Kamala Harris' Foreign Policy Positions
Some Indications That She is a Bit to Biden's Left
And like that, Vice President Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee. She is raising money like it falls out of coconut trees and sparking memes faster than a top-tier Instagram influencer.
Although I have some familiarity with our Vice President’s domestic policy positions from her previous run in office, I haven’t felt like I have a clear enough sense of her stances on foreign policy matters.
So I was delighted to discover that Tommy Vietor and Ben Rhodes of Pod Save the World set aside part of their podcast today to discuss where there is evidence that Harris might differ from Biden. They largely based their discussion around a Politico article to the same effect, if you prefer to read about it!
I’d say these statements sum up their assessment and they seem about right:
Tommy: “Generally speaking I think she's seen as less hawkish than Biden [and] more skeptical of US presence overseas.”
Ben: . . . “she shades progressive. She's not like Bernie or something, but you know she shades progressive in the ways in which she was willing to get involved in terms of Saudi Arabia or willing to take a values-based position when it came to China and Hong Kong—someone who clearly wants to bring democracy and issues of equity and justice into her portfolio.*
I am happy to see those values-based stances! That said, I am also aware it is often harder for Presidents to stick with those once they are in the hot seat. Either way, I suspect the VP’s views are generally pretty orthodox when it comes to alliances and models of deterrence or cooperation. And I’m cautiously optimistic that she will take a stronger position on human rights matters.
Regarding Gaza, I do think there have been some rhetorical indications of daylight between herself and Biden, but it is difficult to tell whether those are stylistic or substantive. That remains to be seen.
I’m also particularly interested to see where she, as a former prosecutor, stands on international law, including the Geneva Conventions, and the courts that are supposed to enforce them. For all our talk of the rules-based order, our foreign policy often promote lawlessness when it suits us. It would be a real departure for her to push back against that and an interesting but appropriate progressive twist from a career prosecutor.
*I edited out the “ums” and other similar asides for clarity.