US-Ukraine Relations: Where Do Trump and Harris Stand?

As the United States prepares for the 2024 presidential election, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will look to persuade Americans for their votes. The candidates will discuss their policy stances on a variety of topics, ranging from the economy, abortion rights, and education to border security, immigration, and foreign policy. Another important voter issue will be the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This is not the first time the US-Ukraine relationship will be a voter issue. The Eastern European state has played an important role in American politics over the past eight years. For example, during the 2016 presidential election, then-candidate Trump accused the Ukrainians of interfering in the US electoral process. He claimed the Ukrainians conspired against him and his campaign, and he stated that a Ukrainian company hacked a computer server belonging to the Democratic National Committee.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation examined the claims made by then-candidate Trump. The organization found that there was “zero evidence that Ukraine [had] anything to do with [the DNC] server.” In addition, beliefs that Ukraine had meddled in the 2016 election were debunked.

Aside from investigation conducted by the FBI, members of the Trump-Pence administration also dismissed Ukrainian meddling. For example, Dr. Fiona Hill, the National Security Council’s Senior Director for Europe and Russia under then-President Trump, stated that claims again Ukraine were fictitious. She also said that the “fictions [were] harmful” for US-Ukraine relations. Several other government officials who worked in the Trump administration agreed with Hill’s statements, saying that Ukraine did not interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

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Beyond Trump’s false accusations of Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, he also found himself in a serious matter with Ukraine. In July 2019, President Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss US-Ukraine relations. During their meeting, President Trump requested that President Zelensky launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his family. The phone call occurred several days after President Trump had blocked a new shipment of defense aid to Ukraine.

Members of the House of Representatives and Senate then launched an investigation to determine if President Trump broke the law by asking a foreign entity to aid him in a personal matter. Democratic members in the House unveiled two impeachment charges against President Trump. During the event, lawmakers argued that the president had abused his power while in office, and that he had obstructed Congress. The House voted to impeach President Trump, and after the impeachment, the Senate held trials for two months. While the votes in the Senate to convict the president was bipartisan, they were not enough to oust the president from office. The hold on Ukrainian aid was then dropped, and the US government sought to repair its relationship with Ukraine.

Following these events, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were elected. After the 2020 US presidential election, the Biden-Harris administration has worked closely with Ukraine. From 2021 to 2024, the United States provided Ukraine with nearly $200 billion in aid. This has included defense, medical, humanitarian, and financial aid. Then, throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States has said that it will stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” and that it will continue to provide aid for as long as it can.

Harris has also met with President Zelensky on seven occasions. Prior to the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022, Harris traveled to Europe, where she met with Zelensky in Germany. During their meeting, she told him how the United States would react to a potential Russian invasion. The White House stated, “Vice President Harris [had] been a strong proponent of enduring US support for Ukraine.”

More recently, Vice President Harris traveled to Switzerland during the Ukraine Peace Summit in June 2024. During her visit, she met with Zelensky to discuss the war and how the US could continue to provide aid to Ukraine. She also announced a new $1.5 billion aid package. Vice President Harris said that it was in America’s “interest to uphold international rules and norms,” and that Ukraine has helped bolster “America’s security and prosperity.”

Now, millions of Americans are curious about what US-Ukraine relations may look like under President Trump and Vice President Harris. Recent statements and political platforms have provided important information.

First, former President Trump. In a series of recent interviews, the former president stated that if he were to be elected, he would “end the Russia-Ukraine war in one day.” He claimed that he would force President Zelensky to meet with Vladimir Putin. The former president also argued that the US is providing too much support to Ukraine. On the campaign trail, he also said that Ukraine should be forced to compromise with Russia and that President Zelensky should negotiate with Putin.

Trump restated his points during the presidential debate on Sept. 10. When asked about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the former president said that he knows President Putin “very well,” and that the Russian leader respects him. Then, when asked if it was in America’s interest for Ukraine to win the war, the former president responded by saying that it was in the “best interest to get the war finished.” He did not answer, however, if Ukraine should win the war. Instead, he suggested that he would force Zelensky and Putin to speak with one another so that they can negotiate an end to the war.

