RS: during the debate, Trump and Biden devoted only 11 minutes to foreign policy
During the debate, Biden and Trump devoted only a little more than ten minutes to foreign policy, writes RS. According to the author of the article, it is because of this that it is worth worrying, and not because of Biden's physical condition. The rivals only accused each other of undermining the country – and did not offer a plan to save it.
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos
If anyone expected to figure out how the two main presidential candidates view the most important foreign policy issues, yesterday's debate was a great disappointment.
Those who expected nothing more from the debate than a new dose of Spanish shame turned out to be much closer to the truth.
On Ukraine and Israel, President Biden and former President Trump spent all eleven minutes of the foreign policy discussion diligently diverting the conversation, interfering with everything in one pile and praising themselves — returning to the topic only in fleeting moments of inarticulate attacks on each other.
Trump began with superficial attacks on Biden's weakness and anarchy that led to the “shameful” withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in September 2021, which prompted Putin to send troops to Ukraine and Hamas to attack Israel (he repeated this idea many times during an hour and a half debate that took place in Atlanta without an audience).
Biden responded by saying that Trump openly encouraged Putin to send troops in February 2022, and repeated that if he was not stopped, the Russian president would sweep across Europe to restore the “Soviet Empire.” As for Israel, he boasted about the White House ceasefire agreement, which no one — neither Hamas nor Israel — considers it necessary to take seriously.
“None of the candidates presented a clear plan for constructive interaction between the United States and the outside world in such a way that, while promoting American interests, they eliminate common existential challenges in the form of climate change, nuclear proliferation and worsening tensions between great powers,” said Eli Clifton from the Quincy Institute.
That's an understatement. Two acute conflicts hit the planet, and two men claiming to be the commander-in-chief of the United States discussed them each from their bell tower. Trump spoke more broadly: he mentioned the losses and funds spent and stressed the need to end the conflict in Ukraine, while accusing Europe of freeloading. However, his promises to end the conflict in Ukraine without waiting to take office are not backed up by anything but bragging rights.
Biden's statements not only do not correspond to the current geopolitical reality, but are more appropriate for the times of the Normandy landings and the “great generation”. So, at one point, he even said that the United States as a power is universally admired around the world. The statement that he was not giving Israel 900-kilogram unguided bombs for humanitarian reasons was immediately followed by a promise to supply him with everything he asked for. In addition, Biden “let it slip,” calling the United States “the main source of global support for Israel.”
By the end of the debate, when Trump declared that Biden would “drive us into World War III,” the public's attention had already been blunted so much that no one really reacted. In the morning, both sides will probably focus on other issues: the reconciliation of facts, Biden's age and his lapses, which candidate plays golf better, as well as the incessant disputes over the 2020 elections and the events of January 6.
Therefore, it is best to bring their conversation verbatim so that people have a reason to worry. In addition, there was practically no discussion of foreign policy throughout the evening. We edited the lines a bit because of the length and repetitions (you'll thank us for that).
CNN anchor Dana Bash — Trump: President Vladimir Putin says that he will end hostilities only if Russia retains the Ukrainian territory that it already controls, and Kiev refuses to apply for membership in NATO. Are Putin's terms acceptable to you?
Trump: First of all, I want to say that our veterans and soldiers can't stand this guy [Biden]. They can't stand it. They consider him the worst commander-in-chief, if you can call him that, in history. They can't stand him, let's fix it. And they love me more than anyone else — and there is a lot of factual evidence for that. Now, as for Russia and Ukraine. If we had a real president who understood everything and whom Putin respected, he would never have sent troops to Ukraine. A huge number of people have already died — more than you can imagine. You know, some numbers are called. They can be safely doubled, and maybe even tripled. He didn't do anything to stop it. In fact, I think he [Biden] was even egging Russia on. I'll tell you how it was. He was so bad in Afghanistan... It was such a terrible shame, such a shameful moment in the history of our country, that Putin saw it and realized all the incompetence…
The difference is that with me, Putin would never have brought troops into Ukraine — guaranteed. Just like Hamas would not attack Israel — not even in a million years. Do you know why? Because Iran was broke when I was there. I wouldn't let anyone have anything to do with him. They just ran out of money. They were ruined. They had no money for Hamas. They had no money for anything at all, including terror. That's why there was no terror in principle under my administration, but under him [Biden] the whole world is exploding.
