What’s at Stake in Harris vs. Trump 2024: Abortion, Ukraine Aid, Migrants, and Climate

Abortion Rights

The November election, the first presidential battle since the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade two years ago and allowed 22 states to restrict access to the procedure, may be influenced by a number of issues, including abortion. Trump and presidential candidate Kamala Harris discussed their positions on abortion, what they think will be the case with access to abortion if they are elected in 2024.

Harris is an ardent critic of efforts to limit abortions in general and a nationwide ban in particular. She has urged Congress to pass a national law codifying abortion rights, and she has attacked Trump for the Supreme Court’s decision not to affirm Roe v. Wade, which “produced a horrific, heartbreaking reality.” Reproductive health has been a key plank of her 2024 presidential campaign and vice presidency.

In September, she declared her support for restoring Roe v. Wade as the law of the country by reversing the filibuster, a procedural obstacle that requires 60 Senate votes.

“I pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” Harris said during the September presidential debate.

In the same debate Trump said, “As far as the abortion ban, no, I’m not in favour of (an) abortion ban. But it doesn’t matter because this issue has now been taken over by the states.”

Trump hasn’t always taken a straight or consistent stand on abortion. He approached groups that saw him as one way to completely abolish abortion, while earlier this year he warned Republicans that they should avoid talking about the issue in order to win elections. April, Trump sparked controversy among conservative Republicans and a number of anti-abortion groups when he declared he did not want Congress to act on a national bill. Previously, Trump had stated that he would be in favour of a 16-week nationwide ban. In his declaration in April, he reaffirmed his support for exceptions to state laws prohibiting abortion in situations involving rape, incest, or the pregnant women’s life.

He has also changed his mind on abortion policy a lot over the years. His most recent stance is that states should decide abortion policy, and his vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, has stated that he would oppose a nationwide abortion ban. However, Trump denied ever speaking with Vance about the matter and has not made it clear if he would oppose a nationwide ban. He pledged that his administration would be “great for women and their reproductive rights” and advocated for IVF treatment to be covered by the government or private insurance.

Ukraine Aid

If Trump wins the election, he has promised to put an end to the war before he enters office in January. He hasn’t provided many specifics on how he would do this, but he did say that his good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin would be beneficial.

Often labeling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “one of the biggest salesmen” in securing billions of dollars of security aid from Washington, Trump has periodically been witheringly critical of Ukraine. In one interview to PBD Podcast, according to reports, it was to Zelensky that Trump said, “He should never have let that war start. That war’s a loser.” 

When Trump travelled to the United States in September, Zelensky met with him. Prior to the meeting, Trump told reporters that while he was honoured to meet with the Ukrainian president, he also stated that he and Putin have a “very good relationship” and that “it takes two to tango” when it comes to peace discussions.

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Harris has strongly held President Biden’s stance, which has been to strongly protect Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Prior to her discussion with Zelensky in September, Harris stated, “my support for the people of Ukraine is unwavering. I have been proud to stand with Ukraine. I will continue to stand with Ukraine. And I will work to ensure Ukraine prevails in this war.”

In a September debate, Harris informed Trump that the Russian leader would “eat you for lunch” and warned that if Putin wins in Ukraine, he will invade more European countries. Harris stated earlier this month in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that she would not meet with Putin to discuss a war ending without Ukraine.

At the September debate with Trump, Harris declared, “If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now,” promising to keep up the defence of Ukraine.

Migration

With voters identifying immigration as their primary concern and former President Trump emphasizing it as a key issue, immigration holds significant importance in this election year. Vice President Harris has made strides on the topic, but she approaches it with a different plan.

Mr. Trump’s policies are much more known today because illegal immigration has been a persistent problem for more than 10 years since he became involved in politics. Trump continues to advocate stricter border controls and maintains his strong opposition to illegal immigration, in keeping with his prior views. He also remains in favour of limiting legal immigration, which includes refugee resettlement and short-term domestic stays.

Kamala Harris, who has historically been a pro-immigration vice president, appears to have changed her mind. The new position is consistent with the more strict asylum regulations that the Biden-Harris administration just implemented last year in response to the increased number of illegal border crossings. She has not been as assertive on issues since entering the race in July, though she has emphasised her career as a prosecutor in a border state and spoken repeatedly about the need to repair what she describes as a “broken immigration system.”

Climate Change

Harris endorsed President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, a broad climate initiative that included efforts to invest in renewable energy technologies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while she was vice president in the Democratic administration. 

During her time as a U.S. senator representing California, Harris championed the original Green New Deal, a progressive initiative aimed at replacing the economy’s reliance on fossil fuels with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.

In her role as a U.S. senator for California, Harris was a prominent advocate for the original Green New Deal, a progressive initiative that encouraged the transition to renewable energy sources like solar and wind to mitigate the American economy’s dependence on fossil fuels. 

In contrast, Trump referred to the Green New Deal as the “green new scam.” Meanwhile, the Republican nominee has promoted the ongoing extraction of fossil fuels such as coal and oil. During his presidency, Trump repealed over 100 environmental regulations and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement.