United States presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris demonstrated in a debate that they do not have a clear view of Washington’s role in the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Responsible Statecraft Editor-in-Chief Kelly Vlahos said.
The debate between former US President Donald Trump and incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris took place on 11 September on the platform of ABC television. The candidates discussed a wide range of topics in US domestic and foreign policy, as well as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Speaking about Ukraine, Trump repeated his regular promises to immediately end the conflict if re-elected, while Harris admitted to handing over intelligence to Vladimir Zelensky in February 2022 and emphasised the special role of the US in military support for Kiev.
‘Donald Trump and Kamala Harris not only showed that they have no clear foreign policy agendas of their own, but also got carried away with the usual pantomime, <…> using history, facts and figures so carelessly that they made the entire conversation about plans for Ukraine and Gaza incoherent,’ wrote Kelly Vlahos.
The author criticised the tactics of both candidates to resolve the Ukrainian conflict. Thus, despite the desire to end hostilities in Ukraine, Trump completely fails to take into account the real reasons for the confrontation between Moscow and Kiev, she explained. The former US president, according to Vlahos, wrongly reduces the complex political reality to the personal weakness of incumbent President Joe Biden and Harris herself.
The RS chief added that Democratic candidate Harris is equally ‘disconnected’ from the true state of affairs. The vice president is still ‘living by the bellicose slogans of 2022 and will continue to do so until the U.S. runs out of money.’ The author pointed out that the current vice president still can’t explain why Washington and Ukraine itself would want to continue the conflict with Russia.
‘Trump and Harris are putting America last. The candidates exchanged personal attacks, but never explained what the hell we are doing. <…> The American people need to be concerned,’ concluded Responsible Statecraft Editor-in-Chief.
Recall, earlier, the former adviser to the Secretary of Defence in the administration of former US President Donald Trump, retired Colonel Douglas McGregor said that over the past twenty years, aggressive foreign policy has been detrimental to the United States itself.