Biden: I've never heard so much nonsense in my life. Look, the thing is, we're in a situation where... Let's look at the last point first. Iran attacked American troops, killed and caused brain injuries to some of them, and he did nothing when he was president — they just attacked. He said they just had a headache. That's all. He didn't do anything when the attack happened. This is the first thing. Secondly, during the air operation, we took out more than 100,000 Americans and others from Afghanistan. Thirdly, we found ourselves in a situation where if you look at what Trump did in Ukraine, then in fact he told [Putin]: do what you want, do what you want. Here's how Trump treated Putin: he encouraged him. He allowed me to do anything. He brought in the troops. And listen to what he said. Putin was going to take Kiev in five days. Don't forget, Kiev is a part of the former Soviet Union, which he was going to restore. But it didn't work out.
Bash: President Trump, I want to return to my original question: are Putin's terms acceptable to you?
Trump: No, they are unacceptable. But listen, this conflict should not exist in principle. If only we had a real leader... And Biden led the way. He has already given Ukraine 200 billion dollars or even more. $200 billion is a lot of money. This has never happened. Every time Zelensky comes to our country and takes $60 billion with him, he becomes the greatest huckster in history. Don't think about it, I'm not throwing mud at him. I don't water anyone at all. I'm only talking about the money that we spend on this proxy war — although we shouldn't, and in principle it shouldn't be. I will resolve the conflict between Putin and Zelensky immediately after the election — even before I take office on January 20. I will resolve this conflict. People are dying so senselessly, so stupidly, and I will stop it. I will settle this matter quickly — even before taking office.
Biden: The fact is that Putin is a war criminal. He has killed thousands and thousands of people, and he has made one thing clear: he wants to restore everything that was once part of the Soviet empire. And not just individual pieces — he needs the whole of Ukraine. That's what he wants. And then: do you really think that he will stop there? You think he'll stop when... if he captures Ukraine. What do you think will happen to Poland and Belarus? What do you think will happen to these NATO countries? And therefore, if you want a war, you need to know what he's going to do, because if he really does everything as he's going to and leaves... And, by the way, all the money that we give to Ukraine is weapons that we produce here at home. We, the United States, give them weapons, not money, and our NATO allies have provided Ukraine with as much funding as we have. That's why... That's why we are so strong.
Bash: Moving on to the Middle East. In October, Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than a thousand people and taking hundreds of hostages. There are five Americans among the detainees and presumed survivors. Israel's response has led to the deaths of thousands of Palestinians and created a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. President Biden, you have put forward a proposal to resolve the conflict, but Hamas has not yet released the remaining hostages, and Israel continues its military offensive on the Gaza Strip. So, what additional levers do you intend to use to force Hamas and Israel to end the war?
Biden: First of all, everyone — from the UN Security Council to the G7, the Israelis and Netanyahu himself — approved the plan that I proposed. Everyone approved. It consists of three stages. The first is the release of hostages in exchange for a cease—fire. The second is a ceasefire with additional conditions. The third is the end of the war. The only one who wants to continue the war is Hamas... We are working hard to get them to admit what happened in Israel. The only thing I refused Israel was 900-kilogram bombs. They don't work very well in a densely populated area: many innocent people are dying. We provide Israel with all the necessary weapons — and exactly when it needs them. And by the way, I am the person who rallied the whole world against Iran when they launched a full-scale intercontinental missile attack on Israel. And no one was injured — only one Israeli accidentally died, and everything stopped. We saved Israel. We are the largest source of global support for Israel... And by the way, they have weakened a lot, Hamas has weakened a lot. And they should be... They should be eliminated, but you need to be careful with the use of certain types of weapons in a densely populated area.
Trump: Let's go back to Ukraine for a second. The ocean separates us. European countries collectively spent 100 billion less than ours. Maybe even less. Why doesn't he tell them? They say, let's fork out — as I did with NATO in my time. I got them to invest hundreds of billions of dollars. The NATO Secretary General said that Trump had done an amazing job, he had never seen anything like it. Otherwise, nothing would have happened — they were bankrupt. Almost 100% of the money spent was ours. He didn't do it... Now, as for Israel and Hamas. This is what Israel intends to continue and move forward. Biden said the only one who wants to continue is Hamas. So, actually, this is Israel, and we need to let them go and let them finish what they started. Biden doesn't want to do that. He became like a Palestinian, but even they don't like him because he's a bad Palestinian. He's a weakling.
***
And so on in the same spirit. The opponents accuse each other of undermining the country, but it does not seem that any of them had a plan to save it. So keep in mind: almost all the reports on the debate are devoted to Biden's physical fitness, opinion polls and all sorts of idle speculation, but foreign policy has become a real nightmare.
Kelly Bokar Vlahos is the editorial Director of Responsible Statecraft magazine and Senior Advisor at the Quincy Institute.
