Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris confronted off in a extremely anticipated presidential debate on Tuesday evening, in what was their first—and probably solely—showdown forward of the Nov. 5 election.
The controversy, hosted by ABC Information in Philadelphia, comes amid an uncommon election cycle marked by a lot of dramatic turns, together with U.S. President Joe Biden’s historic resolution to drop his reelection bid following his disastrous debate efficiency in June in addition to Trump’s tried assassination in July.
With 55 days to go till the election and polls displaying a decent race, the 90-minute debate allowed voters probably the most sustained alternative to listen to from Harris since she entered the race. And whereas Trump’s basic imaginative and prescient for the nation is well-known to the American public, Tuesday’s debate provided him an opportunity to reinvigorate a marketing campaign that has struggled to adapt to Harris’s entry into what had in any other case been a lackluster race.
Although home coverage points together with the financial system, border safety, and reproductive rights received ample consideration, overseas coverage additionally featured prominently because the candidates clashed over Trump’s commerce struggle with China, Washington’s stance within the Israel-Hamas struggle, and the way forward for U.S. help for Ukraine in its struggle in opposition to Russia.
Right here’s what the 2 candidates mentioned on the largest foreign-policy points going through Washington proper now:
Russia-Ukraine
Requested whether or not he wish to see Ukraine win the struggle in opposition to Russia, Trump responded that he desires to cease the struggle and pledged to “settle” the struggle earlier than taking workplace if he wins in November, with out providing any particulars as to how he would accomplish that. “What I’ll do is I’ll converse to 1 and I’ll converse to the opposite,” he mentioned. “I’ll get them collectively.”
He reiterated his previous declare that the struggle would by no means have occurred had he been in workplace as a substitute of Biden and insisted that he’s extra revered by world leaders than Biden or Harris is. “I do know [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky very effectively, and I do know [Russian President Vladimir] Putin very effectively,” he mentioned. “They respect me. They don’t respect Biden.”
Trump additionally touted the help he has gotten from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has visited Trump in Florida twice this yr and bragged that he has “deep involvement” within the Trump staff’s coverage deliberations. Orban maintains shut ties with Putin and has repeatedly tried to curtail Europe’s makes an attempt to help and arm Ukraine. “Let me simply say about world leaders, Viktor Orban, some of the revered males, they name him a powerful man. He’s a tricky individual. Good prime minister of Hungary. They mentioned, ‘Why is the entire world blowing up?’” Trump mentioned.
“[Orban] mentioned, ‘Since you want Trump again as president. They have been afraid of him. China was afraid.’ And I don’t like to make use of the phrase ‘afraid,’ however I’m simply quoting him. ‘China was afraid of him. North Korea was afraid of him.’ Have a look at what’s happening with North Korea, by the way in which. He mentioned, ‘Russia was afraid of him,’” Trump added.
Trump additionally criticized the Biden administration for the way a lot it has spent on defending Ukraine in contrast with how a lot European international locations have spent. However complete European support to Ukraine truly exceeds U.S. support to the nation, each by way of pledged commitments and precise allocations, in accordance with the Kiel Institute for the World Economic system’s Ukraine Help Tracker.
Requested how she would take care of Putin and whether or not her strategy would diverge from Biden’s, Harris highlighted the position she performed within the run-up to the invasion, together with assembly with Zelensky on the Munich Safety Convention in February 2022 to ship the newest U.S. intelligence assessments warning of Russia’s plans, lower than every week earlier than Russian troops streamed into Ukraine.
The vp recounted the Biden administration’s report on the struggle, rallying allies in help of Kyiv and offering important army support. “Due to our help, due to the air protection, the ammunition, the artillery, the Javelins, the Abrams tanks that we now have offered, Ukraine stands as an impartial and free nation.”
Harris didn’t supply any forward-looking agenda as to how she could look to help Ukraine in a possible future administration or any clues as to the place she stands on the continuing debate over whether or not to permit Ukraine to make use of U.S. long-range missiles to strike targets deep in Russia.
Israel-Hamas
Since changing into the Democratic Social gathering’s nominee, Harris’s remarks on the Israel-Hamas battle have been intently scrutinized by Israel’s supporters and critics for any indicators of divergence with Biden, a longtime staunch supporter of Israel.
Regardless of intense diplomatic efforts, the administration has did not dealer a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that may safe the discharge of hostages held by the militant group in Gaza. Requested by the moderators how she would break by way of the stalemate, Harris recounted the main points of the Hamas-led assault on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the struggle and Israel’s proper to defend itself, including that she would “all the time give Israel the power to defend itself,” in obvious reference to calls from progressives to halt U.S. army support to Israel in gentle of its unsparing marketing campaign in Gaza. She underscored Israel’s must defend itself from Iran and its proxies within the area.
