If one of the goals of Donald Trump during the debate on Tuesday was to show that Kamala Harris will be a weak leader, then he failed in that, writes the portal "Politico" and adds that the current vice president did well even when they discussed topics that are inconvenient for a Joe Biden administration official. She deftly navigated topics such as the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and the politically sensitive war between Israel and Hamas. Harris has also consistently emphasized the need for a two-state solution in the Middle East, showing her support for the Palestinians while insisting that she will defend Israel. "Politico" points out that foreign officials who followed the face-off in Philadelphia did not expect - and did not receive - much concrete information about politics from either candidate. But many of them said they wanted to see if Harris could stand up to a man who has a reputation for being rough, especially with women, and who knows how to shake up his political opponents.
Before the confrontation, some of Trump's critics claimed that he is actually a kind of representative of the autocrats that Harris could meet as a future president - such as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. After the debate ended, several foreign officials from allied and neutral countries told Politico that they now had more confidence that Harris could handle the awkward personalities she would encounter in the most powerful office in the world.
"Calm, authoritative, with a presidential attitude," one European diplomat said enthusiastically.
"She even managed to make him laugh," marveled one high-ranking European official.
Her ability to deal with Trump provided the belief that she is good at dealing with difficult personal relationships, which, as the portal points out, is very important considering that international relations often depend on the nature of personal relationships. Since becoming the Democratic candidate, Harris has been an unknown for many foreign officials, even compared to President Biden or Trump. They're not really sure where Biden's views on foreign policy end and hers begin.
By the end of the debate, foreign officials with whom "Politiko" spoke, who wished to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the topic, seemed more confident that Harisova was independent in her views, although they emphasized that they still wanted to know more about her political ideas. .
The main foreign policy topics during the debate were the wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Afghanistan, including the suffering and chaos that followed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Trump and Harris called each other "weak" in almost every one of these fields.
However, Trump once again indulged in exaggeration in his claims. He claimed that Israel would cease to exist within two years if Harris became president, and said that he would resolve the war between Russia and Ukraine almost immediately. He also tried to tie border security and immigration, traditionally considered domestic issues, to criticism of Harris' foreign policy.
The Republican did not directly answer the question of whether he wants Ukraine to win the war with Russia. "I want an end to the war," he said in an answer that will only encourage additional claims that he is too friendly to Russia, and especially to Putin.
Between sharp glances directed at Trump, Harris seemed well-prepared for the moderator's questions and the former president's venomous arrows. The US withdrawal from Afghanistan was one of the lowest points of Biden's tenure. Harris strongly supported the broader decision to withdraw, but used the opportunity to blame Trump for negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban that was doomed to failure.
On the topic of Israel and the Palestinians, Harris began her presentation by pointing out that the Palestinian militants Hamas started the war and insisted that she would always help Israel defend itself. She has not indicated that she would suspend military aid to Israel.
However, the Democratic candidate also called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war and used a phrase that many in the upper echelons of the Biden administration no longer use: "a two-state solution." It's a promise of sorts to American Muslims, Arab Americans and other voters angry about Biden's handling of the war that Harris believes the Palestinians should have their own land.
Trump has on several occasions lashed out at Biden, his former opponent in the race for the White House, calling him a "weak pathetic man. He even said that Biden "hates" his vice president because she replaced him as the Democratic presidential candidate.
"You are not running against Joe Biden. You are running against me," Harisova said at one point.
Some officials were impressed with how Harris managed to provoke Trump. When asked about Biden's handling of the border between the US and Mexico, Harris moved on to the topic of Trump's campaign rallies.
"I'm going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump's rallies, because it's really interesting to watch," Harris said. “You'll see during his rallies that he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about how wind turbines cause cancer. And what you'll also notice is that people start leaving his meetings early due to exhaustion and boredom. And I'll tell you something else, what you won't hear is that he's talking about you."
This was an obvious attempt by Harris to provoke Trump into discussing attendance at his rallies instead of discussing immigration policy - and it worked, the British "Guardian" points out. Trump began attacking her with baseless accusations that her campaign was paying people to attend her rallies, while celebrating his events as "the most incredible rallies in the history of politics."
Then, instead of highlighting his proposals on immigration, a topic on which he is strongest, Trump made debunked claims that migrants in an Ohio town had started catching and eating their neighbors' pets. That outburst immediately became a source of ridicule on social networks.
"It's unbelievable how Trump fell for her provocations every time," said a high-ranking European official for "Politico".
However, difficult world leaders are not all the same, and certainly not all are like Trump. Harisova's harsh criticism or provocative comment might not shake Putin. "I think people think that Putin is a colder and more intimidating opponent," one Latin American official told Politico.
The portal points out that Kamala Harris' performance at one point reminded of the 2008 debate between John McCain and Barack Obama. McCain, of course, had a long history of standing up to tyrants; he spent years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. But the younger, less experienced Obama tried to show that he's not one to back down either - especially when it comes to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. When Obama said during the debate that night, "We're going to kill Bin Laden, we're going to destroy Al Qaeda," it was suddenly easy to imagine him giving orders in the Crisis Room.
For many in the world, Harisova showed on Tuesday that she has the same potential, Politiko concludes.
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