The outcome of the presidential elections in November is likely to have enormous implications for Europe’s security and economy.
ADVERTISINGAs U.S. presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off in a televised debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday, many people across Europe watched the debate in the hope of finding out what impact November’s election might have on the continent and the world as a whole.
Although both candidates predictably focused on domestic issues such as the economy, gun laws and abortion, both Harris and Trump touched on several issues that could prove crucial for the future of Europe.
Here are the six most important talking points for Europeans from the first – and probably only – debate between the two candidates.
Trump mentions Orbán as an ally
When Vice President Harris claimed that some world leaders did not value Trump as highly as he did, the former US president argued that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán would support his government.
“Let me just say something about the world leaders: Viktor Orbán is one of the most respected men in the world. They call him a strong man. He’s a tough guy. The smart prime minister of Hungary,” Trump said.
“They said, ‘Why is the whole world exploding? … ‘Because you need Trump back as president. They were afraid of him. China was afraid. And I hate to use the word ‘afraid,’ but I’m just quoting him,” Trump continued.
“‘China was afraid of him. North Korea was afraid of him.’ By the way, look at what’s going on with North Korea. He said, ‘Russia was afraid of him,'” he added, presumably quoting Orbán.
“The most respected and most feared person is Donald Trump. We had no problems when Trump was president,” Trump said.
Harris responded that it was common knowledge that Trump “admires dictators” and “wants to be a dictator from day one.”
“It is known that he said about (Russian President Vladimir) Putin that he could do whatever he wanted and invade Ukraine,” she said.
“Putin would eat you for lunch,” Harris tells Trump
When asked whether he supported Ukraine in Russia’s war of aggression against its neighbour, Trump avoided a clear answer and said he wanted to “end the war” instead.
Although Trump said it was a war “that’s dying to be settled… I’m going to settle it before I even become president,” he offered no details about how he plans to accomplish that. “I’m going to talk to one and I’m going to talk to the other,” he said. “I’m going to bring them together.”
Trump reiterated that a large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he had been in office in early 2022, adding that Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would have respected him more than Biden.
“I know Zelensky very well, and I know Putin very well,” he said. “They respect me. They don’t respect Biden.”
However, Trump reiterated that the Biden administration has spent more on military aid to Ukraine than Europe, even though the numbers show otherwise.
ADVERTISINGHarris countered, saying that if Trump had actually been president during Moscow’s major attack, “Putin would be sitting in Kiev with his eyes on the rest of Europe,” with Poland next in his crosshairs.
“Why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up a favor and what you thought was a friendship with a man you know is a dictator who would eat you for lunch,” she said.
“Ukraine is an independent and free country because of our support, the air defenses, the munitions, the artillery, the Javelins and the Abrams tanks that we have provided,” Harris stressed, without explaining how she intends to continue to support Kyiv after she takes office.
Trump accuses Harris of “hating” everyone in the Middle East
The Republican US presidential candidate was also at a loss as to how to negotiate a peace deal between Israel and Hamas or what to do to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
ADVERTISINGHowever, he repeated the same claim that war between Israel and Hamas would never have happened if he had been president, and then went on to make the baseless claim that Harris hates both Israel and the rest of the region.
“She hates Israel. She didn’t even want to meet with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu when he went to Congress to give a very important speech,” he said.
“Oh, come on,” Harris said in response to Trump’s claims. A day later, she met with Netanyahu.
“If she’s president, I believe Israel will cease to exist in two years, and I’m pretty good at predictions,” Trump said, adding that Harris also hates the Arab population. “The whole country will be blown up,” he added.
ADVERTISING“Look at what’s happening with the Houthis and in Yemen. Look at what’s happening in the Middle East. That would never have happened. I’m going to fix this, and I’m going to fix it quickly, and I’m going to end the war with Ukraine and Russia,” he said. “If I’m president-elect, I’m going to get this done before I even become president.”