Harris added that the character during which Israel defends itself additionally issues, a chorus she has used lengthy earlier than changing into a presidential candidate. “Far too many harmless Palestinians have been killed,” she mentioned throughout the debate, reiterating her help for a two-state resolution and for the Palestinians’ want for safety and self-determination.
Her response was constant together with her earlier remarks on the battle and hewed intently to her speech to the Democratic Nationwide Conference final month.
When requested by the moderators, Trump provided no particulars as to how he would negotiate with Israel and Hamas or how he would tackle the more and more dire humanitarian scenario in Gaza. As a substitute, he repeatedly insisted that if he had been president, the Israel-Hamas struggle would have by no means begun.
The previous president additionally claimed, baselessly, that Harris “hates” each Israel and Arabs. “She hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make an important speech,” he mentioned. Whereas Harris skipped the speech as a consequence of a beforehand scheduled dedication, she met with him the next day.
“If she’s president, I imagine that Israel wouldn’t exist inside two years from now,” Trump added. He went on to say that Harris additionally hates Arabs, claiming that “the entire place goes to get blown up.”
If elected, he pledged to “settle” the continuing conflicts earlier than any inauguration—once more, nevertheless, with out providing any particulars as to how that may occur.
“Have a look at what’s occurring with the Houthis and Yemen. Have a look at what’s occurring within the Center East. This may have by no means occurred. I’ll get that settled, and quick, and I’ll get the struggle with Ukraine and Russia ended,” he mentioned. “If I’m president-elect, I’ll get it performed earlier than even changing into president.”
China
Although Trump and Harris weren’t straight requested about China throughout Tuesday’s debate, each candidates clashed sharply over U.S. financial competitors with Beijing early on within the evening.
Throughout each the Trump and Biden presidencies, China has been the one foreign-policy concern the place there tends to be extra bipartisan settlement. Trump pursued a hawkish coverage towards Beijing, significantly when it got here to commerce, and imposed a raft of tariffs on Chinese language imports that triggered a commerce struggle; Biden has largely saved these tariffs in place and has gone additional along with his personal assortment of commerce restrictions concentrating on semiconductors and electrical autos. Whereas Harris’s personal observe report on China is relatively restricted, as FP’s Lili Pike has reported, her strategy is predicted to largely observe with Biden’s.
Nonetheless, on Tuesday evening, Harris and Trump sparred over the latter’s pledges to drastically hike up tariffs throughout the board, a plan that would see all U.S. imports face not less than a ten % tariff whereas items from China could be topic to not less than a 50 % tariff. “China and all the international locations which were ripping us off for years” are going to face increased costs, Trump declared.
Harris attacked Trump’s tariff proposals, warning that they might drive up inflation, as 16 Nobel-winning economists have publicly mentioned, and “invite a recession.” Trump fired again by stating that the Biden administration has principally saved the Trump-era tariffs in place.
If “she doesn’t like them, they need to have gone out, and they need to have instantly reduce the tariffs,” Trump mentioned. “However these tariffs … that they had [them for] three and a half years now below their administration.”
Harris hit again by criticizing his financial report. “Let’s be clear that the Trump administration resulted in a commerce deficit, one of many highest we’ve ever seen within the historical past of America,” she mentioned. “He invited commerce wars.”
She additionally accused Trump of promoting semiconductor chips to China, maybe to attract consideration to the Biden administration’s expansive chip export controls. “He ended up promoting American chips to China to assist them enhance and modernize their army,” she mentioned. “[He] principally bought us out when a coverage about China ought to be in ensuring the US of America wins the competitors for the twenty first century.”
Trump mentioned China purchased their chips from Taiwan, not the US.
Afghanistan
Tuesday’s debate got here within the shadow of the third anniversary of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the accountability for which is the topic of great debate in Washington.
Requested by the controversy moderators if she bore any accountability for the way the withdrawal unfolded, Harris averted answering the query straight and as a substitute reiterated her help for Biden’s resolution to withdraw. “4 presidents mentioned they might, and Joe Biden did it,” she mentioned, earlier than pivoting to attacking Trump’s report in negotiating the preliminary withdrawal take care of the Taliban, bypassing the Washington-backed Afghan authorities, searching for to ask the militant group to Camp David, which has performed a storied position in U.S. diplomacy.
Trump defended his report, claiming that he sought to withdraw to guard the lives of U.S. troops and falsely including that the Taliban inherited $85 billion in U.S. army gear left behind within the hasty withdrawal. The precise determine has been put at round $7 billion, in accordance to a Protection Division inspector basic report back to Congress.