Reset Button: Most Democrats Would Reassure Europe First

When moderator Chuck Todd asked the Democratic presidential candidates at the second debate,” What is the first relationship you would like to reset as president? ” five of ten candidates said “Europe” or “NATO.”

On the Wednesday night debate The candidates agreed on the need to return to the Iran nuclear agreement that President Trump tore up. On Thursday the candidates were not quite as unified on the question of post-Trump fend diplomacy. Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg said they would reset with the whole world. Andrew Yang and John Hicklenhooper said getting in touch with China would be their first priority.

The candidates’s views on issues of war and peace are diverse. At least five have taken the same position as Trump on Venezuela, while five have been critical. Some Democrats are more hawkish than Trump on North Korea. But as these issues went unmentioned in the televised debates, the discussions also showed broad areas of consensus.

In general, the Democrats are Euro-friendly multilateralists. The support multilateral agreements like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (which blocks Iran’s path to building a nuclear weapon by at least 10 years) and want to cultivate traditional allies and the United nation, whom Trump has scorned or insulted.

Here’s how the candidates responded to Todd’s question. Pete Buttigieg’s use of “pissed off” elicited gasps from the debate party I attended, while Eric Swalwell’s too-cute sound bite drew scattered applause from the debate audience in Miami.

Michael Bennet

We’ve got to — we’ve got to restore the relationships that he’s destroyed with our allies, not just in Europe. He flew to the G20 last night and attacked Japan, Germany, and a third ally of ours without saying anything about North Korea or Russia.

And when you’ve got a situation where you have a president who says something happened in the Straits of Hormuz and the whole world doesn’t know whether to believe it or not, that is a huge problem when it comes to the national security of the United States of America. And we need to change that.

Marianne Williamson

Well, one of my first phone calls would be to call the European leaders and say we’re back…because I totally understand how important it is that the United States be part of the Western alliance.

John Hickenlooper

You know, I talk about constant engagement. And I think the first person — the first country I would go to…and I understand they’ve been cheating and stealing and (inaudible) would be China…because if we’re going to do — deal with public health pandemics, if we’re doing to deal with… all the challenges of the globe, we’ve got to have relationships with everyone.

Andrew Yang

China. We need cooperate with them on climate change, AI, and other issues, North Korea.

Pete Buttigieg

We have no idea which of our most important allies he will have pissed off worse between now and then. What we know is that our relationship with the entire world needs to change.And it starts by modelling American values at home.

Joe Biden

We know NATO will fall apart if he is elected four more years. It’s the single most consequential alliance in the history of the United States.

Bernie Sanders

It’s not one country. I think it is rebuilding trust in the United Nations and understand that we can solve… conflicts without war, but with diplomacy.

Kamala Harris

All the members of the NATO alliance.

Kirsten Gillibrand

President Trump is hell-bent on starting a war with Iran. My first act…will be to engage Iran to stabilize the Middle East and make sure we do not start an unwanted, never-ending war.

Eric Swalwell

My first act in foreign policy, we’re breaking up with Russia and making up with NATO.