Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters

Short Url
Updated 16 min ago
Follow

Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters

Why the Trump-Harris debate is not likely to sway undecided Arab American voters
  • Experts say neither candidate succeeded in convincing the non-monolithic community to lend them their support in November
  • Commentators feel both the Republican and Democrat relied on fear-mongering rather than in-depth policy discussions

CHICAGO: While the US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday night demonstrated sharp contrasts on major issues, experts suggest it may have done little to sway undecided voters, including those in the Arab American community.

“I don’t think this debate is going to tell us a lot about the results of the election,” Amal Mudallali, the former Lebanese ambassador to the UN, told “The Ray Hanania Show” on Wednesday.

“Neither side succeeded in bringing Arab Americans in or convincing them that he’s the one or she’s the one that will be better for them as president and will take their interests into account.”

Also speaking on Wednesday’s show, Joseph Haboush, Washington correspondent at Al Arabiya English, even called the debate “a bit bland overall.”

He said: “I’m not sure that there are any undecided voters that would change their minds based on last night’s performance.”

The debate, which was held less than two months before election day on Nov. 5, marked the first direct confrontation between the Democratic vice president and the former Republican president.

For Harris, the debate represented an opportunity to solidify her leadership after replacing President Joe Biden on the Democratic ticket after his poor debate performance in June forced him to step aside.




Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with her Republican rival Donald Trump during the presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 10, 2024. (AFP)

Trump, on the other hand, saw the debate as an opportunity to link Harris to the perceived failures of the Biden administration, particularly around democracy, immigration, and the economy.

“I was a bit surprised that they didn’t delve into more policy-related issues in more detail, on what either side would want to do,” said Haboush.

“It was more, I would say, fear-mongering; both sides accusing the other of trying to portray the other as a threat to any future of the US, be it democracy or on other issues that they were both accusing one another of.

“There wasn’t much more that was said or given to the audience that they didn’t already know.”

However, foreign policy issues, such as Ukraine, Gaza, China, and Afghanistan, were mentioned in the debate.




Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block roads as they rally in front of Philadelphia City Hall in Pennsylvania on Sept. 10, 2024, ahead of the Harris-Trump debate. (AFP)

On Ukraine, Trump criticized Biden’s handling of the war and promised to end the conflict, claiming that it would not have occurred had he been president.

Pledging to “settle” the conflict even before taking office, Trump said: “What I’ll do is I’ll speak to one and I’ll speak to the other. I’ll get them together.”

He added: “I know (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky very well, and I know (Russian President Vladimir) Putin very well. They respect me. They don’t respect Biden.”

Harris attacked Trump’s perceived coziness with Putin, stating that the Russian leader would “eat you for lunch,” and accused him of undermining American support for Ukraine — a key concern given Trump’s ambiguous stance on the conflict.




Kamala Harris slams Donald Trump for being in league with the world's dictators. (AFP)

She defended the Biden administration’s support for Kyiv, highlighting US military aid as essential to Ukraine’s continued independence.

“Because of our support, because of the air defense, the ammunition, the artillery, the Javelins, the Abrams tanks that we have provided, Ukraine stands as an independent and free country,” she said.

However, Harris did not propose new strategies for future US involvement.

Trump hit back, accusing Harris of being weak on foreign policy and of hating Israel and Arabs. He offered no specific solutions for the Israel-Hamas conflict, however, instead claiming the war in Gaza would not have happened under his leadership.




Donald Trump said the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war in Gaza would not have happened if he were the president. (AFP)

He said: “She hates Israel. She wouldn’t even meet with (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech.” While Harris did skip the speech, she did meet Netanyahu the following day.

“If she’s president, I believe that Israel would not exist within two years from now,” Trump added, going on to say Harris also hates Arabs, claiming that “the whole place (the Middle East) is going to get blown up.”

He added: “Look at what’s happening with the Houthis and Yemen. Look at what’s happening in the Middle East. This would have never happened. I will get that settled, and fast, and I will get the war with Ukraine and Russia ended.

“If I’m president-elect, I’ll get it done before even becoming president.”




People gather outside of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, California, to watch the Harris-Trump debate. (San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Harris, meanwhile, affirmed her support for Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and its proxies, while acknowledging the heavy civilian toll on Palestinians in Gaza, where 11 months of fighting have left some 42,000 people dead, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

“Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed,” she said.

