US Vice President Kamala Harris said that if it were up to former Republican President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin would already be in Kyiv, while the Republican accused Joe Biden’s administration of heading towards World War III.
During her turn in the debate to address the war in Ukraine, the vice president took the opportunity to clarify that “Putin’s agenda is not limited to Ukraine” and that if it were up to Trump, “Putin would be in Kyiv, starting with Poland and keeping an eye on the rest of Europe.”
Responding to questions about the war in Ukraine during her debate with Trump, Harris said, “If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be in Kyiv right now.”
All he said was, “I want the war to stop, I want to save people’s lives,” without mentioning that he thought Ukraine would prevail. According to Trump’s statement in response to Harris, if he were Putin, he would not put the lives of thousands of soldiers in danger by putting an end to the full-scale fighting that broke out in Ukraine during the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Republican has declared once more that he could mediate a peace deal in less than a day and that Putin would never dare attack Ukraine if he were president.
Trump stressed that he wanted the war to end and asserted that he knew the leaders of Russia and Ukraine “very well.” “I have a good relationship and they respect their president, OK?” asserted Trump. “They respect me.” The former president claims that the conflict is “waiting for a solution” and that he “will resolve it before I’m even president.”
Meanwhile, Harris stressed her role as a “diplomat” in the Biden administration, which pledged to strengthen NATO ties, which had deteriorated under Trump, and bolster Ukraine against Russian aggression by sending arms and adopting several sanctions against Russia. Trump then criticized President Biden, saying he had “no idea” how to halt a Russian invasion in Syria and that he didn’t deserve the respect of the leaders.