, Forbes reported.

Charles served two years in prison and paid a $40,000 fine after pleading guilty in 2005 to tax evasion, retaliating against a federal witness, and lying to the FEC. Trump pardoned him in 2020.

Kushner graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in government in 2008. He spent a year working at Goldman Sachs before earning his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2011, Forbes reported.

Kushner told the publication in 2012 that he was "not the best student" in business school due to his frequent travels as a cofounder of Vostu, a social network turned gaming platform based in Brazil that he cofounded as an undergrad.

Founded in 2009, Thrive Capital's early investments in tech startups such as Instagram, Spotify, Slack, and ClassPass paid off.

Andrew Golden, president of Thrive client Princeton University Investment Co., told Forbes that Kushner "has tremendous entrepreneurial instincts, he understands the perspective of founders and he's wickedly smart."

Thrive Capital was valued at $5.3 billion as of January 2023.

The investment deal increased the valuation of A24, known for Oscar-winning films such as "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and "Moonlight," to $3.5 billion.

Kushner will also join A24's board of directors. He already holds board positions at companies including the wedding planning platform Zola and online fine-art marketplace Artsy, according to Crunchbase.

Oscar Health, which sells health insurance plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, has about 1.5 million members as of April 2024, according to the company's official website. Its revenue totaled $5.9 billion in 2023, per the company.

Kushner is vice chair of Oscar Health's board of directors, and his cofounder, Mario Schlosser, is its chief technology officer.

Kushner's brother, Jared Kushner, married Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, in 2009. Both Jared and Ivanka served as senior White House aides during Donald Trump's presidency.

Kushner has been open about the fact that he and his brother disagree on politics, but has shied away from commenting on Jared directly. He declined to speak to Esquire for a 2016 profile of Jared, saying through a spokesperson that he "loved his brother and did not want to say anything that might embarrass him." The spokesperson added that Kushner is a lifelong Democrat who did not vote for Trump.

OpenSecrets data shows that Kushner has donated to Democratic PACs and committees across the US and to candidates including former president Barack Obama, Sen. Cory Booker, and Beto O'Rourke.

He was spotted at the Women's March in Washington, DC, the day after Trump's inauguration in 2017. He also attended a March For Our Lives rally protesting gun violence in 2018 weeks after making a $50,000 donation to the group, Axios reported.

Kushner told Forbes in 2017 that he supports political leaders who share his "liberal values."

Kushner and Kloss met in 2012, according to a post Kloss made on X, and dated for six years before marrying.

They held two wedding ceremonies: a small Jewish ceremony in upstate New York in 2018 and a star-studded, Western-inspired reception at a Wyoming ranch in 2019.

Kushner and Kloss acquired Life magazine through their media startup, Bedford Media.

Kloss, who serves as the media group's CEO, said in a statement that she and Kushner see the magazine as "an uplifting and unifying voice in a chaotic media landscape."

Their first child, Levi, was born in March 2021.

Kloss revealed her second pregnancy at the Met Gala in May 2023 in a black velvet satin Loewe dress designed by Jonathan Anderson. She gave birth to their second child, Elijah, that July.

Kushner and Kloss post occasional photos of each other and their family on social media but don't often comment publicly on their private lives.

"I know in my life what really matters to me," Kloss told Harper's Bazaar in 2018. "I'm not trying to hide that from the world. I just really like having a more private life."

Rubio once viewed as the GOP's future, is reportedly gaining attention as a possible pick.

Rubio, like DeSantis, endured significant taunting and attacks when he opposed Trump during the 2016 primaries. But the pair have moved beyond the "Liddle Marco" jabs.

The Florida senator was a key ally during Trump's presidency, though Rubio did not support overturning the 2020 election results. After the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Rubio delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor, arguing that it was "a terrible idea" to continue to raise objections to the results.

Like many on this list, Rubio has given combative answers on whether he would accept the 2024 results.

"'No matter what happens?' No, if it's an unfair election, I think it's going to be contested by each side," Rubio told "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker in late May.

Now a third-term senator, Rubio would also have more experience in federal office than Vice President Kamala Harris did when Biden tapped her to be his running mate.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was virtually unknown nationally before his brief GOP primary run. It's not even clear if his campaign changed that status. Arguably, one of the biggest news days of his campaign was whether he would attend a primary debate after he injured his leg.

