Polar Opposites: Trump and Harris Differing Views on Mid-East Policy
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are polar opposites in many ways. Although, it appears, they agree on which country poses the greatest threat.
When asked by 60 Minutes Correspondent Bill Whittaker, the vice president summed it up: "I think there's an obvious one in mind, which is Iran," Harris said. "Iran has American blood on their hands."
However, that's likely where the common ground will end.
In dealing with Iran, a Harris administration would be expected to follow the path of President Biden.
Critics say that means easing up on sanctions and supporting an updated nuclear deal, something former president Donald Trump abruptly exited as president.
"Iran was broke under Donald Trump," Trump recently proclaimed at the presidential debate back in September. "Now Iran has $300 billion because they took off all the sanctions I had."
Brent Sadler, Senior Research Fellow with the Heritage Foundation, explains the difference in mindset between the two presidential campaigns.
"Kamala Harris and the Biden/Harris White House, the last 3.5, almost four years, their approach has been, if they can get a deal with Iran, everything else is possible," Sadler tells CBN News.
He added, '"Trump, on the other hand, is from a position of strength, then meaningful negotiations are possible."
As for Israel, Trump has been clear that a two-state solution is not possible.
Harris, however, has stated she will push for it around the clock.
On continued U.S. Support for the Jewish State, Trump says he would not put any condition on aid.
Harris hasn't committed to that and during her time as vice president, the administration temporarily stopped some ammunition shipments to Israel.
"The best predictor of what's going to happen is what somebody has done already," says former career diplomat Bart Marcois, who also hosts the news website, A Minute with Bart.
He says any question of funding Israel will be a major issue in a Harris presidency.
"She will strangle Israel," Marcois tells CBN News. "She'll have a policy of complete strangulation. They will have to develop allies outside the United States and sources for weapons outside the United States."
As for the situation in Gaza, Trump hasn't committed to exactly what help might be in store for the Palestinians but as president, he cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid intended for both the West Bank and Gaza.
Harris, however, has a different view.
"What has happened over the last nine months in Gaza is devastating," she said months ago. "We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering, and I will not be silent."
So how should that be interpreted?
Sadler believes it gives directly to the overall mindset of this current administration.
"The ideology of this is that, I think they, in their hearts, they feel that Israel is the aggressor, the oppressor in this case, and that it is the Palestinian cause that stands on higher moral ground, and that actually colors a lot of their policy decisions and many that are made outside of public vision, inside the white house and across the administration."
The candidates' Middle East policies will be one part of the jigsaw puzzle voters will have to solve come election day.
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