Harris and Trump: The contrast could not be more clear. Part I

When it comes to supporting Ukraine, the attitudes, words and, above all, the deeds of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance stand in sharp contrast with those of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

Vice President Harris stands fast with Ukraine, as Ukrainians defend their own land and the values of freedom and democracy that they and Americans hold dear.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris have made the preservation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity a priority, recognizing that this is in the U.S. national interest and that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine is a fundamental threat to the international order.

The Biden-Harris administration has provided unparalleled military assistance to Ukraine. It is supplying substantial economic assistance so that the Ukrainian government can provide vital services to its people. It is giving significant amounts of humanitarian and refugee aid. It rallied our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies and other nations – nearly 60 in total – in a global coalition to support Ukraine. This is not a trivial matter. It requires painstaking diplomacy.

This administration has imposed unprecedented sanctions to raise the economic costs on Russia for waging its unjustified war and hold it accountable for crimes committed in Ukraine. The Biden-Harris Administration has signed a bilateral security agreement with Ukraine to strengthen Kyiv’s defense and deterrence capabilities over the long term. The scale and depth of American commitment to Ukraine is enormous.

To be sure, the Biden-Harris administration’s record is not perfect. Like many, I share frustrations with the occasional slowness in the delivery of weapons, which is partially due to fears of escalation. I count myself among those who have pushed for a more robust approach, including, most recently, the lifting of restrictions on the use of long-range, U.S-provided weapons. On the other hand, I do not even want to imagine what Ukraine would look like today if it were not for the leadership and efforts of the Biden-Harris administration. The picture, no doubt, would be an extremely dire one.

Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are committed to helping Ukraine win. Messrs. Trump and Vance are not.

It’s worthwhile to read the October 3 remarks by Ms. Harris at a campaign rally in Ripon, Wis., the birthplace of the Republican Party. This is where one of the most conservative Republican former members of Congress, Liz Cheney, put country above party and endorsed Ms. Harris for president. I believe the following remarks by Ms. Harris at the event encapsulate her attitudes and approach:

“And let me be clear: Democracy and freedom are not only at stake here at home; they are also at stake around the world. As president of the United States, I will strengthen, not abdicate, America’s global leadership. [applause]
“Last week, I met with Ukraine’s President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy [applause] and the message I delivered was the same message I’ve shared with him every time I’ve seen him: ‘I stand with Ukraine, and I always will.’ [applause]
“And I told him, as I have before, I want Ukraine to prevail. By contrast, in our debate, Donald Trump couldn’t even bring himself to say he wanted Ukraine to win the war – couldn’t even bring himself to say that,” Ms. Harris said.
Audience: “Booo.”
Ms. Harris: “A war that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, a brutal dictator, launched against a free and independent people. Trump wants to force Ukraine to give up its sovereign territory, a bedrock principle upon which we stand and fight for. And you know who else wants them to give up their sovereign …”
Audience member: “Putin!”
Ms. Harris: “Absolutely. … territory. Putin. Putin. And that’s not a plan for peace. It’s a plan for surrender,” Ms. Harris said. “Well, I believe that in the global struggle between tyranny and democracy, the president of the United States must always be on the side of freedom.” [applause]

Can you contemplate Donald Trump or J.D. Vance expressing a similar sentiment?

Ms. Harris has said that, if Mr. Trump were president, “Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now.” I have no doubt that she is right. Unlike Mr. Trump, a President Harris would not abandon Ukraine.

She has insisted that there should be no negotiations with Putin unless Ukrainians are in the room – no “about us without us” for Ms. Harris. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for Mr. Trump to do that.

In the September 10 debate with Ms. Harris, Mr. Trump – despite being asked repeatedly by the moderator whether he supported Ukraine – refused to say that he wanted Kyiv to win the war.

Mr. Trump has told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, himself a foe of democracy who kisses up to Putin on every conceivable occasion, that he won’t give a penny to Ukraine. He asserted he will end the war in one day, meaning that Mr. Trump will negotiate over the heads of those troublesome Ukrainians who dare to defend their freedom and very existence. In effect, Mr. Trump would force Ukraine to surrender to the biggest war criminal of the 21st century. After all, he said, “Any deal [with Russia], even the worst deal, would have been better than what we have right now.”

Mr. Trump said that “Ukraine is gone, it’s not Ukraine anymore.” His plan to stop the war is to get the Ukrainian government to do his – and war criminal Putin’s – bidding by threatening to stop any aid to Ukraine and force Ukraine to give up its territories and potential membership in NATO.

Trying to force a peace settlement at this stage of the war would only favor the Kremlin. It would mean Russia cementing control over 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, and it would mean the continued brutal repression of Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories. As I wrote in a recent column, it’s not just about territory, it’s about the millions of Ukrainians living under barbaric Russian rule whose human rights and freedoms are violated with impunity. In those territories, Russia’s campaign to suppress Ukrainian identity intensifies with each passing day.

Mr. Trump has also signaled that, if the Ukrainians don’t cave in, the United States will not provide additional funding for Ukraine. Of course, Mr. Trump is no stranger to being unwilling to assist Ukraine in its hour of need. Remember the recent painful 8-month-long debate in Congress over the $61 billion Ukraine aid package? This was the very legislation whose lengthy delay – when Ukraine needed it most – had such profoundly negative and deadly consequences for the Ukrainian military’s ability to fend off the Muscovite barbarians. Yes, this was the same assistance that Mr. Trump for months urged Republicans to reject. Make no mistake, if Mr. Trump would not have opposed the aid package, it would have passed Congress far earlier than it did.

Lest we forget, at the onset of the full-fledged invasion, Mr. Trump, who has described himself as a “very stable genius,” characterized Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy,” claims that are both outrageous and profoundly mistaken. As we have seen, the war has hardly been the work of a genius and has already greatly weakened Russia socially and economically and turned Putin into an international pariah. Even in the event of some kind of peace arrangement, it is hard to see Russia return to being even the medium power it was before the full-fledged invasion – unless, of course, the West completely caves in.

Mr. Trump seems to be devoid of any sense of humanity. Notice that he has never condemned or even criticized Putin for his barbaric invasion, not to speak of the killing of tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and innocent civilians. On the contrary, Mr. Trump has the nerve to blame Mr. Zelenskyy for the war.

Editor’s note: The positions expressed in the column above are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the editorial positions of this newspaper. The Ukrainian Weekly is committed to publishing a broad range of commentary from various authors and welcomes such submissions.