Harris and Trump spar on Ukraine, Afghanistan, Israel, and Putin in contentious first debate

HARRIS: DICTATORS ‘CAN MANIPULATE YOU WITH FLATTERY AND FAVORS’: It was near the end of the 90-plus minute debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, that the subject turned to national security, including Ukraine, Israel, Afghanistan, and fitness to be commander in chief of the world’s most powerful military. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump traded accusations that the other was weak and the laughing stock of the world.

“We’re being laughed at all over the world. All over the world,” Trump said. “I know the leaders very well. They’re coming to see me. They call me … They don’t understand what happened to us as a nation.”

“I’m going to tell you that I have traveled the world as vice president of the United States,” retorted Harris. “And world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump. I have talked with military leaders, some of whom worked with you, and they say you’re a disgrace.”

To back up his claim that he was the “most respected, most feared person” on the world stage, he cited Viktor Orban , the authoritarian leader of Hungary, as a character reference. “They call him a strong man. He’s a tough person,” Trump said. “He said … we had no problems when Trump was president.”

“It is well known that he admires dictators, and he wants to be a dictator on Day One, according to himself,” Harris said when it was her turn to speak. “It is well known that he said, when Russia went into Ukraine, it was brilliant. It is well known he exchanged love letters with Kim Jong Un . And it is absolutely well known that these dictators and autocrats are rooting for you to be president again, because they’re so clear they can manipulate you with flattery and favors.”

HARRIS SAYS FOREIGN LEADERS ARE ‘LAUGHING’ AT TRUMP

TRUMP ON UKRAINE: ‘I WANT THE WAR TO STOP’: Trump refused to answer when he was asked twice by moderator David Muir if he wants Ukraine to win its war with Russia. “I want the war to stop. I want to save lives that are being uselessly -- people being killed by the millions. It’s the millions. It’s so much worse than the numbers that you’re getting, which are fake numbers,” Trump said.

“Just to clarify the question, do you believe it’s in the U.S. best interests for Ukraine to win this war? Yes or no?” Muir pressed. “I think it’s the U.S.’s best interest to get this war finished and just get it done.  Negotiate a deal because we have to stop all of these human lives from being destroyed.”

“I believe the reason that Donald Trump says that this war would be over within 24 hours is because he would just give it up. And that’s not who we are as Americans,” said Harris. “If Donald Trump were president, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv right now. And understand what that would mean, because Putin’s agenda is not just about Ukraine. Understand why the European allies and our NATO allies are so thankful that you are no longer president.”

“What we have done to preserve the ability of Zelensky and the Ukrainians to fight for their independence. Otherwise, Putin would be sitting in Kyiv with his eyes on the rest of Europe, starting with Poland,” Harris said. “And why don’t you tell the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania how quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch.”

Trump repeated the false claim that Harris negotiated with Putin in the days before the February 2022 invasion. “She was the emissary. They sent her in to negotiate with Zelensky and Putin. And she did. And the war started three days later.”

“She is a horrible negotiator. They sent her in to negotiate. As soon as they left, Putin did the invasion.”

“I said at the beginning of this debate, you’re going to hear a bunch of lies coming from this fellow, and that is another one,” Harris said, saying she met with Zelensky but never met with Putin.

HARRIS: ‘I AGREED WITH PRESIDENT BIDEN’S DECISION TO PULL OUT OF AFGHANISTAN’: Harris did not distance herself from President Joe Biden’s decision to go against the advice of his top commanders and order a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021.

“I agreed with President Biden’s decision to pull out of Afghanistan. Four presidents said they would, and Joe Biden did. And as a result, America’s taxpayers are not paying the $300 million a day we were paying for that endless war,” she said. “And as of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is on active duty in a combat zone, in any war zone around the world, the first time this century.”

Fact-checkers noted that U.S. troops have come under fire in Iraq, and U.S. warships have been involved in pitched battles with Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, among other places where U.S. troops are serving in harm's way.

“Donald Trump, when he was president, negotiated one of the weakest deals you can imagine. He calls himself a deal-maker. Even his national security adviser said it was a weak, terrible deal,” Harris said. “And here is how it went down. He bypassed the Afghan government. He negotiated directly with a terrorist organization called the Taliban. The negotiation involved the Taliban getting 5,000 terrorists, Taliban terrorists released.”

“The Taliban was killing our soldiers, a lot of them, with snipers. And I got involved with the Taliban because the Taliban was doing the killing,” Trump said. “We did have an agreement, negotiated by Mike Pompeo. It was a very good agreement. The reason it was good, it was -- we were getting out. We would have been out faster than them.”

“They blew it,” Trump said. “The agreement said you have to do this, this, this, this, and they didn’t do it. They didn’t do it. The agreement was terminated by us because they didn’t do what they were supposed to do.”

