There are similarities between former President Donald Trump and President Biden in terms of long-term armed forces strategy, but in the future. 2024 electionA sharp difference in Harris and Trump from the role of the military has emerged.
Trump, who has served as commander-in-chief, has a policy record and views on the military. But former advisers with whom he clashed during his presidency have warned that the second Trump administration could be different from the first.
Harris does not have a background that illuminates his view of an active military role. But it is likely that the Harris administration will follow the norms of the previous president and the national defense strategy under President Biden.
Ukraine conflict
The Biden-Harris administration has committed to supporting Ukraine with military aid but has drawn the line on providing US troops on the ground.
Trump on the campaign trail said Putin would not invade Ukraine during his presidency and claimed without offering a plan that he could end the war within a day.
NATO
Harris at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year reaffirmed the US commitment to NATO. According to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, an attack on a NATO member country will be considered an attack on all NATO countries, and each country will contribute to the collective defense of the alliance – including the use of armed forces. During the Biden-Harris administration, NATO welcomed two more members – Finland and Sweden – into the alliance.
As president, Trump criticized NATO members for not paying more for their own defense, and since then more NATO countries have taken steps to reach the 2% GDP target set by NATO in 2014. On the campaign trail in February, he said “Russia can do whatever they want” if NATO members don’t pay more for their own defense.
Israel and the Middle East
Harris called the relationship between the US and Israel an important alliance, but also said Israel must do more to prevent civilian casualties in the operation. The Biden administration at one point rest one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs, warned that it would not provide weapons for the attack on Rafah, but continued to send more weapons.
Trump, who describes himself as a “protector” of Israel, has also called for a quick end to the Israel-Gaza conflict, saying in October, “I will support Israel’s right to win the war against terror, and it must win quickly.”
China
Mr. Biden said the U.S. would help Taiwan if China attacked, but Harris in an interview with “60 Minutes” stuck with the official U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity.” He said it was important to support Taiwan’s ability to defend itself.
Trump has sidestepped questions about whether the US would help Taiwan if China attacked. In an interview earlier this year, he said Taiwan should pay the US more to help with its defense.
Trump and the “enemy within”
The primary role of the U.S. military is to defend the country from external threats, but during the campaign, Trump suggested deploying the military against political enemies at home.
In October, Trump said in an interview that on Election Day, there would be threats from “insiders.”
“We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I was – and it should be very easily handled by – if necessary, by the National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they cannot let that happen,” said Trump told Fox News in mid-October.
Since Trump made the comments, John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general and Trump’s former chief of staff, has spoken out about interactions with Trump that raised concerns the former president, if re-elected, could rule like a dictator.
Kelly told The New York Times in October, “This issue of using the military on – to go after – the American people is one of the things that I think is a very bad thing – even speaking for the political purposes of voting – I think it’s very bad, let alone the actions .” He also told the Times that Trump fits the definition of a fascist.
Trump and his campaign have denied Kelly’s account.
In 2020, during the national protests related to the death of George Floyd, Trump threatened use of military force against the protesters. “If any city or state refuses to take necessary action to defend the lives and property of its citizens, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly resolve the issue,” Trump said. After the riots in Washington, DC, he said, “I am sending thousands and thousands of armed soldiers, military personnel and law enforcement officers to stop the riots, looting, vandalism, attacks and destruction of property.”
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, said that Trump wants to send 10,000 active military forces to confront the protesters in D.C. In May 2022, Esper told “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell that during a June 2020 meeting about the rioters, Trump said, “‘ Can’t you just shoot them? Just shoot them in the leg or something.'” Esper said Trump was “suggesting that what we should do, that we should bring in the troops and shoot the protesters.” (Trump called Esper’s claim a “complete lie.”)
Esper said in a statement after his meeting with Trump that he does not support the use of the Sedition Act, the use of active task forces in a law enforcement role. The day after the 2020 election, Trump fired him.
Harris condemned the use of the military at home
Harris condemned the idea of using military force inside.
He pointed to Trump’s comments about the US military dealing with the “enemy within” as one of the reasons he believes “a second Trump term will be a huge risk for America — and a dangerous one.”
The Biden administration, like the Trump administration and previous administrations of both parties, has deployed the National Guard and some active forces along the southern border to support Customs and Border Protection.
What are Donald Trump’s views on the military?
During his administration, Trump’s national defense strategy identified Russia and China as the biggest threats to US national defense.
But the strategy was written by Trump’s Defense Secretary and retired General James Mattis. Mattis joined the Trump administration in 2017 and was terminated before Trump’s presidency ended.
Trump told Fox News, “The enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia, and all those countries, because if you have a smart president, they can deal with it very easily.”
On the campaign trail, Trump has acknowledged the long-term goals of China and Russia while at the same time praising those countries’ authoritarian leaders.
At a rally in March, Trump called Chinese President Xi Jinping “smart” and said he was at the “top of his game.” He also called Russian President Vladimir Putin “smart,” and said the two men were “smart people standing there talking about the world order for the next 100 years.”
During his presidency, Trump looked like that side with Putin through the US intelligence community on the assessment that Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. “Dan Coats came to me, and a few others, they said they think it’s Russia,” said Trump in a 2018 news conference after meeting with Putin. “I have President Putin, he just said it is not Russia. I will say this, I don’t see why it will.” Later, he said already wrong to say.
What are Kamala Harris’ views on the military?
The national defense strategy of the Biden administration has not deviated from that of Trump. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin identified China as a “pacing challenge” — or a threat that the Defense Department must deal with in the long term — and Russia an “acute challenge,” or a threat that could cause problems in the near term.
Harris was vice president when the strategy was drafted, and Austin told reporters earlier this year that Harris was a “key player.”
“Having observed him provide input for some complex decision-making processes, he’s always prepared, he’s always provided useful and very useful input,” Austin said at a news conference in July. “The president is a major player in the process, but he is a key player,”
In an interview with “60 Minutes,” Harris was asked which country is America’s biggest enemy.
“I think one thing is clear, which is Iran,” he said.
Amid the conflict in the Middle East, the past few weeks have seen Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen – both proxies of Iran – launch a missilerockets and drones against Israel, and Iranian-backed militias fire on US troops stationed in Iraq and Syria. In response, the US has carried out airstrikes against Iranian weapons facilities in Syria. The US has also deployed two aircraft carrier strike group to the area.