But since ending his campaign, Burgum has maintained a ubiquitous presence as a top-level surrogate all over TV. He's now a serious contender to be Trump's running mate.

If he doesn't get picked, Trump has already suggested including Burgum in his potential cabinet.

Burgum also shares the former president's background of parlaying business success into a political career. He sold his software company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion.

In late June, The Wall Street Journal editorial board, often considered the voice for establishment Republicans, endorsed Burgum out of the potential final three of Burgum, Rubio, and Vance.

"Mr. Burgum would be loyal to Mr. Trump, while also unafraid to offer hard advice or speak an unhappy truth when the moment demands it," the editorial board wrote.

Despite having just been elected to the US Senate last year, Vance has repeatedly been floated as a vice-presidential candidate for Trump.

And he's not saying no. In fact now, he's admitting that he would be disappointed if it doesn't work out.

"I'm human, right?" Vance recently told Fox News. "So when you know this thing is a possibility, if it doesn't happen, there is certainly going to be a little bit of disappointment."

A former venture capitalist and the author of the bestselling book "Hillbilly Elegy," Vance was once a "NeverTrumper" and a fierce critic of the former president. But he has since morphed into one of his staunchest acolytes in the Senate, and he's at the vanguard of a movement that seeks to reorient the party more towards the working class.

Vance and some other top VP contenders made it a point to attend Trump's Manhattan criminal trial. Trump later became the first former president to be convicted of a felony.

Donalds, currently in just his second term, has risen rapidly in Congress. Conservatives opposed to Kevin McCarthy's leadership put the Florida Republican forth as an alternative to the then-longtime House GOP leader. Donalds was later added to the powerful House Steering Committee after he switched his support to McCarthy and McCarthy went on to become speaker.

That wasn't his only major flip. Donalds, who had previously been DeSantis' close ally, endorsed Trump last April, part of a string of Florida Republicans that snubbed their governor to back the former president. Donalds has also been floated as a potential successor to DeSantis, who cannot run for reelection in 2026 due to consecutive term limits.

Donalds was also among the six potential names Ingraham suggested to the former president. Trump responded by saying, "They're all good, they're all solid."

Like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Donalds would also have to deal with potential concerns of sharing the same home state as Trump.

The chairwoman of the House GOP Conference, Stefanik is the highest-ranking official who is seen as a potential Trump pick.

The New York congresswoman, who ascended to her leadership position on the heels of Liz Cheney's ouster, has notably undergone a sharp shift when it comes to Trump, beginning with the 2019 impeachment hearings.

Trump has reportedly described Stefanik as a "killer" and a potential pick in private, and the congresswoman recently said she "would be honored to serve in any capacity in a Trump administration."

Stefanik has raised her national profile by grilling college presidents over their handling of students who have protested the Israel-Hamas war. The New Yorker has drilled into administrators whom she has accused of being too weak in their response to antisemitism.

The 58-year-old three-term senator endorsed Trump shortly before the New Hampshire primary. The South Carolinian also largely avoided criticizing Trump in a way that may have foreclosed him being on the ticket.

According to Politico, Scott talks with Trump or texts with the former president nearly every week.

Scott previously stoked speculation that he could be picked by telling the Wall Street Journal that he found his and Trump's contrasting styles "to be very complementary."

It's worth noting that while the former president has a growing list of congressional allies, the Senate has repeatedly been an issue for him.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson has remained in Trump's good graces. It likely helps that he's one of the few Trump Cabinet veterans to endorse the former president wholeheartedly.

Former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told Sky News Australia in early June that Carson will likely get tapped.

"The one element I think Ben Carson has that none of the other six people on the list have is I don't think Ben Carson wants to be president; I don't think he wants to run for president," Mulvaney said.

Carson is much more conservative than Trump on a key issue: abortion. Carson has previously said he supports a nationwide abortion ban, a position that Trump has strenuously tried to avoid.

Trump and his allies spent over a year ruthlessly attacking DeSantis. It was only toward the end of his disappointing primary that the 45-year-old began to return fire.

DeSantis did endorse Trump immediately after dropping out before New Hampshire, but the question remains if either side would want to repair their political alliance.

