Democrats are seeking to play up Vice President Kamala Harris’ work on foreign policy, an area where she lacks experience compared to former President Donald Trump.
Former President Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance visited North Carolina Wednesday for an address on national security, highlighting an area where he has substantially more experience — but has also courted more controversy — than his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The former president attracted criticism among former intelligence and national security officials for isolationist policies and for appearing to cozy up to leaders of foreign adversaries. Before this year’s primary elections, his former national security advisor called Trump’s style of governance a threat to national security.
Trump was also charged with endangering national security by taking classified military documents after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. The government’s case against Trump was dismissed last month by a Trump-appointed federal judge. The U.S. Department of Justice under Biden is seeking to reinstate the charges.
Most Republicans are expected to support Trump in November. But the visit to Asheboro comes as Democrats and former Republicans who oppose Trump seek to woo national security-minded unaffiliated voters and Republicans in a state with some of the nation’s biggest military installations.
Republican leaders have sought to boost Trump by knocking Biden. In remarks Wednesday, Vance questioned Harris’ handling of the southern border with Mexico. And he touted Trump’s handling of Russia and Vladimir Putin during Trump’s presidency.
Vance also said Trump will help ensure the U.S. isn’t economically reliant upon China, pointing to economic security as a national security issue.
And as Democrats are now seeking to play up the role Harris has played in Biden’s administration on issues including foreign policy — an arena in which the former U.S. senator and state attorney general from California has limited experience — Republicans are likewise seeking to tie her to their criticisms of Biden.
« If we don’t have safety for our families, if we don’t have security for our country, we don’t have anything,” Vance said Wednesday before Trump took the stage. “And I’m a firm believer that when we talk about national security, national security starts right here in the great state of North Carolina, and there’s been no greater area where Kamala Harris has failed to deliver peace than at the American Southern border.”
A top Biden administration official, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, told WRAL in advance of Trump’s Asheboro speech that he has watched Harris engage in foreign policy in her role as vice president. He said she’s done a good job helping rebuild relationships with world leaders who became more cautious of the U.S., following Trump’s presidency.
“I’ve sat at her side as she engaged leaders from around the world, and has done a lot already to restore the respect for the US that was badly undermined during the Trump years,” Buttigieg said. “And that’s going to be especially important in things like defending democracy against the aggression of Vladimir Putin.”
A Pew Research Center survey in 2023 found America’s image in foreign countries has substantially improved since Biden took over for Trump — and not just in Europe, but also Asia, Africa and South America.