Fact check: Trump never “terminated” the agreement. When his Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, tried to pause the withdrawal while there were still 4,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Trump fired him and then ordered a full withdrawal to be completed before he left office, which turned out to be logistically impossible.

CONGRESS HONORS 13 SERVICE MEMBERS KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN AS HARRIS CATCHES HEAT

Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre ( @jamiejmcintyre ) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie . Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com . If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre .

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE

HAPPENING TODAY: On the 23rd anniversary of the 2001 attacks that took the lives of 2,976 Americans, remembrance ceremonies are being held at the National September 11 Memorial in New York, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are expected to attend 9/11 observances in New York and Pennsylvania. President Joe Biden is expected to attend ceremonies at all three sites, along with Harris.

At the Pentagon, a private observance ceremony for family members is being hosted by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles Q Brown . The ceremony is intended to “allow family members of those lost in the terrorist attack to observe the memory of their loved ones and for us to honor and never forget the sacrifices of those we lost that day,” according to spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder .

This morning, a large American flag was unfurled down the side of the Pentagon in the exact location where a flag was draped by firefighters and soldiers the day after the attack in 2001. The flag demonstrates “our resolve and resilience in the face of the horrific terrorist attacks on our nation,” Ryder said. “Today, it remains a symbol of the prevailing spirit of endurance, freedom, and hope.”

ABORTED PLEA DEAL LEAVES 9/11 PLOTTERS IN LEGAL LIMBO 23 YEARS AFTER THE TERRORIST ATTACKS

BIDEN IN KYIV: Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kyiv today amid a flurry of speculation that Iran’s provision of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia has President Joe Biden leaning toward finally permitting Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to attack launch sites in Russia.

The speculation was fueled by an Axios report quoting House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) as saying that he had talked to Blinken before he left and that he was “basically” going to “tell them that they will allow them [to hit Russia with ATACMS].” McCaul later issued a clarification, saying that Bliken “told me ATACMS would be a key topic of conversation in his meetings in the UK and Ukraine, but did not confirm that the Biden-Harris administration would finally allow Ukraine to target Russian military sites inside of Russia with ATACMS.”

Asked about the report, Biden told a reporter “we’re working on that now."

At a joint news conference in London with Lammy, Blinken said the trip to Kyiv was coming at “a critical moment for Ukraine in the midst of what is an intense fall fighting season with Russia continuing to escalate its aggression against civilians, against critical infrastructure, and of course, against Ukrainian forces.”

Blinken did not confirm that Biden was considering lifting restrictions on the use of U.S. ATACMS, insisting he was going to Ukraine to hear directly from President Volodymyr Zelensky and report back to Biden, who is scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington Friday. “We will take that back and we’ll both inform our bosses — the prime minister and the president — and again, I fully expect that will be a part of their conversation on Friday,” Blinken said.

IRANIAN MISSILE DELIVERY CONFIRMED: The London news conference provided the first official confirmation of a report that had been circulating around Washington for days, namely that Iran was supplying Russia with short-range ballistic missiles.

“Dozens of Russian military personnel have been trained in Iran to use the Fath-360 close-range ballistic missile system, which has a maximum range of 75 miles. Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians,” Blinken announced. “We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately that taking this step would constitute a dramatic escalation.”

“Iran’s new president and foreign minister have repeatedly said that they want to restore engagement with Europe, they want to receive sanctions relief. Destabilizing actions like these will achieve exactly the opposite,” Blinken said. “The United States will be announcing further sanctions on Iran, including additional measures on Iran Air. We expect allies and partners will be announcing their own new measures on Iran as well.”

“Moscow possesses an array of its own ballistic missiles, of course, but the supply of these Iranian missiles, which have a maximum range of about 75 miles, could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the frontline, while employing Iranian warheads for closer-range targets,” John Kirby , national security communications adviser said at the White House.

“The larger concern is that both Iran and Russia get better because of this partnership. They share technology. They share tactics and procedures. They share intelligence. They share, you know, geostrategic ways to better cooperate,” Kirby said. “And when you have two destabilizing actors like this getting closer and reinforcing one another in terms of what they believe they need to do militarily, that does increase the level of danger.”

