The Israel-Hamas war is front and center in this year’s presidential election. As swing state voters threaten to withhold their votes from the Democrats, Tuesday’s presidential debate demanded both candidates — former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — clarify their positions on the war.
President Trump spent his four years in office providing support to hardline defense hawks including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In December 2017, President Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel, a move seen as a major victory for Zionist hardliners.
In his ongoing presidential campaign, Trump voiced staunch support for the Israeli war effort. In a recent statement he said of Harris’ campaign,”if they win, Israel is gone”.
Harris has remained vague on the issue, having taken only a handful of public actions.
Harris’ website merely states that she wants an end to the war that includes Palestinian self-determination, Israeli security and the return of the hostages.
During Netanyahu’s visit to the US this past July, the vice president joined half of congressional Democrats in boycotting his speech to Congress.
In March, Harris was the first official in the Biden Administration to call for a ceasefire.
She has also been quoted as saying that Israel needs to “do more to protect civilians.”
Unlike many other Democrats and almost all Republicans, Harris has not received significant campaign contributions from pro-Israel lobbyists.
At Tuesday’s debate, President Trump continued to push for an aggressive policy towards Hamas’ main backer: Iran.
He argued that sanctions lifted by Biden gave Iran the money it needed to fund Hamas’ attack on October 7th. He derided Harris as weak, declaring that “Israel will not exist within two years from now” if she wins the presidency. Trump has cemented himself as a zionist hard-liner.
During the debate, Harris attempted to walk a fine line between pleasing the younger progressive voters who have become increasingly anti-Israel, and drawing in her more moderate voters.
She began by acknowledging the carnage of October 7th, then went on to call for a two-state solution in her most substantive statement on the matter since becoming the Democratic nominee.
“We must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza, where the Palestinians have security, self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve,” she stated.
She added that she will “always give Israel the ability to defend itself, in particular as it pertains to Iran.”
Beyond clarifying that Harris will not support an arms embargo on Israel and providing vague support for a two-state solution, Harris, much like Trump, remained light on specifics.
Harris’ strategy suggests she sees the war as a wedge issue. She may be right. Pro-Palestine activists demonstrated their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration’s policy by leading a protest movement that received double digit support in the primary elections. But to win, Harris must also win the votes of more hawkish democrats.
After Tuesday’s debate, a few things are clear. Trump will support the Israeli war effort and Harris tacitly supports a two-state solution, largely in line with the Biden Administration’s stated policies, but sees the war as a political landmine.
