Before I start into the comparisons…..a noted historian with an excellent track record is saying Harris will win the election….
Historian Allan Lichtman was one of the few big names to predict Donald Trump’s win in 2016, part of an impressive track record in which he has correctly called nine of the last 10 presidential contests. In a New York Times video, the American University professor makes his 2024 prediction: “Kamala Harris will be the next president of the United States,” he declares. Lichtman bases his predictions on 13 factors, including whether it’s a sitting president running for re-election, the short- and long-term strength of the economy, charisma, and foreign policy successes and failures, per USA Today.
Eight of his 13 keys currently favor Harris and three favor Trump, with the pair of foreign policy keys up for grabs. “Foreign policy is tricky,” he says. But even if both keys end up in Trump’s favor, that leaves him with only five, “which would not be enough for Donald Trump to regain the White House.” For the record, Lichtman thinks President Biden’s withdrawal from the race has hurt Democrats’ chances, but not enough to tilt the election to Trump. The only race Lichtman has gotten wrong was the 2000 contest between Al Gore and George W. Bush
He said the foreign policy was ‘tricky’ so I thought a comparison between the two might help out….
The 2024 election is important enough that every American should be aware of the stands the two candidates have on the issues of the day….and I try to give my reader a place to start learning about their policies…..I first gave their domestic policies….
This was the post I wrote recently on the domestic issues…..
Harris/Trump Comparisons
Now we move on to their foreign policy stands…..
This simple take on those policies was printed in US&World report I copied the bulk of the report because most are too lazy to click on the link and this is too important to be glazed over.
Trump vs. Harris on Israel
It was perhaps Trump’s highest-profile foreign policy move: In May of 2018, roughly halfway into his term, the former president made good on a longstanding promise to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem – a switch that pleased the Israeli government and many Republicans but also sparked global condemnation and fears of escalating regional tension.
“I love Israel,” Trump boasted last fall at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual Leadership Summit. “I’m proud to be the best friend that Israel has ever had.”
After a rift reportedly caused when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Biden on his 2020 victory, Trump and the right-wing Israeli leader seem to have mended fences during a July meeting. Trump has also emphasized his unflinching support for the country in its war in Gaza – in the June debate against Biden, Trump declared that the U.S. should allow Israel to “finish the job” – and, as president, he would be likely to remain in lockstep with a Netanyahu administration.
Harris, by contrast, also recently met with Netanyahu and emphasized her “unwavering commitment to Israel” – while simultaneously urging for a ceasefire agreement that would immediately end the conflict. She then made waves for her comments forcefully decrying Gazan suffering, signaling an emerging public stance that would be more sympathetic to the views of many younger Democrats, especially, who tend to see Israel as an oppressor. Still, the most likely Harris policy toward Israel may be one that largely resembles that of Biden, who has maintained strong support for the country even as he’s increasingly criticized Netanyahu and the Gaza campaign.
Trump vs. Harris on Russia
At first glance, the two candidates could hardly be further apart on policy toward Russia.
Since February of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and instigated Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, Biden and his administration have forcefully denounced the Russian aggression while rallying European allies and pushing for vast economic and weapons support for Ukraine. That support had added up to $175 billion by this spring, easily making Ukraine the largest recipient of American aid.
If she wins in November, Harris – who has met on her own with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and declared in a speech last year that Russia had committed crimes against humanity – is expected to largely continue with the same approach. At a peace summit for Ukraine in June, the vice president also emphasized the importance of principles like national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Trump, on the other hand, has long expressed warmth and admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In early 2022, speaking on a radio show, he described Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy”; earlier this year he ignited more controversy when he implied he’d give Putin a greenlight to invade any NATO members who weren’t meeting their spending obligations. Trump’s selection of JD Vance as his running mate, who has said he doesn’t care what happens to Ukraine and led a charge to stop Congressional funding for the country, seemed to only reinforce the former president’s pro-Russia leanings.