OPINION: UK’S NEW LEFT-WING GOVERNMENT ALREADY LOOKS A QUESTIONABLE ALLY

THE RUNDOWN:

Washington Examiner : Biggest zingers from first Trump-Harris presidential debate

Washington Examiner : Harris brings debate fight to Trump in a way Biden could not

Washington Examiner : Harris says foreign leaders are ‘laughing’ at Trump

Washington Examiner : Trump revives stolen election claim by backtracking admission he lost

Washington Examiner : Trump claims migrants eating pets in Ohio despite city denial

Washington Examiner : Trump and allies hitch stolen election claims onto SAVE Act

Washington Examiner : Harris and moderators make the second debate more about Trump

Washington Examiner : Trump makes rare spin room visit and suggests openness to a second debate

Washington Examiner : Taylor Swift endorses Harris with ‘childless cat lady’ swipe

Washington Examiner : Congress honors 13 service members killed in Afghanistan as Harris catches heat

Washington Examiner : Aborted plea deal leaves 9/11 plotters in legal limbo 23 years after the terrorist attacks

Washington Examiner : House hearing witnesses raise alarm over noncitizen voting

Washington Examiner : Opinion: UK’s new left-wing government already looks a questionable ally

AP : Israeli airstrikes on Palestinian territories kill dozens more

Washington Post : Blinken Presses For Changes In IDF Tactics

Wall Street Journal : U.S. and Allies Push Kyiv To Detail Credible War Aims

Washington Post : Ukraine Launches Largest Drone Attack Yet on Moscow, Killing 1, Russia Says

New York Times : How Russia’s Steady Advance Threatens Ukraine’s East

Air & Space Forces Magazine : How the Pentagon’s Weapons ‘Production Diplomacy’ Is Helping Arm Ukraine

AL Monitor : USS Georgia Guided Missile Submarine Arrives In Middle East

Navy Times : Russia Launches Massive Naval Drills With China

Breaking Defense : AUKUS, Other Agreements Likely Having ‘Galvanizing Effect’ in Beijing: Aussie Ambassador

Air & Space Forces Magazine : Kendall: ‘One Size Doesn’t Fit All’ for Deployment Cycles

Air & Space Forces Magazine : Raytheon: AMRAAM and JATM Missiles ‘Complementary’ for Future Force Mix

Defense One : Expect Air Force’s First Robot Wingmen to Be AMRAAM ‘Trucks’

Air & Space Forces Magazine : USAF-Funded Tilt-Duct Aircraft Makes First Flight, Could Be Future Autonomous Rescue Platform

Defense News : Boeing to Launch Space-Based Quantum Demo in 2026

SpaceNews : US Military Investing in Reentry Vehicles for Space-to-Earth Cargo Delivery

Inside Defense : Pentagon Seeks 'Integrated Battle Manager' for New Guam Air and Missile Defense

Air & Space Forces Magazine : USAF Launches First Air Task Force Under New Deployment Model at Scott

Air & Space Forces Magazine : Air Force’s First-Ever Private Apartment Complex Officially Coming to Edwards

Air & Space Forces Magazine : New Fighter Drones Will Go on Display at AFA Conference

The Cipher Brief : When Spymasters Talk: CIA and MI6 Chiefs on ‘Bully’ Putin and ‘Audacious’ Ukraine Raid

The Cipher Brief : Russian Disinformation — and Dangers for American Society

THE CALENDAR:

WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 11

8 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: "A Next-Generation Agenda: Bridging South Korean and NATO Perspectives on Security," with Malthe Munkoe , external lecturer at the Copenhagen Business School; Hyunseung David Yu , Master student at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; Julia Dowling , Master student at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; and Jaehyoung Ju, Master student at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/a-next-generation-agenda

8 a.m. 300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — U.S. Chamber of Commerce "Global Aerospace Summit," with Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves ; Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS); FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel ; Space Force Brig. Gen. Brian Denaro , senior military assistant to the Air Force secretary https://events.uschamber.com/globalaerospacesummit

8:30 a.m 180 Greenwich St., New York, New York — National September 11 Memorial and Museum 23rd Anniversary Commemoration https://www.911memorial.org/

9 a.m. The Pentagon — September 11 anniversary observance ceremony with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in honor of the 184 people killed in the 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. The ceremony is not open to the public, but will be livestreamed at https://www.defense.gov/News/Live-Events/

9:30 a.m. 1310 Longworth — House Administration Committee hearing: "American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election," with testimony from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D); Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R); Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D); and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose ® https://cha.house.gov

9:45 a.m. 6424 Lincoln Hwy. Stoystown, Pennsylvania — National Park Service moment of remembrance event the Flight 93 National Memorial.

10 a.m. 2172 Rayburn — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: "Great Power Competition in Africa," with testimony from John Bass , acting undersecretary of state for political affairs http://foreignaffairs.house.gov

11 a.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: "Afghanistan under the Taliban: Power dynamics, regional relations, and U.S. policy," with Tricia Bacon , associate professor at American University; Tamin Asey , senior fellow at King College London; Ronald Neumann , president, American Academy of Diplomacy; and Vanda Felbab-Brown , director, Brookings Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors https://www.brookings.edu/events/afghanistan-under-the-taliban

1:30 p.m. — Washington Post Live virtual discussion: “Current threats of domestic and international terrorism," with Assistant Attorney General for National Security Matthew Olsen https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2024/07/24/matt-olsen

2 p.m. 2172 Rayburn — House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee hearing: "Countering Malign PRC Influence in Europe," with testimony from Ivana Karaskova , China analyst and China team lead at the Association for International Affairs; Dalibor Rohac , senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and Peter Rough , senior fellow and director, Hudson Institute Center on Europe and Eurasia http://foreignaffairs.house.gov

2 p.m. — National Park Service wreath laying ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial, 6424 Lincoln Hwy., Memorial Plaza, Wall of Names, Stoystown, Pa.

2 p.m. — CQ Roll Call and FiscalNote virtual discussion: "Fall 2024 Legislative Preview: Congress Crunch Time" about legislative priorities and key bills Congress aims to address before the end of the fiscal year, including the National Defense Authorization Act, with Paul Krawzak , senior writer on the budget, appropriations, and tax team at CQ and Roll Call; Briana Reilly , defense and national security reporter for CQ and Roll Call; and Jason Dick , editor-in-chief at CQ and Roll Call https://info.cq.com/resources/fall-leg-preview-webinar/

THURSDAY | SEPTEMBER 12

8 a.m. — Atlantic Council and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the U.S. virtual seminar: "Narrative Warfare in Taiwan," with Min Hsuan Wu , co-founder and CEO, Doublethink Lab; Gittipong Paruchabutr , Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow; Kenton Thibaut , Atlantic Council senior resident China fellow; and Markus Garlauskas , director, Atlantic Council Indo-Pacific Security Initiative https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/a-cross-strait-and-beyond-seminar

10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: "Navigating the National Security Inflection Point," with Assistant Commerce Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod

10:30 a.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW — Henry L. Stimson Center in-person and virtual “Ground Forces and Great Powers: A Conversation with U.S. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth ,” with Brian Finlay , president and CEO, Stimson Center https://stimsoncenter.zoom.us/webinar/register

2 p.m. — Brookings Institution virtual discussion: "What We Learned from the First Harris-Trump Presidential Debate," with Elaine Kamarck , founding director, Brookings Institution Center for Effective Public Management and senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution; William Galston , chair and senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution; Suzanne Maloney , vice president and director, Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Program; and Camille Busette , interim vice president and director, Brookings Institution Governance Studies Program and director, Brookings Institution Race, Prosperity, and Inclusion Initiative https://www.brookings.edu/events/what-we-learned

4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies book discussion: Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia War Against the West, with author John Sullivan , former U.S. ambassador to Russia https://www.csis.org/events/midnight-moscow-conversation

4 p.m. 1717 K St. NW — Institute of World Politics lecture: "World in Crisis: National Security Priorities for the Next Administration," with Noah Rothman , senior writer at the National Review; Michael Brendan Dougherty , senior writer at NationalReview.com; Dan Caldwell, public policy adviser at Defense Priorities; James Robbins , senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council; and John Callahan , adjunct professor at IWP https://www.iwp.edu/events/world-in-crisis-national-security-priorities

5 p.m. 390 Cannon — National Defense Industrial Association Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Division fall reception: “The critical role of SO/LIC forces in our national security.” https://www.ndia.org/events/2024/9/12/ndia-solic-fall-reception-on-the-hill

5 p.m. — Jews United for Democracy "Israel In Crisis" virtual briefing: "The status and progress of hostage and ceasefire negotiations," with Aaron David Miller , senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and Larry Mantle , host, AirTalk with Larry Mantle https://www.jewsunitedfordemocracy.org/event

7 p.m. Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW — Radio and Television Correspondents Association of Capitol Hill 2024 Congressional Correspondents' Dinner. https://site.pheedloop.com/event

7:30 p.m. — Brookings Institution, the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth, and the Institute for Global Engagement virtual discussion: "American Foreign Policy Toward Ukraine, Russia, and NATO Beyond 2024," with Fiona Hill , senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution Center on the U.S. and Europe, and former deputy assistant to the president on the National Security Council; David Kramer , executive director, George W. Bush Institute and vice president, George W. Bush Presidential Center; Liz Brailsford, president and CEO, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth; Adam Wright , president of Dallas Baptist University; Constanze Stelzenmuller , director of and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution Center on the U.S. and Europe; and Rudolph Bush , editorial page editor at the Dallas Morning News https://www.brookings.edu/events/american-foreign-policy-toward-ukraine-russia-and-nato

FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 13

11 a.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs discussion: "The U.S., NATO, and the World," with U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/the-us-nato-and-the-world 2 p.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: "Political Violence and the 2024 Elections," with former Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security Mary McCord , executive director, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection; Eric Ward , executive vice president of Race Forward; and Aaron David Miller , senior fellow at the CEIP American Statecraft Program https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2024/09/political-violence