From arming Ukraine to bolstering U.S. alliances to counter Russia and China, Vice President Kamala Harris is widely expected to continue President Joe Biden’s foreign policy if she succeeds him. But that might not be the case when it comes to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the war in Gaza.
Harris, now the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination after Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her, appears more willing to publicly criticize Netanyahu and express empathy for the plight of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, former officials and analysts say.
In March, White House National Security Council officials toned down parts of Harris’ speech about the need then for a six-week cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, NBC News has reported.
The original draft of her remarks was harsher on Israel in describing the dire humanitarian situation for Palestinians in Gaza and the need for more aid, current and former officials told NBC News. A Harris spokesperson at the time called the portrayal “inaccurate.”
Arab American voters, younger voters and progressives who oppose Biden’s stance on Israel might be more open to Harris’ candidacy “because she’s not seen as responsible for Biden’s Israel policies,” according to a source close to the Biden administration. “The hope is that will help her numbers,” the source added.
Harris, however, also has strong ties to the country’s Jewish community. Her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is the first Jewish spouse of a vice president. Emhoff, a corporate lawyer, has also taken on a prominent role as a liaison to America’s Jewish community, speaking about the administration’s efforts to combat antisemitism.
The couple have embraced their family’s Jewish connections, affixing the first mezuzah on the door of the vice presidential residence and hosting gatherings for Jewish holidays.
Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank, said a Harris presidency would most likely result in a change in tone on Israel but not a significant change in policy.
“I would look for a much more balanced rhetorical posture,” Miller said. “She clearly is going to be much more sympathetic when it comes to the issue of Palestinian statehood and even Palestinian rights.”
But Miller added that Harris remains an advocate of America’s traditional support of Israel and that it is unlikely she would break with that approach in a dramatic way.
“When it comes to Israel, she has very moderate views,” Miller said. “To the left of what Biden is prepared to do but way to the right of those who argue we need to impose costs and consequences on Israel to make it clear we’re the superpower and they’re not.”
After Israel came under attack by a wave of Iranian drones and missiles in April, for example, Harris spoke of America’s “ironclad” support of Israel’s security. She said in a social media post that “we stand with the people of Israel in defense against these attacks.”
Harris’ views on Cuba may also offer a contrast, with her past stance closer to that of President Barack Obama than of Biden. In a questionnaire from the Tampa Bay Times during the 2020 Democratic primaries, her campaign staff said Harris believed the U.S. should end the “failed trade embargo” and “take a smarter approach that empowers Cuban civil society and the Cuban American community to spur progress and freely determine their own future.”
Knowledge of foreign policy
As vice president, Harris, a former senator, California attorney general and San Francisco prosecutor, has tried to burnish her knowledge of international affairs.
As vice president, she has met more than 150 foreign leaders — including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — and pledged U.S. military and economic support for allies and partners to counter the threat posed by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Harris said she was the last person in the room when Biden made the decision in 2021 to pull all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. Republicans and Democrats alike harshly criticized the Biden administration’s handling of the chaotic withdrawal.
In a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, Harris vowed that the U.S. would back Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invading forces for “as long as it takes.” Echoing Biden’s stance, she said Washington would support Kyiv’s “efforts to secure a just and lasting peace.”
Harris’ election as commander in chief would most likely signal continuity with America’s post-World War II approach to the world. America’s traditional allies in the NATO alliance and in the Indo-Pacific would most likely be reassured with Harris as a successor to Biden.
On the campaign trail, Harris is likely to make foreign policy arguments similar to Biden’s, criticizing former President Donald Trump’s isolationism, denigration of U.S. alliances and reluctance to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
Harris’ national security adviser, Philip Gordon, is a veteran foreign policy adviser who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations. His views are believed to be broadly in sync with those of moderate, left-of-center foreign policy experts who have dominated recent Democratic administrations.
Before he returned to government in the Biden White House, Gordon wrote a book about the folly of America’s attempts to change regimes in the Middle East by force, by subversion or by sanctions.
Gordon has also written commentaries criticizing what he said was Trump’s “impulsive” handling of foreign policy challenges. He said Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran raised the risk of an unintended war with Tehran.
In a 2019 commentary for Foreign Affairs magazine, Gordon warned that Trump “appears readier than ever to break with norms and antagonize allies and adversaries alike.”
