{"id":33274,"date":"2020-10-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/10\/09\/find-out-where-trump-and-biden-stand-on-defense-and-security-issues\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:44:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:44:00","slug":"find-out-where-trump-and-biden-stand-on-defense-and-security-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/the-americas\/2020\/10\/09\/find-out-where-trump-and-biden-stand-on-defense-and-security-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Find out where Trump and Biden stand on defense and security issues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Arms Control:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

U.S. President Donald Trump:<\/b> The Trump administration has withdrawn<\/a> the U.S. from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and (almost)<\/a> the 1992 Open Skies Treaty. It has loosened the Missile Technology Control Regime\u2019s restrictions on selling armed drones to foreign governments amid concerns about China\u2019s defense relationships in the Middle East. As of press time, administration officials have been unwilling to extend the 2010 New START nuclear pact with Russia, which expires in February, insisting that a new version include Russia\u2019s growing arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons and China, whose smaller arsenal is rapidly expanding and which appears unwilling<\/a> to sign such an agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden: <\/b>Favored by arms control advocates, Biden has promised to renew New START<\/a> and would likely accept Russia\u2019s offer to extend it five years without preconditions. He also said he would rejoin the Iran nuclear deal if it returned to full compliance described in the agreement. While Trump has loosened restrictions on the use of landmines by the U.S. military in conflict areas, Biden has said the move unnecessarily puts civilians at risk and that he would reverse it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nuclear weapons:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump:<\/b> It\u2019s expected the current president would stay on his path of modernizing<\/a> all three legs of the nuclear arsenal \u2014 something that has bipartisan support in Congress despite growing budget pressure. Trump deployed the W76-2 submarine-launched, low-yield nuclear warhead to counter a similar Russian weapon, and he has plans for a submarine-launched cruise missile, or SLCM. Trump approved a $44.5 billion nuclear weapons budget request in fiscal 2021 \u2014 an increase of about 19 percent \u2014 meant for the W76-2, several ongoing nuclear warhead life extension programs, a future W93 submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead, and the expansion of the production of plutonium pits for nuclear warheads to at least 80 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden:<\/b> Biden signaled he would scale back Trump\u2019s buildup. The Democratic nominee for president is opposed to the W76-2 and an SLCM. Biden would face pressure from the left to drop plans to build a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile force<\/a>, replacing the Minuteman III fleet fielded in 1970, though he has not announced a position on it. Biden said he would review a policy reserving the option of using nuclear weapons first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense budget:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump:<\/b> The Pentagon\u2019s five-year defense plan indicates it will request flat defense spending<\/a> after 2021, and \u2014 under pressure from coronavirus-related expenses \u2014 the budget is widely expected to stay flat regardless of who is president. Trump championed record national defense top lines of $700 billion in 2018, $716 billion in 2019 and $733 billion for 2020, and he created the new Space Force. He has also diverted billions of defense dollars to fund a southern border wall, and in 2018 he backed off a proposal for a $750 billion defense budget, calling it \u201ccrazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden:<\/b> Biden said Trump \u201cabandoned all fiscal discipline when it comes to defense spending,\u201d and while he doesn\u2019t foresee major U.S. defense cuts if elected, he would face pressure from the left to make them. To affordably deter Russia and China, Biden said he would shift investments from \u201clegacy systems that won\u2019t be relevant\u201d to \u201csmart investments in technologies and innovations \u2014 including in cyber, space, unmanned systems and artificial intelligence.\u201d He also wants to boost neglected nonmilitary investments, such as \u201cdiplomacy, economic power, education, and science and technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump:<\/b> Both candidates have railed against \u201cendless wars,\u201d and both have vowed to bring U.S. troops home from Afghanistan. After engaging in peace talks with the Taliban, the U.S. cut its troop presence to 8,600 in June, with plans to go to 4,500 by November and no troops by the spring. For Iraq, Trump plans to go from 5,200 troops to 3,000 by November. On Iran, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal and reimposed crippling trade sanctions as part of a maximum-pressure campaign. The administration recently warned allies it may target leaders of Iran-backed militias that have targeted U.S. forces and diplomatic posts in Iraq.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden: <\/b>Biden has vowed to bring U.S. combat troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, likely leaving residual counterterrorism forces. His camp favors small-scale operations (maybe led by special forces) rather than large, open-ended troop deployments, which he agrees would require the informed consent of the American people. Biden, who voted for the Iraq War when he was a senator, said during his current campaign that he played a key role in the Obama administration\u2019s drawdown of 150,000 U.S. forces from Iraq. On Iran, he said he would commit to preventing the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon, offer a diplomatic path while maintaining targeted sanctions, and work closely with Israel to ensure the American ally can defend itself against Iran and its proxies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on September 29, 2020 shows Democratic Presidential candidate and former US Vice President Joe Biden (L) and US President Donald Trump speaking during the first presidential debate at the Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on September 29, 2020. (Photos by JIM WATSON and SAUL LOEB \/ AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON,SAUL LOEB\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Arms sales:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump:<\/b> Increasing U.S. arms sales has been a central focus of Trump and his administration\u2019s foreign policy. He\u2019s moved to speed up the review process for major arms sales, made it easier to export firearms, eased the criteria for selling armed drones under the Missile Technology Control Regime and directed U.S. diplomats to advocate for American weapons purchases. He advanced several sales suspended under the Obama administration \u2014 which played into a clash with Congress over sales to Saudi Arabia and other parties to the war in Yemen. Though Trump has touted the economic benefits of U.S. arms sales abroad, the idea is also to provide partners with American alternatives to Russian and Chinese weapons in order to maintain American influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden:<\/b> While Biden hasn\u2019t made his views clear about arms sales overall, he said he would end U.S. military and other support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. As he reassesses the U.S.-Saudi relationship, he would end weapon sales to Riyadh (which has historically been the top partner for U.S. military sales). \u201cWe will make clear that America will never again check its principles at the door just to buy oil or sell weapons,\u201d Biden said. On firearm exports, his campaign said he may reverse a Trump administration rule that moved jurisdiction from the State Department to the Commerce Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NATO and Europe:<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump:<\/b> Among Trump\u2019s earliest foreign policy stances was a pledge to \u201cget allies to pay their fair share,\u201d particularly by getting NATO members to spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. That percentage of GDP is a NATO-backed goal. Trump often mischaracterizes that pledge as allies being \u201cdelinquent\u201d in paying the U.S. funds. Trump has also pushed for tough trade rules with European nations, which has led to tensions with European capitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden: <\/b>Biden and his advisers have drawn a contrast with Trump, pledging to rehabilitate frayed alliances. Biden has hit Trump for straining relations between the U.S. and Europe. He said the next president must \u201csalvage our reputation, rebuild confidence in our leadership, and mobilize our country and our allies to rapidly meet new challenges,\u201d pledging that he would \u201ctake immediate steps to renew U.S. democracy and alliances, protect the United States’ economic future, and once more have America lead the world.\u201d Biden plans to review troop movements out of Germany if he takes office, according to a top foreign policy aide.<\/p>\n\n\n\t