Former US President Donald Trump and US Vice President Kamala Harris appear on screen during a debate watch party at the Cameo Art House Theater in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA, on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris entered Tuesday’s debate in what was essentially a tie at a time when they were pursuing the same goals that would help them gain an edge in the race polls. Photographer: Alison Joyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Alison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images
In Tuesday night’s closely watched presidential debate, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Vice President Kamala Harris took on Russia, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine There have been many conflicts over issues such as this.
Harris told the former US president that Putin “would eat you for lunch” and said that if the Republican became president, “Putin would be sitting in Kiev right now.”
She also accused Trump of being prepared to abandon Ukraine after two and a half years of war and huge U.S. military funding.
“Understanding why European allies and our NATO allies are so grateful that you are no longer president, we understand the importance of NATO, the greatest military alliance in the world,” Harris said during the ABC News presidential debate. According to a transcript of the debate.
“We have done everything to preserve the ability of Zelensky and Ukrainians to fight for independence. Otherwise, Putin will be sitting in Kiev, looking to the rest of Europe. Starting with Poland,” she said, before describing Putin as ” A dictator who will eat you for lunch.
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Trump debated with Democratic presidential candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time during the presidential campaign at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 10, 2024.
Win McNamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Trump rejected Harris’ remarks, claiming that if he were in power in 2022, the war would not break out, telling the audience that Putin “would be sitting in Moscow and he would not lose 300,000 men and women in the war.”
The exact number of war casualties is unknown. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has released such sensitive information, but U.S. intelligence agencies estimated last year that about 315,000 Russian troops – the vast majority of them men – Killed or wounded in war Until then.
Trump has repeatedly suggested he could cut military funding to Ukraine and seek an immediate end to the conflict, a policy that officials in Kyiv fear would mean Ukraine would have to cede occupied territory to Russia as part of the deal.
On July 16, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a joint press conference after their summit in Helsinki, Finland.
Chris McGrath | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Trump was asked multiple times on Tuesday night whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war or whether a victory in Kiev would be in the best interests of the United States. He responded by saying he wanted the war to stop to save lives and said he would seek to negotiate a deal with Russia. He has previously said he would end the war within 24 hours if he became president, but has not said how he would do that.
On Tuesday, he again did not say how the deal would be reached or whether Ukraine would cede captured territory to Russia – a concession that Kyiv had previously refused to make.
“I think it’s in America’s best interest to end this war. OK. Negotiate a deal. Because we have to stop all these lives from being destroyed,” he told the ABC News presidential debate. According to the transcript.
“I want the war to stop. I want to save those useless lives…Millions of people were killed. That’s millions. It’s much worse than the numbers you get, which are all fake.” Trump Pugh said without providing evidence or further details.
Harris said she believed “Donald Trump is saying this war will be over in 24 hours because he’s going to give up. And that’s not who we are as Americans.”
Presidential nominees clash over Ukraine military funding, high-profile issue between Democrats and Republicans That led to months of deadlock over a $60 billion aid package for Ukraine, culminating in a deal in the spring.
To date, the United States has provided more than $55.7 billion in military aid to Ukraine, The U.S. State Department said in a statement last weekSince Russia launched what Washington described as a “premeditated, unprovoked and brutal full-scale invasion” of Ukraine in February 2022.
Harris said on Tuesday that military funding from the U.S. and Ukraine’s international allies would enable it to resist a Russian invasion “because of our support, because of the air defenses, the munitions, the artillery, the Javelins, the Abrams tanks that we have.” The premise is that Ukraine is an independent and free country.
People look at a U.S. M12A1 Abrams tank captured by Russian forces in Ukraine on display at the World War II Memorial on Poklonnaya Mountain west of Moscow on May 1, 2024.
Alexander Nemenov | AFP | Getty Images
Trump reiterated his oft-stated position on Tuesday that the United States should not pay more to support Ukraine than its European partners or pay more to the NATO alliance because Europe “is bigger than us.” “Beneficiaries”.
“They (Europe) should be forced to achieve equality. That being said, I want the war to be resolved. I know (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky very well and I know Putin very well. I have a relationship (with them). Very good),” Trump said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the debate between Trump and Harris as a spectacle.
Asked to comment on the debate, the official told Satellite Radio: “To be honest, I don’t know why you think this is big news.” According to Russian state news agency TASS.
“Is it big news that we can see yet another show performed by people who clearly take no responsibility for their words?” she asked rhetorically.
Ukraine has yet to comment publicly on the Harris-Trump debate and has been careful not to take sides ahead of the election so as not to alienate either political camp and a future president.