In return, Harris said that as president she would “always give Israel the opportunity to defend itself,” especially against Iran and its proxies. However, “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed” in the war, which is now almost in its second year.
She also said she supports a two-state solution and the Palestinians’ need for self-determination.
The EU and its foreign policy chief Josep Borrell are increasingly criticising Israel for the way the country is conducting its campaign in the Gaza Strip.
ADVERTISINGHigher taxes for products “Made in China”?
As expected, Harris and Trump argued over Washington’s policy toward Beijing – namely, the former president’s idea of imposing tariffs of between 10 and 20 percent on all imports from China.
“My opponent has a plan that I call the ‘Trump sales tax.’ It would be a 20 percent tax on everyday items that you need to survive for the month,” she said.
Trump said his proposal to impose additional tariffs of between 60 and 100 percent was a way to get Beijing and others to “pay us back for everything we’ve done for the world, and the tariffs will be significant.”
He also questioned Harris on her stance that she would not eliminate the tariffs that Trump first imposed during his 2017-2021 term.
ADVERTISING“If they don’t like them, they should have gone and cut the tariffs immediately,” he said. “They never lifted the tariffs because it was so much money. They can’t do that, it would destroy everything they set out to do.”
In response, Harris accused Trump of not being nearly as tough on China as he believes, saying he “provoked trade wars” and ran a budget deficit during his time in office, inadvertently helping Beijing achieve its own goals.
“During his presidency, Donald Trump sold American chips to China to help the country improve and modernize its military,” she said.
“Trump has essentially betrayed us, when policy toward China should be about ensuring that the United States of America wins the competition of the 21st century,” Harris said.
ADVERTISINGIn May, the Biden administration increased tariffs on around 16 billion euros worth of Chinese goods, including semiconductors and electric vehicles – a key measure by Brussels, which also imposed additional tariffs on electric vehicles made in China to protect the internal market.
Trump accuses immigrants of “eating the dogs”
Throughout his campaign, Trump has raised the issue of illegal immigration, criticizing the rising number of illegal border crossings and the arrival of thousands of homeless people in Democratic-run cities.
He accused the Democrats of facilitating a large number of illegal border crossings. However, this number has declined in recent months, partly due to new asylum restrictions imposed by the Biden administration.
But as he often does at his rallies and on his social media accounts, Trump spouted a series of falsehoods and unsubstantiated claims about migrants.
ADVERTISINGOne of those claims was a debunked rumor that Trump and his allies had spread online in recent days that claimed Haitian immigrants were hunting and eating pets in an Ohio town.
“They eat the dogs, they eat the cats, they eat the pets of the people who live there. It’s a disgrace,” he said.
Officials in Springfield, Ohio, say they have no evidence of this.
Immigration is one of the hottest topics in Europe. The situation was further exacerbated by Germany’s decision to temporarily reinstate land border controls on Tuesday to curb illegal immigration, a move its neighbors believe violates the principles of the EU and the Schengen area.
ADVERTISINGHarris: Trump uses race to divide people
Trump has at times resorted to racial and gender stereotypes, falsely claiming that Harris, who attended a traditionally black university, had concealed her race throughout her career.
“I read that she’s not black,” Trump said when asked about comments questioning Harris’ race, adding a minute later, “And then I read that she’s black.” He seemed to imply that her race was a choice, saying twice, “That’s her business.”
Harris did not remain silent, saying, “I think it’s a tragedy that we have someone who wants to be president when he has, over and over again, tried to divide the American people over the issue of race.”
Harris, on the other hand, used the video to recount a long list of Trump’s racism scandals: his settlement for discriminating against prospective black tenants in his New York City apartment buildings in the 1970s; his ad calling for the execution of black and Latino teenagers wrongfully arrested in the 1980s in the attack on a jogger in Central Park; and his false claims that former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
ADVERTISING“I think the American people want better than this, want better than this,” Harris said.
Europe has seen a rise in populism and far-right rhetoric in recent years, and the European elections in June clearly showed the growing support in many parts of the continent.