She reiterated her support for the two-state solution and emphasized the importance of both Israeli security and Palestinian self-determination. Gaza, however, may not be a deciding issue in the election, even among Arab Americans.




Hours after the Harris-Trump debate in which the Gaza war was discussed, an Israeli air strike hit a school in Nuseirat, Central Gaza, ckilling at least 34 people. (AFP)

“I don’t think Arab American voters are a monolith. It’s not all of them voting on one single issue,” Joyce Karam, a senior news editor at Al-Monitor, told Wednesday’s program.

“I have Arab American friends who have prioritized the war in Gaza and some of them are going for a third party candidate.”

She added: “I think it would not be fair to the community to just say this is a ‘one vote’ or ‘one priority’ kind of drive.”
In relation to China, the candidates sparred over tariffs and trade. Trump promised sweeping tariff increases on Chinese goods, while Harris criticized these measures, citing concerns over inflation and economic instability.

Afghanistan also featured briefly in the debate, with Harris standing by Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops in August 2021, while Trump criticized the manner in which the withdrawal was executed.

Both candidates blamed each other for the chaotic aftermath and the Taliban’s return to power.




Kamala Harris’ calm demeanor was in stark contrast to Trump’s frequent interruptions and emotional outbursts. (AP)

One of the standout features of the debate was the contrast in the candidates’ delivery. Harris’ calm demeanor was in stark contrast to Trump’s frequent interruptions and emotional outbursts, which included raising his voice and launching personal attacks.

Harris’ ability to maintain her composure in the face of Trump’s barrage of insults seemed to play well with viewers. A CNN snap poll conducted after the debate found that 63 percent of respondents believed Harris had won, compared to 37 percent who favored Trump.

Online prediction market PredictIt’s 2024 presidential general election market showed Trump’s likelihood of victory declining during the debate, while Harris’ odds rose to 55 percent from 53 percent.

The debate may prove to be a pivotal moment for both campaigns. In the immediate aftermath, Harris’ campaign capitalized on her performance by calling for a second debate, challenging Trump to meet her again in October.




Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the spin room after the debate. (AP)

Trump, however, appeared reluctant to commit, claiming he had already won the debate and dismissing the idea of a rematch. But his appearance in the debate “spin room” afterwards suggested that even he recognized it had not gone as planned.

Perhaps the most poignant takeaway from the debate was the reminder that, as important as US foreign policy decisions are for the rest of the world, it is domestic issues that swing elections.

“We really don’t know what could happen. There could be many surprises to come,” said Karam. “It’s also very important to remind our audience in the Middle East that while the Gaza war is important, it’s not going to be the deciding factor for many voters.”

“This debate was not a debate that focused on the substance of the issues, it was much more stylistic and about who came off as presidential,” Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute Firas Maksad told Arab News.

Summing up, Firas Maksad, senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Institute, told Arab News: “This debate was not a debate that focused on the substance of the issues. It was much more stylistic and about who came off as presidential.”




Left to right, Arab media practitioners Amal Mudallali, Joseph Haboush and Joyce Karam.

 


India foreign minister lands in arch-rival Pakistan for rare visit

India foreign minister lands in arch-rival Pakistan for rare visit
Updated 3 sec ago
Follow

India foreign minister lands in arch-rival Pakistan for rare visit

India foreign minister lands in arch-rival Pakistan for rare visit
  • Jaishankar’s plane lands just before 3:30 p.m. at an air base near the capital Islamabad
  • Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are bitter adversaries with longstanding political tensions

ISLAMABAD: Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, the first top Delhi diplomat to visit their arch-rival neighbor in nearly a decade.

Jaishankar’s plane landed just before 3:30 p.m. (1030 GMT) at an air base near the capital Islamabad, a foreign office official said, as state TV showed him receiving a bouquet of flowers from a host delegation that did not include any senior ministers.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan are bitter adversaries with longstanding political tensions, having fought three wars and numerous smaller skirmishes since they were carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947.

Relations have been particularly sour since 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revoked the limited autonomy of Indian-administered Kashmir.

The Himalayan region is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in full, with each accusing the other of stoking militancy there.