Following the debate, former President Trump held a series of campaign rallies in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia. During these events, he reiterated that the US was sending too much aid to Ukraine, and he argued that the US should be pressuring Ukraine to negotiate with Russia.

“Ukraine is gone, it [is] not Ukraine anymore,” Trump said at his rally in North Carolina last week. “You can never replace those cities and towns and you can never replace the dead people. “If [the United States had force Ukraine into making] a bad deal, it would have been much better.” Instead, the US has “continue[d] to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal [with Russia], Zelensky.” Ukraine should have “given up a little bit” to Russia, he added. In other words, former President Trump has implied that Ukraine should have succumbed to the Russian invasion rather than fighting for its sovereignty. He has also pushed for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia rather than continue the fight for independence.

The former present then met with Zelensky in late September. During the meeting, the former American president said that he has a “very good relationship” with Putin, and he said that he was going to do what he could to bring an end to the war. When asked if his opinion on the Russian invasion of Ukraine had changed after meeting with President Zelensky, former President Trump said that his stance had not changed. Rather than offering to provide additional aid to Ukraine to help the Ukrainians to defeat Russia, Trump said that Ukraine must make a deal with Russia.

Trump’s stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine is also shared by some members of US Congress. It is believed that Trump advised House and Senate Republicans to delay future assistance to Ukraine. From October 2023 to April 2024, Democrats and Republicans debated new foreign supplemental aid to the country. The assistance was first proposed in October 2023, but was put on hold during the holiday recess after Democrats and Republicans did not reach a consensus. The proposed aid package was finally passed by the Senate in February 2024, but the House continued to stall the bill. Eventually, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson brough the bill to a vote, and it was finally passed in April 2024, nearly seven months after the bill had been proposed.

Finally, prominent Republicans gathered in Milwaukee in July for the Republican National Convention. During the three-day event, the Republicans announced their new party stance ahead of the election. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was not mentioned in the document, and a plan to support Ukraine and end the war was not presented. Instead, several members of the Republican Party echoed Trump stating that the war needs to end.

In contrast, Harris has argued that “it is in the strategic interest of the United States to continue” its support for Ukraine. She supports a “just and lasting peace” for Ukraine, and that the US should continue to do what it can to help this Eastern European country.

During the Democratic National Convention in August, the Democratic Party launched its new platform ahead of the election. In the platform report, the Democrats called for additional assistance to Ukraine. The Democrats stated they will “stand with Ukraine to stop Putin’s atrocities,” and that they will work to “constrain Russia’s threat to allied nations and America’s vital interests.” Finally, during her speech at the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Harris said that she would “stand strong with Ukraine.”

Harris echoed these points during the recent presidential debate. During the event, she was asked to comment on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In her response, she said that it is the duty of the US to ensure “that there is stability [around the globe], and ensuring that the [US] stands up for its principles.” She also stated that through her work and the work of others, dozens of countries around the world came together to aid Ukraine during its time of need. Harris concluded that the US, its allies, and partners would continue to help “preserve the ability of [President] Zelensky and the Ukrainians to fight for their independence.”

Finally, Harris recently met with Zelensky. During her meeting, she said that the US will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine during the invasion. She said that she would continue to help Ukraine stand up to Russia, and that she would work to ensure that “Ukraine prevails in [the] war.” She concluded that only Ukraine could conclude how the Russian invasion ends, and that the United States will stand strong with Ukraine.

In short, both US presidential candidates have a long history with the Ukrainians. They have had visits with President Zelensky, and they have contributed to the US-Ukraine relationship. Previous engagements between the US and Ukraine during the Trump-Pence administration and the Biden-Harris administration show that both groups took different approaches to the US-Ukraine relationship. These events, as well as the recent presidential debate and their meetings with President Zelensky, also foreshadow what may come following the 2024 presidential election.

Time will tell how the US-Ukraine relationship will unfold after the election. In the meantime, Americans and Ukrainians will await the results anxiously.

The views expressed are the author’s and not necessarily of Kyiv Post.