Trump vs. Harris on China
In 2018, as part of an effort to bolster American businesses that were suffering from restrictive Chinese economic policies, then-President Trump began imposing a series of heavy tariffs on Chinese goods. The import taxes did help boost certain niches of American manufacturing, like computer equipment, but Trump’s trade war also took a broad economic toll: Within a few years economists estimated that it was costing the United States 300,000 jobs and over $300 billion. Now candidate Trump is doubling down, lately promising to impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports – the biggest part of a sweeping new tariff plan that economists say would cause prices to spike and “could easily cause a recession.”
Yet Trump’s earlier China tariffs did prove politically popular: After once condemning the taxes, Biden ended up keeping and even increasing some of the duties, and it’s unclear if Harris would break from a trade policy that’s become generally accepted among both Democrats and Republicans.
The Democratic candidate has previously blasted China for human rights violations and stealing American products and intellectual property, and she’s also pushed for collaboration on issues like climate change. It’s a Biden-style approach toward America’s greatest economic rival – combining competition and cooperation – that Harris would likely continue.
Trump vs. Harris on NATO and Western Allies
“I think there’s nothing more important for Europe coming up this year,” Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations, said in June, “than the U.S. elections.”
That’s because the Republican and Democratic candidates offer wildly different visions of NATO and U.S.-Western alliances. For years now, Trump has repeatedly sowed doubt about America’s commitment to NATO, both by suggesting that he might pull the U.S. out of the alliance and by threatening to abandon support for allies if they fail to meet spending requirements.
He has claimed the threats are a negotiating tactic, but they’ve caused real anxiety on both sides of the Atlantic about the future of the alliance and global peace as Europe continues to face a threat from Putin’s Russia.
Harris, like Biden, is a staunch NATO defender who would be expected to reiterate America’s international commitments. She said as much herself in last week’s speech, revealing that she met with Zelenskyy shortly before Putin attacked Ukraine and claiming that she “helped mobilize a global response” to help Ukraine defend itself.
“And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies,” she added.
These are just the so-called important points as the world looks today….that could change overnight.
Look that their past stuff….both candidates are yo-yos….up and down….up and down….they change their minds with the winds of the day (and the special interests and their buckets full of cash).
From the two comparisons I do not see any confidence that things will change.
I know, I know….she is better than a Trump president…..I still do not like that excuse.
Be Smart!
Learn Stuff!
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
The one point I will reiterate is that, when it comes to foreign policy, one candidate will use our intelligence group to help make a decision. The other claims to “know more than all the Generals” and was a draft dodger, plus he denigrates our troops and tells Putin to take whatever he wants….which one would be better for us?
Of course Harris would do better….but I personally do not like her policies for they echo Biden and he was a disaster. chuq
I read through current polling reports on the four foreign policy issues. My conclusions are that polls on Israel and China show majority of US voters support Trump’s position, polls on Russia snd NATO agree more with Harris.
Polls I follow indicate that if Trump can carry swing states Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania he will have the electoral votes he needs to win.
Close election. Both candidates have lots of support for their positions. What really matters is the support they have in those threes rates.
And it is sad that 3 states could determine our future….that is why we need a National Primary then those types of scenarios could be eliminated. chuq
That is one way go look at it, but the election would be decided by states totaling 270 electoral votes.
Even in a national primary, if all votes were counted except Georgia’s, and candidate A led by 25,000 votes, then Georgia’s came in for candidate B leading by 35,000 over candidateA, then you could argue that the election was decided by 35,000 Georgia voters.
Any election can come down by being decided by the last vote cast. A win by one a vote margin.
Ar any rate, we have a bad choice either way this year. Party because if the candidates and party because so many voters on both sides hate and have no respect for each other.
Party politics should be banned just as dark money should….but I agree our choices are limited. chuq
I think we can sum up US foreign policy quite easily. ‘Control the world, with the exception of Israel. Israel controls us.’
Best wishes, Pete.
Another perfectly worded comment….well done my friend chuq