WNAM REPORT: Vice President Kamala Harris will further strengthen the United States’ alliances and partnerships around the globe if elected president in November, a former White House official said Wednesday, stressing she believes in a “strong” American leadership.
Susan Rice, national security adviser from 2013-2017, made the remarks during a press briefing in Chicago, where the Democratic National Convention is in progress to celebrate Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as the party’s nominees for president and vice president.
Though she noted that she was not speaking for Harris, Rice expressed a “high degree of confidence” that the “fundamentals” of American foreign policy will be consistent with those of the Biden administration.
“She will embrace and strengthen further our alliances and partnerships around the world, not just in Europe and Asia but also in places like Latin America, Africa and the Middle East,” Rice said.
“I believe you will see differences in emphasis, differences in tone, and she will undoubtedly unveil new perspectives and new initiatives,” she added.
Rice also underscored Harris’ belief in America’s global leadership role.
“Kamala Harris believes in strong American leadership of the world, that our values, our strength, need to be harnessed for the well-being and security of the American people, but also for the greater global good,” she said.
Though there is still uncertainty over her foreign policy vision, Harris is expected to build on President Joe Biden’s approach designed to reinvigorate and leverage America’s network of regional alliances and partnerships to confront security challenges, including North Korean threats.
In a virtual briefing involving Harris’ campaign officials and other Democrats, U.S. lawmakers anticipated continuity in terms of the diplomatic strategy to bring together U.S. allies to promote regional security and economic cooperation.
“I’m very optimistic that the kind of collaborations and partnerships and alliances that we’ve seen from the Biden-Harris administration will, in fact, continue,” Rep. Jill Tokuda from Hawaii said.
Tokuda pointed out that Harris was involved in the Biden administration’s efforts to promote trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, and among the U.S., the Philippines and Japan, among other groupings.
Rep. Judy Chu of a Californian district echoed the view.
“I think that Kamala Harris is in sync with what the Biden administration has already been doing,” she said.
