The first televised debate of the election season, aired by CNN, took some time to move onto foreign policy, with moderator Dana Bash asking the presumptive presidential candidates whether they found Vladimir Putin’s terms for peace in Ukraine acceptable.
Before answering the question, Trump attacked Biden saying that “if we had a real president, a president… that was respected by Putin… he would have never invaded Ukraine” and added that Putin “knew not to play games with me."
He followed up by arguing that Biden had done nothing to prevent the February 2022 invasion and that, “[i]n fact, I think he encouraged Russia from [sic] going in.”
Trump elaborated on his accusation by arguing that Biden “was so bad with Afghanistan… that when Putin watched that and he saw the incompetence… he said, you know what, I think we’re going to go in and… this was his dream.”
The incumbent retorted by saying: “I’ve never heard so much malarkey in my whole life.” He accused Trump of telling Putin to “do whatever you want” in Ukraine, thereby encouraging him to invade.
It should also be noted, that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was negotiated with the Taliban in 2020, still under Trump’s administration, and Biden merely honored the agreement made with the radical Islamic group by his predecessor.
War and peace
Earlier in June, Putin said he would cease hostilities in Ukraine if Kyiv completely ceded four regions that Russia claims to have annexed in referendums widely dismissed as shams. Another condition was for Ukraine to abandon attempts to join NATO.
Returning to the original question about the acceptability of Putin’s peace terms, Trump answered “No, they’re not acceptable.”
He then rounded again on his Democratic rival. “He’s given $200 billion now or more to Ukraine,” he said. “He’s given $200 billion. That’s a lot of money. I don’t think there’s ever been anything like it. Every time that Zelenskyy comes to this country, he walks away with
$60 billion, he’s the greatest salesman ever.”
Reiterating that the money should never have been spent, Trump continued: “I will have that war settled between Putin and Zelenskyy as president-elect before I take office on January 20th. I’ll have that war settled.”
Although Trump did not elaborate on how he would bring the war to an end, Reuters reported earlier that two of the former president’s top advisors had presented him with a plan foreseeing further U.S. aid for Kyiv only if Ukraine enters peace talks.
Biden countered that Putin is a war criminal.
“He’s killed thousands and thousands of people. And he has made one thing clear, he wants to re-establish what was part of the Soviet Empire, not just a piece, he wants all of Ukraine,” Biden said.
“And then do you think he’ll stop there?” the president went on. “Do you think he’ll stop when he — if he takes Ukraine? What do you think happens to Poland? What do you think of Belarus? What do you think happens to those NATO countries?”
Biden also made the point that he had rallied more than 50 national leaders globally to stand by Ukraine, “including Japan and South Korea.”
Foreign policy received far less airtime during debates between the two four years ago when they were both vying for the Oval Office, but Washington has much at stake today with major conflicts, not only in Ukraine but also in the Middle East, making America’s international standing a hard topic to dodge.
Jeremi Suri, a professor of history and public affairs at the University of Texas, Austin, wrote in Foreign Policy magazine prior to the debate that the two candidates are farther apart on foreign policy issues than most of their predecessors have been, with Biden seeking to reinforce traditional ties internationally and Trump presenting a more isolationist stance.
Taking aim at Biden’s support for Ukraine as well as Israel, Trump accused his rival of bringing the specter of global conflict closer than ever.
“He will drive us into World War III, and we’re closer to World War III than anyone can imagine, and he’s going to drive us there,” he said.
Biden retorted: “You want World War III? Let [Trump] win and let him tell Putin to do whatever the hell he wants to NATO,” he said.
This was likely a reference to Trump’s comment made back in February when he said that should he become president again, the U.S. will not come to the aid of its NATO allies if they do not fulfill the 2% GDP defense spending target.
“No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want,” he said.
