Harris’ tough talk is allowing Trump to claim the ‘antiwar’ mantle

The vice president seeks to project strength, but independents in battleground states want to see the U.S. help de-escalate foreign conflicts.

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When Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with a U.S.-made bomb, Vice President Kamala Harris hailed the act as “a measure of justice.” Now Harris’ team struggles to defend Israel’s devastating air strikes on Lebanon, which have displaced hundreds of thousands. Former President Donald Trump has called the war “unacceptable.” Meanwhile, Harris labels those who, like Trump, want Ukraine to be willing to make concessions as part of a diplomatic settlement as proponents of “surrender.”

If Harris aims to be the only presidential candidate defending Israel and Ukraine, she should stop. It allows Trump to position himself as the peace candidate — something many Americans, especially swing voters, crave. A survey conducted by my colleagues at the Institute for Global Affairs provides some examples.

Fully two-thirds of Americans want the U.S. to push for a negotiated settlement to end Ukraine’s war, and in six battleground states, independent voters were the most inclined to do so. And a plurality of independents in these battleground states believe any military aid to Israel must be conditioned on first reaching a cease-fire. (The margin of error for both national and battleground state samples in the survey was 3.9%.)

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Read more of Mark’s article in MSNBC.

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