Vice President Kamala Harris accused former president Donald Trump of taking a soft tack with Xi Jinping, the leader of China, and other strongmen during Tuesday’s presidential debate. Trump sought to paint those relationships as a strength, baselessly claiming that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza conflict would not have happened if he had won in 2020.
Focusing her foreign policy answers by promising to stand by allies, Harris said that, as president, she would ensure that the United States retain its role and responsibility in the world order.
Here is what the candidates said on foreign policy during their debate.
China
Trump began the debate by touting his proposed tariffs on foreign nations, and claiming that China and other trading partners have been “ripping us off for years.” Harris responded by pointing to the escalating trade deficit during his time in office, saying that Trump had “invited trade wars,” while “selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernize their military.”
Trump had previously called for sweeping new tariffs of at least 10 percent on imports if he is reelected, raising concerns of a trade war with China if he returns to the White House.
Harris attacked Trump for praising Xi’s response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, “When we know that Xi was responsible for … not giving us transparency about the origins of covid.” She was referring to a social media post by Trump in January 2020, in which he said: “China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi!” The lack of clarity about how the pandemic began has long been a source of tensions between Washington and Beijing.
Harris also sought to turn Trump’s own remarks against him, particularly about his relationships with autocratic leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. She suggested these world leaders want Trump back in office because they can manipulate him.
“These autocrats and dictators are itching for you to be president again, because they know you can be manipulated,” Harris said.
Ukraine
Trump sidestepped the question about whether he wants Ukraine to win the war and refused to say whether a victory for Kyiv is in America’s best interests. He said it’s in the best interest of the United States “to get this war finished and just get it done.”
“I will get it settled before I even become president,” Trump said, without providing details of how he might accomplish that.
The exchanges on the Ukraine war, which has now gone on for more than two years, quickly turned combative, with Harris challenging Trump on his embrace of authoritarian leaders like Putin. “If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now,” she said, adding that Putin would be eyeing Europe next. She later charged that Trump would give up on U.S. allies “for the sake of favor” from a dictator “who would eat you for lunch.”
Trump’s earlier praise of Moscow and refusal to condemn many of Putin’s actions have underscored his persistent admiration of Russia.
“I believe the reason that Donald Trump says that this war would be over within 24 hours is because he would just give it up, and that’s not who we are as Americans,” Harris said, as she highlighted the Biden administration’s large military support for Ukraine.
Israel and Gaza
Harris did not stray far from the Biden administration’s current stance on the war in Gaza, stating that “Israel has a right to defend itself,” but that “how it does so matters because it is also true far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
She reiterated her support for a two-state solution, a proposal that supports two territorially distinct states — one for Israelis and one for Palestinians. She also characterized Trump as a “weak and wrong” when it comes to foreign policy and national security. During a heated exchange, Trump claimed, without evidence, that Harris “hates Israel” and “hates the Arab population” and said that if he were president, the wars in Ukraine and in Gaza would not have started.
“What we know is that this war must end,” Harris said. “It must end immediately, and the way it will end is we need a cease-fire deal and we need the hostages out. And so we will continue to work around the clock on that.”
She added: “The one thing I will assure you always — I will always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it relates to Iran and any threat that Iran and its proxies pose to Israel.”
U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
Harris addressed the current administration’s controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan in mid-2021 by saying that she ultimately agrees with Biden’s decision to pull out.
“Four presidents said they would, and Joe Biden did,” she said. “And as a result, America’s taxpayers are not paying the $300 million a day we were paying for that endless war.” The figure comes from an estimate by a team of Brown University researchers, which calculated that the total U.S. cost of fighting in Afghanistan reached $2.3 trillion from 2001-2022.
She attacked Trump’s self-styled reputation as a dealmaker, stating that he “negotiated directly with a terrorist organization called the Taliban” and agreed to release 5,000 of its members. Trump defended his negotiation efforts, stating that his opponents “deal with the wrong people.” He claimed that his administration, had it won in the 2020 election, would have withdrawn more quickly.
