This is the second of a two-part series on tonight's first, and so far only scheduled, debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Read the first part here.
BORDER SECURITY
Q: Let’s talk about the border. Polling suggests that Americans like Mr. Trump’s tough approach. What will you do about the border?
A: Tough on the border? I’ll tell you what he’s tough on. He’s tough on fellow Republicans who want to secure our borders when he thinks it’ll hurt him politically.
That’s why in February, he killed the toughest-in-history Senate border security bill that his own ally, Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, negotiated. Trump stopped it. His Republican enablers gave in. He didn’t want his presidential opponent to get the credit. He wanted the problem to exist at this very moment.
He thinks that the more people who cross our borders the better he’ll do. That’s typical Trump, putting himself first, putting America second.
Well guess what, we’re tired of his con games.
Border security is key to national security. President Biden and I know that. That’s why we have put in place what measures we could by executive order, like limiting asylum claims when border crossings rise.
And what do you know? Illegal crossings at the border are down to the lowest level since the middle of the pandemic.
Your choice in this election is clear: Someone who will do something about border security or someone who just wants you to be afraid of a problem he could have helped solve.
ISRAEL
Q: Vice President Harris, as president, what would you do differently from President Biden in Israel?
A: As the vice president, I am first and foremost a team player. I give advice when asked, and I can assure you that as someone who’s seen everything in global affairs, Joe Biden seldom needs my advice on foreign policy.
I can also tell you that my job as president will be to have my foreign affairs advisers do a full review of policy and make recommendations to me. I will act upon them after careful evaluation and discussion with our allies. New presidents, even of the same party, always make adjustments from the old.
Like the President, I am frustrated and gravely disappointed by all the civilian deaths that have occurred. The killings and rapes by Hamas on October 7 required a powerful response. The bombings of schools and hospitals, and the choking of resources for Palestinian women and children have gone too far and broken my heart. That’s why I want a cease-fire now.
Israel has the right to defend itself. But I am with President Biden, the hundreds of thousands of Israels on the street, and even Benjamin Netanyahu’s own cabinet members who are saying to him, “You are not doing enough to obtain a ceasefire and get back the hostages” – including American hostages. Military force cannot destroy Hamas without creating more hatred and war. There can be no lasting peace without a two-state solution. I am committed to lasting peace, and I will do what it takes to achieve it.
Anyone who thinks we will achieve it under a second Trump administration should review the record. In May, my opponent said a two-state solution is not viable. Last week, David Friedman, his former Ambassador to Israel, said that Americans have a “Biblical” duty to support a single state of Israel, including an annexed West Bank.
Surely, he did not say that without checking. That could be one clear way to signal President Netanyahu not to agree to a ceasefire before November 5. Like Donald Trump’s actions on border security, he cares about political benefit, not about doing what is necessary to deal with our hardest problems.
I assure you, there will be no Middle East peace if my opponent becomes president.
AFGHANISTAN
Q: What was your role in the Afghanistan withdrawal? You’ve no doubt seen JD Vance’s comments condemning you over the Biden Administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He said you "can go to hell."
Don’t you owe the American people an apology for what happened in Afghanistan?
A: As I’ve said, today and every day I mourn and honor the brave soldiers who died in Afghanistan. My prayers are with their families and loved ones. My heart breaks for their pain and their loss. These 13 devoted patriots represent the best of America, putting our beloved nation and their fellow Americans above themselves and deploying into danger to keep their fellow citizens safe.
But let’s tell the truth about what happened in Afghanistan. President Biden and America got stuck with the lousy deal Donald Trump made. Don’t take my word for it. Republican Nikki Haley, Trump’s former UN Ambassador, condemned the deal after leaving his administration, saying that “negotiating with the Taliban was like negotiating with the devil.” But that didn’t stop Trump from promising them he would get out of their country.
And here’s what Trump’s own former National Security Advisor, H.R. McMaster, told journalist Bari Weiss after the American GIs were killed in the withdrawal: “This collapse goes back to the capitulation agreement of 2020. The Taliban didn’t defeat us. We defeated ourselves.” John Bolton, McMaster’s successor as national security adviser, said to CNN after the ill-fated, rushed withdrawal that “Trump would have done the same thing.”
Then there’s the news from McMaster’s own book that Trump forced our Afghan allies to agree to release 5000 Taliban as part of the agreement. So much for “the art of the deal.”
So much for American national security if my opponent is returned to the White House.
UKRAINE
Q: Vice President Harris, President Biden has been criticized for delaying the shipment of arms to Ukraine. What would you do better?
A: There’s one thing I can guarantee to do better: I will do better than my opponent in discharging the awesome responsibility of protecting the Western World from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He’s interfering with our elections again, this time hoping Mr. Trump will be elected and wave the white flag over Ukraine.
Again, don’t take my word for it. H.R. McMaster’s book tells us how in 2018, Putin played Trump like a fiddle, flattering his ego and manipulating his insecurities.
And if you need a lesson in how to be a self-serving, disrespecter of American military sacrifice, just read the stories of my opponent’s and his aides’ strong-arming a female officer at Arlington National Cemetery late last month. All so they could violate military regulations and profane the sacred in section 60 of Arlington. All so they could video candidate Trump for TicTok, campaigning with his grin and signature thumbs up over the grave of a fallen soldier.
Even deceased Arizona Senator John McCain’s son, James, who has served in our military for 17 years and who has never spoken out politically before, felt compelled to condemn that action.
Desecrating Arlington cemetery is not who we are as Americans. We do not trample on the memory of others for our own purposes. We do not believe that the ends of power justify the means of disgrace.
We are better than that, and we deserve a leader and a future better than that. In every national security and foreign policy decision that I make, I will be that leader. I will build that future for every American.
