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The debate has moved to the topic of national security and the candidates are being asked about their stances on the United States’ relationship with China, Iran and North Korea.
Here’s a look at how the candidates compare on foreign policy issues:
A central argument of Joe Biden’s campaign for president is that the former vice president has extensive foreign policy experience from his eight years serving in the White House and from traveling the globe as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In June, Biden pledged to undo President Donald Trump’s foreign policy moves in a speech in which he laid out how he would seek to restore pre-Trump international norms and “place America back at the head of the table.”
The centerpiece of Biden’s effort to return to international cooperation is a summit that Biden said he would call among the world’s democracies, non-governmental organizations and corporations — particularly tech and social media companies — to seek a common agenda to protect their shared values.
Such a summit would push companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter — where Russian trolls reached American voters during the 2016 election — to combat challenges such as surveillance, censorship and the spread of hate speech.
While in the Senate, Biden voted to authorize the war in Iraq in 2002. Like other Democrats who voted yes, Biden has spent the years since apologizing for it as the conflict became increasingly unpopular with the American public and Democratic voters.
Trump has touted wins in the Middle East, with the recent signing of the “Abraham Accords” to normalize relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel and the subsequent normalization of relations between Bahrain and Israel. He campaigned on bringing troops back from overseas, but his decision to withdraw most troops from Syria drew wide condemnation – and the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis. He has said he wants troops home from Afghanistan by Christmas despite US officials saying any withdrawal would be “conditions-based.”
Trump’s “America First” foreign policy moves have seen the US abandon multilateral organizations and international agreements and at times alienate traditional allies.
The President has sought to undo the accomplishments of his predecessor, Barack Obama. In June 2017, Trump announced he would withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. That withdrawal will be complete on November 4 — the day after the election.
He pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 and has pursued a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran without the support of key European allies. During the Trump administration, Iran has reduced its commitments under the landmark agreement.
In June 2018, the administration quit the United Nations Human Rights Council, with then-US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley accusing the body of bias against US ally Israel and a failure to hold human rights abusers accountable.
Trump severed ties with the World Health Organization earlier this year as the pandemic raged on, accusing the international body of being beholden to China.
He has embraced adversaries of the US, meeting twice with Kim Jong Un and exchanging fond notes with the North Korean dictator. Neither summit has succeeded in restraining North Korea’s missile tests and working level talks have broken down.
He has failed to offer strong denunciations against Russia’s misdeeds, and following a meeting in Helsinki with Vladimir Putin in July 2018, Trump sided with the Russian leader and against his intelligence community on Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Trump has also advocated for allowing Russia back into the G7 – the international group of nations from which it was suspended in 2014 – despite its continued illegal annexation of Crimea.
