US Foreign Policy and the 2024 Election: Where the Candidates Stand

WASHINGTON – The 2024 presidential election is just seven weeks away, with early voting already underway in some states. That means there's not much time for the two nominees to address key issues, or for voters to do their research. 

While much attention is currently focused on the economy and things at home, foreign policy is also top of mind, especially when it comes to dealing with the world's superpowers. 

With Russia at war in Ukraine, and increasing aggression in the Indo-Pacific from China, whoever takes over the White House will need a clear foreign policy agenda. 

"I think the place I begin, is to recognize that even though the headlines often seem terrible, the United States remains in a fairly strong strategic position worldwide. We're not fighting any other great powers. We have the strongest system of alliances in history," said Michael O'Hanlon with the Brookings Institution. 

When it comes to those relationships, Vice President Kamala Harris says she would continue to stand by America's partners and ensure the U.S. remains a global leader, if elected. She accuses her opponent of taking a more isolationist approach.

"Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself," Harris said during her speech at the Democratic National Convention.

The former president has been critical of alliances like NATO, and if elected, is expected to insist member countries increase contributions to the organization and overall defense spending. As president, Trump significantly increased the Pentagon's budget and made China and Russia his national security priorities. 

During the recent ABC News debate, Trump pointed to strong relationships with both Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy, claiming Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he were in office. 

"I'll get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended. If I'm president-elect, I'll get it done before even becoming president," Trump said.

Harris says her administration would continue to support Ukraine's defensive efforts against Russia for "as long as it takes."

"Otherwise, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland," Harris said during the debate.

"I think both candidates have said useful things about how to go forward," O'Hanlon told CBN News. 

"Trump has underscored, including at [the] debate, that he wants the war to end. I'm sure Harris agrees, but she also wants to underscore that Ukraine is in the right and deserves to have its sovereignty, and territory, and people protected. I think if we begin with those points, we can actually work our way towards a reasonable policy," he explained.

Meanwhile, when it comes to China, O'Hanlon believes that Beijing's aggressive stance toward Taiwan will be a major issue for the next president.

"China thinks Taiwan's part of China, and we try to deter China by telling Beijing we might respond with U.S. military force if they were to do so, even though there's no American treaty and it's not a formal alliance. That's a delicate line to walk, and it requires sophistication, and both Harris and Trump are going to, either one, would have to learn, I think, how to handle that well," O'Hanlon said.

He tells CBN News he would also like to hear more from both candidates regarding both North Korea and Iran, and encourages each to have a broad priority list when it comes to foreign policy.

"I come back to a framing that Gen. Joseph Dunford employed when he was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2015 to 2019, and he used to talk about 'four-plus-one...' Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and terrorism, slash, extremism, extremism, slash crime. And I think if we prepare against all five of those threats, we're probably doing about as well as we can by way of vigilance," said O'Hanlon.

One last issue that combines key foreign and domestic policy is border security. That's a major topic for Trump, who says he would bring back border policies he had in place, while also implementing large-scale deportations.

Harris says she would work to bring back President Biden's bipartisan border security bill that congressional Republicans rejected, and focus on more "comprehensive" immigration reform. 

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