By Giorgia Carraretto
With only one month left until the 2024 United States elections, many are feeling apprehensive about the results. Although only American citizens will go to the polling stations to vote for their new president, it is happening at a time when there is a climate crisis, coalitions of authoritarian leaders, and pressures from wars in Russia and the Middle-East election. This means it will have global repercussions. Whilst the policies of Kamala Harris (Democratic Party) and Donald Trump (Republican party) have many differences, we will all be affected by the changes instituted by whoever will occupy the White House in 2025.
The conflicts in Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East, will end in different ways according to who will be elected. Currently Russia’s invasion is fuelled by North Korea’s supply of missiles, Chinese industrial support and Iranian military drones; other countries, such as Turkey and India, aren’t expected to ally and help the West. Therefore, the alliances of the USA will be tested, and the outcomes will differ with Harris and Trump. Harris would strive for continuity in supplying aid to Ukraine (President Biden gave $61 billion to Ukraine), vowing to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” and denouncing isolationism with NATO. On the other hand, Trump vows to end the war “within 24 hours”, stopping the cash flows to Ukraine with the intention to “negotiate a deal”. This aim aligns with his isolationist foreign policy. This could impact us, as Harris’ aim may prolong the war and Trump’s may embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin – resulting in the increased possibility of other Russian invasions of ex-Soviet bordering countries, as well the price of fuel increasing and overall more inflation. Moreover, Europe and the UK have relied heavily on the USA to deter Russia for a long time, and without the aid of the US their continuous support of Ukraine would be challenging.
As for the tensions in Israel and Gaza, Harris aimed to ensure that “Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends”, and in the 2024 Presidential debate she announced to Trump that she has supported Israel for her “entire career and life”. Although she pledged to always ensure Israel is defended, she claimed that her focus would be to secure a ceasefire deal in the Middle East, as Biden also intended to do. Trump, similarly, proclaimed himself an Israeli ally, condemning Palestinian supporters. In addition, he claimed that the conflict would never have occurred in the first place if he had been president. However, there have been no proposals on how he plans to end the conflict.
Moreover, the US approach to battle against climate change will undeniably impact the globe, as the world looks for some reassurances of continuity of the USA’s commitments to the climate and environment. On this policy, the US presidential candidates have opposite opinions. Harris assures that her stance on the climate crisis is to protect the world and ensure that the environment isn’t damaged any further. Fracking (an environmentally damaging technique of recovering gas and oil) would be banned according to Harris, who stated “there is no question, I’m in favour of banning fracking”. Since then, she has stated that she will protect public lands and health, and will ensure polluters are responsible for clean air and water. On the other hand, Trump is not an environmentalist at all. In fact, he has removed the limits of carbon dioxide emissions, especially to help American car industries. He publicly rejected electrical vehicles and promised to not use wind farms or renewable energy if ever elected again. This clearly would impact us and the whole world, because it would speed up global warming and climate change. After all, we all live on the same planet.
Therefore, it is important not to turn a blind eye to the 2024 presidential election in the United States. Especially due to current global issues, such as wars and climate change, the US election will have many consequences and will affect us all.