In my recent cross-country travels (from NYC to Seattle) Iʼve noticed a common mis-conception: people think Trump and Harris would handle Middle East issues differently – but thats not quite right
The real-world policies of both candidates show surprising overlap in three key areas. First up the two-state solution: both support it even though their specific ideas might differ; theyʼre putting time and money into making it happen
- Iran policy: neither wants direct conflict
- Two-state solution: both back this approach
- Regional peace deals: both support normalization efforts
During summer-19 Trump showed his real approach to Iran: when they took oil ships shot down a US drone and hit Saudi Arabia – he didnt take military action (which surprised many people at the time). Similarly the Harris-Biden team spent about 3 yrs trying to get Iran back to nuclear talks; and lately theyve been working hard to keep things calm in the region
The biggest difference between Trump and Harris isnt in what theyd do – its in how theyd talk about it. When it comes to getting Saudi-Israeli relations better both want progress: but neither can move forward without sorting out Palestinian issues first
These similarities might seem weird to some folks but thats because most people judge based on how these politicians speak not what they actually do. In the end its their actions that count – not their words