During the first presidential debate, US election candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump will discuss what their country's role should be on the world stage in the face of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the growing threat from China and tensions in the Middle East.
Points of attention
- During the debate, Biden and Trump will discuss the role of the United States in the world in the context of the Ukrainian conflict, the threat from China and tensions in the Middle East.
- Biden and Trump have different approaches to resolving the conflict, with Biden supporting Ukraine, while Trump avoids direct contact with Zelenskyi.
- The key topic of the debate will be the support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, which may have global consequences.
- Biden emphasized the need to contain Russia and support Ukraine, while Trump declared the ability to resolve the conflict without direct action.
- Analysts emphasize that Russia's victory in Ukraine under Trump could be a foreign policy failure for the United States.
What is known about the critical topics of the debate between Biden and Trump
Biden's approach is a combination of liberal internationalism and hard realism reminiscent of the Cold War. Trump's approach is a combination of isolationism and a unilateral approach reminiscent of the US before World War II, says Jeremi Suri, professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin.
He emphasized that Biden and Trump have fundamental differences in their views.
In particular, the issue of the criminal war launched by Russia against Ukraine will attract the most attention.
At present, many analysts, officials and politicians in the West fear that the Kremlin's aggression against Ukraine could escalate into a Third World War.
What is known about Biden's and Trump's views regarding Russia's war against Ukraine
The Biden administration promised to support Ukraine as long as needed, but starting in October 2023, this support has significantly decreased.
During the NATO summit in Washington, the American leader will try to strengthen the allies' commitment to support Ukraine and shift part of the responsibility for Kyiv's support to European partners.
In this way, he wants to protect Ukraine's support from a potentially hostile Congress or the future president in the person of Trump.
Trump has a more complex and contradictory attitude towards the criminal war launched by Russia against Ukraine.
In particular, he is not particularly fond of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and mostly avoids contact with him.
I will settle the issue with the war in Ukraine even before I enter the White House as the president-elect, Trump defiantly declares during all recent interviews.
According to analysts, it remains unclear how exactly he will do this.
Biden recently assured Zelenskyi that their new ten-year bilateral security agreement serves as "another reminder to Putin."
We are not backing down. Moreover, we stand together against this illegal aggression, — assured the current US president.
However, according to analysts, Biden is not the only one who can take such a challenging position.
We know that Trump considers himself a strong leader and does not want to be associated with a foreign policy failure. And the victory of Russia in Ukraine under President Trump will be very similar to a foreign policy failure, — emphasizes the former US ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst.
