This is a special series, Election Day 2024, to keep you updated on everything you need to know ahead of the 2024 presidential election. We'll check in each week over the next year to make sense of everything.
Nov. 30, 2023
Ahead of the Iowa caucuses, we're diving into some of the biggest issues at play in the 2024 election. Today, we take a look at the U.S. role on the world stage.
On The Issues: Foreign Policy and 2024
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From Israel, to Ukraine, to China, how the U.S. deals with its allies and its adversaries abroad is making a lot of headlines. It’s at the center of a funding debate in Congress. It’s dominating President Biden’s attention. And it took center stage at last month’s Republican presidential debate.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, currently duking it out for second place in the GOP field, spent the last debate trying to prove that they would be toughest on the world stage. And while there is little daylight between them on Israel (solid support), Iran (take a hard line) and China (the communist nation’s influence in the U.S. must be curtailed and Taiwan should be defended), they do differ over how much U.S. support should go to Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression. DeSantis has shown a reluctance to continue U.S. assistance to Ukraine, while Haley has put her full support behind Ukraine’s war effort.
For his part, former President Trump, who hasn’t attended a single GOP primary debate, approaches just about every international challenge with the same bluster and lack of specificity that characterized his time in office, claiming that he is the "only one that will prevent World War III,” and if he were president, none of these problems would even exist.
Foreign policy is the realm where presidents have the most unilateral power, the greatest ability to make an impact without having to compromise with Congress. Biden has made standing up to Russia and China a centerpiece of his foreign policy agenda, and he’s pledged unconditional support for Israel. That latter position has proven unpopular with progressives in his party, who have been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. As the war drags on, his position could hurt him with key Democratic base voters, especially young people.
Presidential campaigns are most often fought over domestic issues, like the economy, crime and abortion. But with major crises and conflicts playing out around the world, Americans are paying attention to what’s happening and how the U.S. responds. And when elections are won on the margins, even a small percentage of voters casting their ballots, or choosing to stay home, based on world affairs could make a difference.
57% of likely Republican Iowa caucus-goers said the Israel-Hamas war is “extremely important” to them as they evaluate candidates, according to a November Des Moines Register/NBC News/Mediacom poll.
45% of Americans, including 59% of Republicans, say the Untied States is spending too much money to support Ukraine, according to polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But that’s down from 52% of Americans and 69% of Republicans in October’s AP-NORC polling.
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