How Trump-Harris debate could impact US aid to Ukraine: Expert explains

“The fact that a large part of the international bloc was devoted to Ukraine, in fact, began with the topic of Ukraine, is also positive. Because at this level and at this stage, I mean in terms of time in the campaign, it is also good to talk about Ukraine so much,” Faraponov said.

In his opinion, the fact that Ukraine was mentioned during the debates indicates that narratives about American aid will resound publicly. Not only from presidential candidates but also from vice presidential candidates.

“This is actually very good. I think that perhaps this debate was supposed to have 2-3 questions less about Ukraine, but it's very good that we have heard the positions once again, including those on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war,” the expert says.

According to Faraponov, Trump and Harris' answers during the debate were nothing new for the audiences of both candidates. Trump remained faithful to the principles he stated to CNN in 2023. When asked whether he wanted Ukraine to win, Trump replied: “I don't think in terms of winning and losing... I want everybody to stop dying,” even without dividing them into Ukrainians and Russians.

“He remained true to this phrase. And in fact, this fits into his concept of agreements with Putin, the end of the war, etc. The only interesting thing he said that is absolutely untrue is that Kamala Harris was allegedly sent to negotiate with Zelenskyy and Putin on the eve of the full-scale invasion,” he said.

Faraponov recalled that Harris met with Zelenskyy at a security conference in Munich, but Russian leader Vladimir Putin was not present.

“I want to say that at that moment, Harris did not reflect much. She could have said more directly that this is not true. And these are the kind of theses that are designed for an audience that has little background information. That is, they do not know the details of whether Kamala Harris was actually sent by the Biden administration to negotiate with Putin and Zelenskyy or not, or whether it was Trump's fantasy. For Trump's audience, this phrase means that 'Harris was supposed to do something but didn't,' that 'she is allegedly somehow connected to the fact that Russia has launched a full-scale aggression against Ukraine.' Such phrases are very problematic at a level where there is no way to deny them,” the expert said.

Harris-Trump debate

On the night of September 11, the United States hosted a debate between presidential candidates, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris. According to social polls, Kamala Harris won the debate.

The candidates mainly discussed domestic issues, but a notable amount of time was devoted to Ukraine in the international bloc. Trump did not answer the question about ending the war in Ukraine. Harris said that Trump was playing along with Putin. For more information about the debate, follow the link.