Former President Trump and Vice President Harris have diverged sharply over how to handle Ukraine and NATO, with Harris pledging to continue strong support of Kyiv and engagement with allies, while Trump touts an isolationist approach.
Ukraine war
Trump has pledged to end the war before he takes office in January, should he win the election.
He’s offered few details about how he would achieve this, but suggested his friendly relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin would help.
Critics worry that any agreement to immediately end the war would likely involve ceding territory to Russia and close the door to Ukraine joining NATO, a hardline for Moscow.
The former president has been sharply critical of Ukraine, at times, often calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “one of the greatest salesmen” for securing billions of dollars in security aid from Washington.
“He should never have let that war start,” Trump said, apparently referring to Zelensky during an interview with PBD Podcast. ”That war’s a loser.”
Zelensky met with Trump when he visited the U.S. in September. Trump told reporters before the meeting that he was honored to meet with the Ukrainian president but also said he has a “very good relationship” with Putin and added of peace talks, “it takes two to tango.”
Concerns about Trump’s cozy tied with Putin were amplified by reporting in veteran journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, “War.”
Woodward writes that the former president, in the midst of the pandemic in 2020, sent COVID-19 tests to Putin at a time when those were desperately needed in the U.S., and that Trump has called the Russian leader at least seven times since leaving office.
Trump’s selection of Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate also represented a doubling down on isolationism, worrying Ukraine’s supporters should they win the White House.
Harris has fully backed the position President Biden, who has defended Ukraine vigorously since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Biden administration has said it will always protect democracy and defend freedom and sovereignty from aggressors like Putin, and that it is in Washington’s strategic interest to do so.
Just before her September meeting with Zelensky, Harris said “my support for the people of Ukraine is unwavering. “
“I have been proud to stand with Ukraine. I will continue to stand with Ukraine. And I will work to ensure Ukraine prevails in this war,” she said.
Harris has warned that Putin will attack more European nations if he is victorious in Ukraine, and she told Trump in a September debate that the Russian leader would “eat you for lunch.”
Still, the Biden administration has faced questions about the strategy to end the war, or lack thereof, especially as Russian forces continue to press forward on the battlefield, putting Ukrainian troops on the backfoot.
In a CBS “60 Minutes” interview earlier this month, Harris said she would not meet Putin to negotiate an end to the war without Ukraine.
“There will be no success in ending that war without Ukraine and the UN charter participating in what that success looks like,” she said.
Harris and the Biden administration have also been criticized by Ukraine hawks in both parties for slow-walking some aid and not allowing Ukrainian forces to use American-made weapons to hit deep into Russia.
The Biden administration has also not supported extending a NATO invitation to Ukraine.
“We will deal with if and when it arrives at that point,” Harris told CBS of a NATO invitation.
NATO support
Trump has also questioned NATO’s future and wants alliance members to pay more in defense spending.
In a February rally, Trump said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to NATO members that did not pay up in defense spending.
The remarks have drawn scrutiny in the U.S. and raised concerns in Europe, where allies are fearful that a second Trump administration might abandon them to Russia should it attack.
In his first term, Trump reportedly considered pulling the U.S. out of NATO.
In an interview with the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this month, Trump said the U.S. was “spending almost 100 percent for NATO because we had all these delinquent countries” until he got into office.
“We were supporting NATO. They screw us on trade so bad, the European nations. And then on top of that, they were screwing us on the military. So they’re taking a tremendous advantage of
us,” he said. “It’s not sustainable. You can’t keep doing this.”
Harris, like Biden, fully supports NATO and she said in her Democratic presidential nomination acceptance speech that she will stand by American allies.
The Biden administration has also pushed for European nations to pay more, though without any threats.
This year, a record of 23 allies are hitting NATO’s target of at least 2 percent of economic output on defense.
Both Biden and Trump have taken credit for the rise in NATO spending, but pressure has mounted since 2014 for all allies to meet at least 2 percent of GDP. Spending has risen since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Harris has criticized Trump for his isolationist stance, warning in a February speech that “some” people look to “flout common understandings among nations, to embrace dictators and adopt their repressive tactics, and abandon commitments to our allies in favor of unilateral action.”
“I firmly believe our commitment to build and sustain alliances has helped America become the most powerful and prosperous country in the world — alliances that have prevented wars, defended freedom, and maintained stability from Europe to the Indo-Pacific,” she said.
“To put all of that at risk would be foolish.”
