By: Diya Madhavan and Kalyani R. Janakiraman
The author is a second-year master’s student at Jindal School of International Affairs. She can be reached at 24jsia-dmadhavan@jgu.edu.in
On 5 November 2024, US is slated to elect its next President in the country’s 60th quadrennial presidential election. The race for the White House awaits for impending results, with battleground states playing a key role in determining the winning candidate. The past months that were filled with turbulent campaigns including assassination attempts, last minute change in candidature, criminal convictions and record-breaking donation haul is all leading up to the ultimate decisions that will be declared through the state by state results of the Electoral College. In the final weeks leading to the US Presidential Elections, full-fledged campaigning is wide spread across the battleground states, as the world looks forward to America’s next President.
In the following section, a brief overview has been created on the political stances and contrasting foreign policies that were expressed by both the competing candidates on various issues such as immigration and border security, Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, the ongoing conflict in Gaza and their perspectives towards trade reforms. Through the comparative analysis, we will be able to understand what to expect from the subsequent presidential term that will be taken over by either of the candidates, and how it will differ from the Biden administration.
EFFECT OF SHIFT IN LEADERSHIP ON THE SOCIO-POLITICAL ISSUES
IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY
HARRIS:
Harris supports all-encompassing immigration reform. Her remarks discouraging prospective migrants from coming to the United States have resulted in a major emergence of controversy, yet she was assigned to supervise the federal effort to address the underlying reasons of migration from Central America.
The Biden-Harris administration has attempted to reinstate the US Refugee Settlement Programme, with the US welcoming over sixty thousand refugees in 2023. The administration has also given way to new parole programs that have welcomed over tens of thousands of Afghans and Ukrainian refugees to the US.
In 2024, the administration has taken initiatives to curtail the entry of illegal immigrants and has issued an order to implement temporary blocking if the daily crossing surpasses the threshold. In addition, a separate order also expanded green card access for certain undocumented immigrants who have spouses who are US citizens.
TRUMP:
The issues of immigration and border policy has remained significant under Trump’s tenure and there is a slew of measures that are to be implemented that strictly aims to reduce legal and illegal immigration. He focuses on implementing “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” modelled after President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s mass deportations under the 1954 “Operation Wetback.” He also emphasised on his stance on how the immigration policies have allowed smooth access to “terrorists”, “common street criminals” and “drug dealers” to enter the country. Trump also claimed that he will constrain access to certain visa programs, rescind temporary protected status (TPS) designations for numerous nations, and stop the US refugee resettlement program once more—all of which he accomplished during his first term. He will keep urging Congress to replace the existing system, which emphasizes family reunification, with a “merit-based” immigration system that protects American workers.
THE ISRAEL-GAZA CONFLICT
HARRIS:
Harris defends Israel’s right to self-defence but has also not backed off from addressing the grievances of the Palestinian population and has urged immediate ceasefire and end to the atrocity through a two-state solution to the long-running conflict. She announced that the Biden-Harris administration policy of arming Israel will continue and also added that the US military is backed by substantive funding, which has reached $12 billion, since Hamas attacked the country in October 2023. At the first debate with Trump, Harris advocated for the security, self-determination and dignity of the Palestinians and called for a “revitalised” Palestine Authority to govern a unified Gaza and West Bank.
TRUMP:
Trump perceives Israel as a “cherished ally”, and his approach towards the Middle East has been defined by support for Israel and Saudi Arabia, and owns a confrontational stance towards Iran. He has addressed to broker a regional peace deal and has reemphasised his intentions on defeating the Islamist terrorist groups. When the outbreak of war took place on 7 October, Trump promised his full-fledged support for Israel, and stated that the country will be backed up entire military as well financial aid from his end. In January 2020, Trump released a Middle East peace plan, granting Israel sovereignty over the Palestinian occupied territories, after he oversaw the Abraham accords that comprised of the normalisation deals between Israel and Arab countries
RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT
HARRIS:
Harris had strongly condemned Russia’s invasion, and has promised to continue aiding in Ukraine, and she had also emphasised on the matter that none of the negotiations with Russia will take place in the absence of Ukraine’s participation. Including all the financial, humanitarian and military aid provided, US has rendered a $175 billion assistance to Ukraine. In the 2024 peace summit that happened in Switzerland, Harris urged for global engagement to rally to proclaim their solidarity with Ukraine and in order to escalate pressure in Russia to culminate the two-year long war. At the end of the summit, Harris also pledged to donate $2 billion for the additional casualty treatment.
TRUMP:
Trump has urged for a rapid relaxation of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. However, he has mentioned that he will not be engaging in providing any additional US aid to the country, adding that the European countries will have to be more efficient in their own contributions. Trump state that it is within the ambit of US interest to bring the war to an end, and despite having significantly warm relations with Russia, Trump also said that Russia committed a “tremendous mistake” during the February 2022 invasion. In 2016, Trump continued to maintain close cooperation with Russia even after the US Intelligence reports were released that identified Russia’s interference in the presidential elections. Even though US has extended sanctions on Moscow over its annexation on Ukrainian territory and has been subjected to certain rules and restrictions, Trump has constantly put efforts to rebuild and keep its relations with Russia afloat.
TRADE
HARRIS:
Harris stated that trade is significant for the economic growth, but along with that she contends that the trade deals should protect the American workers from any unfair practices in other parts of the world. New incentives on trade were initiated under the Biden-Harris administration, primarily focussing on promoting US manufacturing, counter China’s emerging economic prominence and the deepening negative impacts of climate change. The Biden-Harris Administration had previously argued on the monopolised growth of benefits among the corporate sectors alone through the trade deals, thus cornering and exposing the US migrants to be subjected to unfair competitions. Hence, it was addressed to intensify investment in the US manufacturing and infrastructure to increase the country’s competitiveness.
TRUMP:
Trump has pledged to bring back US the status of “manufacturing superpower in the world” through the act of “rebalancing trade” towards domestic production, since he claimed that the global trading system is rigged against US interest , that has led to declining US manufacturing, trade deficits and job offshoring. He proclaimed that he will impose a “universal” tariffs while trying to match higher tariffs imposed by other countries on US, stating this approach as his “an eye for an eye, a tariff for a tariff”. Trump has often referred to WTO as a “disaster”, and has threatened to withdraw the membership, whilst criticising China and other WTO members for violating the organisation mandate, providing developing countries more access to flexibility.
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