FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 22, 2020
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Tonight, President Trump and Vice President Biden, who will debate for the last time before Election Day, are set to face questions on national security. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement:
“Nearly four years into Donald Trump’s presidency and nearly two into Joe Biden’s campaign for the job, we know oddly little about how their foreign policies will differ. If substance can seep through the rancor tonight, there’s plenty we can still learn.
“For example, both candidates say they’ll end U.S. wars. This rhetoric is welcome, but will it translate into reality? Trump hasn’t managed to end any wars, though he has made slow progress on Afghanistan. Biden says he’ll end wars while leaving counterterrorism forces there, which seems contradictory.
“We hear constant debate about China’s various sins, real and imagined, against global health and stability but little about what either candidate would do to alter the U.S. defense posture in East Asia.
“Biden criticizes Trump’s handling of allies, but there’s been little detail about what he would do differently. After all, Trump hasn’t actually jettisoned any alliance that Biden can thus restore.
“Then there is the $750 billion question of the defense budget. Might either candidate consider restraining our overly ambitious foreign policy to trim it, address our $27 trillion national debt, and focus on responding to the pandemic? Do we need to spend so much to be safe?
“These are just some of the questions Americans should have answered to inform their decisions and hold the winner accountable.”
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