There appeared to be a brief peace, but that was thrown into after a top Trump campaign official tore into DeSantis. The public attack was in response to a report that DeSantis privately expressed concern that Trump might resort to "identity politics" when selecting his vice president.

Like some other candidates on this list, Ramaswamy is unlikely to be chosen as Trump's next VP. But that doesn't mean there aren't people out there who would like to see it.

Ramaswamy was perhaps the only candidate in the race who never dared to issue substantive criticisms of Trump, choosing instead to run as a staunch supporter of the former president who would carry that mantle forward.

He dropped out immediately after coming in 4th in Iowa, endorsing Trump and likely securing himself some sort of future position in MAGA world, if not Trump's actual cabinet.

But while Ramaswamy would be popular with some of Trump's most devoted followers, his penchant for conspiracy theorizing would likely be a liability in a general election.

Greene, the fire-breathing conspiracy-minded congresswoman from Georgia, wouldn't exactly be a tent-expanding choice for the former president.

But that hasn't stopped her from talking up her own prospects.

"It's talked about frequently and I know my name is on a list," Greene told The Guardian in August. "But really my biggest focus right now is serving the district that elected me."

A second-term legislator with no major policy accomplishments, Greene wouldn't bring much to the equation when it comes to policy chops or broadening Trump's appeal. In fact, it could damage the ticket, given her extremely poor polling.

Greene has also alienated top party leaders over her push to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. Trump has repeatedly praised Johnson as he tried to navigate Greene's challenge.

Britt quickly built her profile before delivering the Republican Party's official response to Biden's State of the Union address.

Britt's response was widely panned, including by some Republicans. NBC's "Saturday Night Live" enlisted Scarlett Johansson to impersonate the freshman senator.

At just 42, Britt could become one of the youngest vice presidents in recent memory. Only Dan Quayle, then a US senator from Indiana, would have been slightly younger. Quayle was 41 when he began his vice presidency under President George H.W. Bush.

Britt has made her age and the fact she is a mother of school-age children a key selling point in her political career.

Haley offered a limited endorsement of Trump in late May, ending speculation about who she would vote for in November.

"I will be voting for Trump," Haley said at an event after listing off her disagreements with Biden. She added, "Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they're just going to be with him. And I genuinely hope he does that."

Trump, who previously shot down an earlier report that he was considering Haley to be vice president, said Haley is "going to be on our team in some form."

Toward the end of her primary challenge, Haley repeatedly said she's not interested in being anyone's vice president. She praised Trump when she served as his UN ambassador, but was highly critical of him during the GOP primary.

Biden has also shown greater interest in bringing Haley's voters than Trump.

No one on this list knows Trump like Sanders. As his second White House press secretary, Sanders turned her turn at the podium into a governorship. As Arkansas governor, she's pursued an array of conservative policies.

She has endorsed Trump's campaign, but she has hinted that she wouldn't be interested in returning to the White House as vice president.

"Look, I absolutely love the job I have. I think it's one of the best jobs I could ever ask for, and I am honored to serve as governor, and I hope I get to do it for the next seven years," Sanders previously told CBS News.

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was once the most surprising name under Trump's consideration. The former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate may now have her eyes set on a different Cabinet post.

In early June, Gabbard said during an interview that serving as either Secretary of State or Secretary of Defense would be one of the ways she could best serve the country under a possible second Trump administration.

Her politics have changed drastically since then. In 2022, she announced that she was formerly leaving the Democratic Party. Over time, the four-term former congresswoman became a fixture on Fox News and at political events. According to The Washington Post, Gabbard has also advised the former president and his team about defense policy.

She was also among the six names Ingraham asked Trump about in terms of potential running mates.

The second-term South Dakota governor was once, perhaps best known nationally for flouting COVID restrictions during the pandemic. That was until Noem decided to include a story in a forthcoming book about her decision to kill the family's 14-month-old dog after she claimed it proved to be untrainable and overly aggressive.

Since then, the consensus is that Noem has greatly damaged her prospects of becoming Trump's running mate.

Before the dog episode, Noem faced concerns after she posted a bizarre infomercial-esque video touting a dental procedure she received in Texas.

Noem may have even confirmed that her chance is over after she admitted that she had not received any vetting paperwork that others on this list did.

"I've had conversations with the president, and I know that he is the only one who will be making the decisions on who will be his vice president," she said.