Modi’s 2019 move was celebrated across India but led Pakistan to suspend bilateral trade and downgrade diplomatic ties with New Delhi.

Indian government spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said this month the agenda of Jaishankar’s visit would strictly follow the SCO schedule, which is due to discuss trade, humanitarian and social issues.

“The Indian foreign minister has not requested a bilateral meeting, nor have we extended an invitation to them,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday.

Islamabad is keen to project an image of stability and security during the conference after a rash of civic unrest in the capital and militant attacks elsewhere across Pakistan in recent weeks.

Former Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj was the last to visit Pakistan in 2015, arriving for a summit on Afghanistan.

Modi also made a surprise visit to Pakistan that year, shortly after taking office for his first term, sparking short-lived hopes of a thaw in relations.

The SCO is a block of 10 nations established by China and Russia, which have used the alliance to deepen their ties with Central Asian states and vie for influence in the region.

However, they have recently pitched the organization as a competitor to the West.

The bloc claims to represent 40 percent of the world’s population and about 30 percent of its GDP, but its members have diverse political systems and even open disagreements with one another.

Pakistan’s former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was in Goa last year — also a rare visit — for an SCO meeting where he and Jaishankar were involved in a verbal spat.

It was the first official visit by a senior Pakistani official to their eastern neighbor since 2016, but the two foreign ministers did not hold a one-on-one meeting.


Russian man survives two months adrift on dinghy

Russian man survives two months adrift on dinghy
Updated 29 min 1 sec ago
Follow

Russian man survives two months adrift on dinghy

Russian man survives two months adrift on dinghy
  • The dinghy was found in the Sea of Okhotsk, around 1,000 kilometers from its starting point
  • Russian rescuers had mounted a search using helicopters and a plane for the men a few days after they disappeared

MOSCOW: A Russian man was found alive after drifting for two months on an inflatable boat while another man and a teenage boy died, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The two men and a 15-year-old set off to the Island of Sakhalin from the far eastern Khabarovsk region on August 9, transport prosecutors said.
“After a time, communication with them was lost, their boat’s location remained unknown,” they said.
“On October 14 around 10:00 pm, the boat was discovered as it passed a fishing boat... Two people died, one remained alive, he is receiving medical help,” prosecutors said.
The dinghy was found in the Sea of Okhotsk, around 1,000 kilometers from its starting point.
Prosecutors published a video showing the bearded survivor in a life jacket shouting at the fishermen: “I don’t have much strength” but managing to catch a rope.
The survivor was named by RIA Novosti news agency as Mikhail Pichugin, while his brother Sergei, 49, and nephew Ilya, 15, died. Their bodies were on the boat.
Russian rescuers had mounted a search using helicopters and a plane for the men a few days after they disappeared, suspecting the boat had been carried by currents toward Kamchatka.
Alexei Arykov, the owner of the fishing boat that found the survivor said he was “in a serious condition, thin, but conscious,” RIA Novosti reported.
The boat docked around 0830 GMT in the far eastern city of Magadan and the survivor was carried off on a stretcher, the news agency reported.
The survivor’s wife Yekaterina told RIA Novosti: “It’s a kind of miracle,” adding that the men had taken enough food and water to last only two weeks.
She said her husband’s weight could have helped save him, as “he weighed around 100 kilograms” (220 pounds). Russian television reported he lost 50 kilograms.
The brothers were from Ulan-Ude in Siberia but Mikhail Pichugin was working on Sakhalin as a driver.
He had invited his brother and nephew to visit and they planned a sea trip to see whales, Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid reported, citing relatives.
An expert questioned by RIA Novosti recalled that in 1960, four Soviet soldiers survived 49 days adrift on a small boat in the Pacific Ocean that was found by the US aircraft carrier Keersarge.


Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon

Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon
Updated 15 October 2024
Follow

Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon

Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon
  • There are over 1,000 Italian troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanded security guarantees on Tuesday for all her country’s troops deployed in Lebanon, where UN peacekeepers have come under fire during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Italy has troops deployed in the UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL and in a separate mission known as MIBIL which trains local armed forces. There are over 1,000 Italian troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The UN Security Council expressed concern on Monday after several UN peacekeeping positions came under fire in southern Lebanon and urged all parties — without naming them — to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises.
“We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified,” Meloni said, describing it as a “blatant violation” a UN resolution on ending hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
In an address to Italy’s Senate, she said Israel’s actions were not acceptable and that she had expressed this position to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asked whether she was considering a trip to Lebanon, Meloni told reporters: “Yes.”
Netanyahu has denied Israeli troops deliberately targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon and wants the peacekeepers withdrawn from combat zones.
Italy has protested to Israel and joined allies in condemning the attacks on the peacekeepers.
Meloni said Hezbollah had also violated the UN resolution and sought “to militarise the area under UNIFIL’s jurisdiction,” adding that Italy wanted to strengthen the capabilities of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
She also said Rome had not forgotten the attack by Hamas militants on Israeli communities on Oct. 7 last year that sparked the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and that Italy’s thoughts were with the more than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.


Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation

Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation
Updated 15 October 2024
Follow

Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation

Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation
  • Ministry of Defense review overturns position of previous British government
  • Many operatives and their families were forced into hiding after Western withdrawal

LONDON: Hundreds of former members of Afghanistan’s special forces and their families will be resettled in the UK after ministers overturned a decision by the previous government, The Independent reported.

Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard on Monday said 2,000 applicants for relocation, previously rejected by the UK, will have their paperwork reviewed once more following a Ministry of Defense review.

Many of the former special forces operatives and their families were placed at great risk of Taliban reprisal following the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan, with many forced into hiding.

About 25 percent of the 2,000 applications are expected to be overturned amid the release of new evidence demonstrating direct payments from the UK government to Afghan special forces units.

Pollard told the House of Commons: “Officials have now confirmed that there’s evidence of payments from the UK government to members of Afghan specialist units … and for some individuals this demonstrates a direct employment relationship.

“This is evidence that goes beyond previously identified top-up payments and reimbursements for operational expenses, which don’t demonstrate such an employment relationship in themselves.

“This is, of course, contrary to the position reported to Parliament by the previous government that no such evidence of direct employment existed.”

Pollard said the previous government’s position was not a “conscious effort to mislead,” but was part of a “failure to access and share the right digital records … across departmental lines.”

Some former Afghan soldiers who demonstrated ties to the UK in the wake of the Taliban takeover have been housed for years in military bases across Britain. Ministers have said they will soon be moved to appropriate accommodation.


Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts

Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts
Updated 15 October 2024
Follow

Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts

Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts
  • The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s incoming president Prabowo Subianto met candidates for senior government posts for a second day on Tuesday, as he seeks to bring the country’s biggest political party into his already dominant parliamentary coalition.
If Prabowo can reach a deal with Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) there would be no opposition parties in parliament, an unprecedented situation since Indonesia began holding direct presidential elections in 2004.
Prabowo, who will be sworn in as president on Oct. 20, summoned over 40 people on Monday who said they had been asked to join the next government, including current finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
On Tuesday, Prabowo summoned dozens of potential deputy ministers, his top aide Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said.
While no lawmakers from the PDI-P had arrived at his house by early afternoon, Prabowo’s party officials have said that he plans to meet PDI-P chief Megawati Sukarnoputri to discuss a possible political alliance.
The timing of a meeting is unclear.
The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda, but it would likely heighten fears about a lack of meaningful checks on Prabowo’s power in a country with a history of authoritarian rule.
Seven of the eight parties in parliament have already joined Prabowo’s coalition, securing him a parliamentary majority.
PDI-P, which won the most seats in the February election, had nominated Prabowo’s predecessor, President Joko Widodo, for president in 2014. But the relationship soured over Widodo’s tacit support for the president-elect during his campaign run.
Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the incoming vice president.
In his second five-year term, Widodo was also supported by most parties in parliament, with only two opposing parties.
Widodo leaves office facing criticism he has tried to change laws to benefit his family, and co-opt state bodies to control his opponents. He denies any impropriety, and has said democracy was thriving and he respects the country’s institutions.
Analysts say they fear what they see as that democratic backsliding may continue under Prabowo, a member of the old elite that previously ruled Indonesia. Prabowo is an ex-special forces commander who was dismissed from the military amid speculation of human rights abuses, assertions he has denied.
In March, Prabowo described democracy as tiring, costly and messy, and said there was room for improvement.