While support for Israel has been an unquestioned policy of successive US administrations – even more bluntly defended by Harris’ rival Donald Trump – “there are specific communities like the Arab community in parts of Michigan, a state that is decisive in these elections”. In an interview with Lusa in Lisbon, the American professor noted that voters are pro-Palestinian and can be swayed by Democratic foreign policy.
Some elected officials from both parties have taken openly pro-Israel positions in the context of the current conflict in the Middle East, their states have large Jewish populations, and they are major funders of both parties’ campaigns. .
“On the other hand, I look at the state of Pennsylvania, which in some ways is like Michigan, a swing state, and Democratic Senator John Fetterman has made very pro-Israel statements after October 7th and his popularity in Pennsylvania has increased. A lot,” Mead added.
The Democratic candidate leads the national vote in most polls, but in a North American system operated by the Electoral College, a small number of states strongly contested by both parties tip the balance to one side or the other. The lowest number of votes will determine the winner.
The American academic noted that Harris’ campaign has studied polls in these states to change its strategy, “express its dismay” at the plight of the Palestinian people, and “never promise major changes” in its foreign policy.
Walter Russell Mead is the Hudson Institute Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Statesmanship at the Hudson Institute and Professor of International Relations and Humanities at Bard College. He was also awarded the Institute for Foreign Policy Research’s 2012 Benjamin Franklin Prize for his work on American foreign policy.
Mead was in Portugal at the invitation of the Lisbon Club to participate in the “War as an Extension of Geopolitics” panel during the 6th Lisbon Conference, where global challenges ranging from climate change to rearmament were discussed.
The North American presidential election, which culminates on November 5, is taking place in an extremely close environment marked by polarization and political tensions, high living costs and, most recently, the aftermath of the disasters caused by the recent Hurricanes Helen and Milton. In the south of the country.
Mead criticized Kamala Harris’s lack of experience in the world of international politics, which had to be learned “on the ground”, admitting that the Democratic candidate would be “very good” if she recommended “some people (…) a lot. , very capable, with good instincts and a lot of experience”.
On the other hand, Mead praised the negotiating skills of Republican candidate Donald Trump, who is “a very realistic politician, with a good nose for power, an innate understanding of who’s strong and who’s weak, which is you. Sometimes you can see advantages that other people can’t see.”
“Hardcore explorer. Extreme communicator. Professional writer. General music practitioner. Prone to fits of apathy.”