Donald Trump and Kamala Harris should be running mates

It might at first seem like the world’s most unlikely duo, but Donald Trump and Kamala Harris running on the same ticket could actually work. Not only are both candidates unequivocally in support of genocide and endless war, not only are both candidates backed by an army of corporations, but both candidates also already had a shot in office to deliver on the promises they made while running, yet failed miserably.

Trump – a convicted felon for every imaginable crime except his war crimes – has a long history of broken promises. While running in 2016, Trump claimed he’d “drain the swamp” but then added legacy goons into his administration such as famed neocon John Bolton and Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson. Trump said he would prosecute Hillary Clinton (again, not for her war crimes), but once elected, backed off. He promised to implement term limits for members of Congress, but never did it. He claimed to be working on a “beautiful” healthcare plan where everybody would be covered and nobody would be “dying on the sidewalk” but it never materialised.

In early 2020, Trump rolled out his “Deal of the Century”, an alleged “peace plan” for Israel and Palestine that was not only heavily biassed in favour of Israel, but one that also ignored the Trump administration’s record of giving Israel the weapons it would later use to mow down Palestinians. As with so many of Trump’s promises, the so-called “Deal of the Century” never actually went anywhere.

Four years later, Trump is once again talking about a “peace plan” not just for Israel and Palestine, but also for Russia and Ukraine. And yet to believe him requires ignoring his record in office, which consisted of implementing crushing economic sanctions against Russia, positioning US troops along Russia’s borders, and sending missiles and other “defensive capabilities” to Ukraine.

In March of 2024, Trump told Sean Hannity he will have a Ukrainian peace deal “solved” within 24 hours, but naturally refused to give any other details. In August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Trump told him in private that he plans to do everything to “stop the war” and “for Ukraine to remain independent, European, and free.” But Andrii Yermak, a spokesperson for Zelensky, told European Pravda that Trump advised Zelensky’s team against paying attention to “fake news” about his willingness to make concessions and said Trump “understands what kind of war this is, and that the US has supported, and will continue to support Ukraine.”

WATCH: Trump, Harris compete for Israel’s approval

In light of the contrast between Trump’s words and his actions, it seems very unlikely he will bring about peace to either Palestine or Ukraine. And yet it also makes perfect sense why he is claiming otherwise: Many Americans want these conflicts to end, which might not only explain why Trump has embraced anti-war rhetoric – at times even referring to himself as the “president who delivers peace” – but why Democrats have now also started adopting similar language.

In his resignation speech this summer, Biden claimed the US “is not at war anywhere in the world.” Truly a remarkable assertion for a president who has overseen bombing campaigns in places like Syria and Somalia, along with the funding of bloodbaths in Ukraine and Palestine.

In that same speech, Biden then passed on the imperial torch by endorsing his Vice President, Kamala Harris, a former California prosecutor who made a name for herself with such positions as defending the death penalty, refusing to support state-wide body cameras for police, prosecuting the parents of children who miss school and opposing legislation that would have required her office to independently investigate fatal police shootings.

While running together in the 2020 presidential election, Biden and Harris pledged to be a departure from Trump on things like separating families at the border and putting kids in cages, but then continued doing it. They promised “not another foot” of border wall, but then waived laws and cleared land to build far more than just another foot. They pledged to raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour – a wage no longer viable in an economy death-gripped by corporate greed thinly disguised as inflation – but it never happened. They said no more fossil fuel drilling on public lands, but then kept drilling. At one point, they even promised to cure cancer. Like Trump, Biden and Harris made countless promises while running, yet failed to deliver.

Four years later, with Biden out of the picture, the Harris-Trump showdown ensures core aspects of the status quo are locked in for at least another four years.

Like Trump, Harris will not end US military support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine, and also like Trump – who said he will silence Israel’s critics by revoking passports of foreign nationals protesting in the US – Harris is also willing to silence Israel’s critics. During an early August campaign rally, she told protesters to be quiet when she’s speaking, and responded to chants of “Kamala, Kamala you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide” with “If you want Trump to win, then say that.”

OPINION: Harris or Trump? They are two sides of the same imperialist, settler-colonial coin 

Like Harris, Trump’s record in office suggests he will almost certainly not cut off US support for the war in Ukraine.

Like Trump, Harris has made it clear she will be a hawk on Iran.

Like Harris, Trump claims to care about protecting the environment, and yet they both support fracking.

Like Trump, Harris – who said in 2020 that a border wall “is a complete waste of taxpayer money and won’t make us any safer” – now supports one.

Like Harris, Trump will continue amping up military tensions with China.

Like Trump, Harris is now against Medicare for All.

Like the Biden-Harris administration, the Trump-Pence administration also bombed Somalia and kept US troops in Syria and Iraq.

Like the Trump-Pence administration, the Biden-Harris administration has not been shy about going after whistleblowers.

Like the Biden-Harris administration, the Trump-Pence administration supported the renewal of invasive government spying programmes.

Like the Trump-Pence administration, which supported sanctions and regime change in oil-rich Venezuela, the Biden-Harris administration also supported regime change.

And although Trump has claimed he is self-funded, Trump – like Harris – also has the backing of corporate interests.

Are there differences between Trump and Harris? Of course there are. But in order to believe those differences translate into anything more than campaign rhetoric, one needs to be willing to grant a level of trust to either candidate, which they have not actually earned. Both candidates already attained positions of power, and both candidates failed to deliver on the key promises which brought them there.

Even if we assume every single thing Trump or Harris says is true and that they will genuinely fight to make their promises happen, we have to then be willing to embrace a trade deal that goes like this: You’ll get something if you vote for Biden or Harris – go ahead and name whatever policy of theirs you fancy – but at what cost? What do they have to promise to get you to turn a blind eye to genocide? What do they have to pledge in order to make you support a hot war with Russia? What do they have to say to get you to ignore the ongoing US occupation of Iraq? What is a fair trade for another round of US drone strikes in Somalia or Syria?

Trump and Harris will make a lot of promises, but don’t believe their words; instead, believe their very public records. For both candidates, such records clearly show two politicians who both agree on all the things that benefit their corporate donors and few of the things that benefit working class people.

WATCH: Gaza, Harris, Trump and the Muslim vote: MEMO in Conversation with Saher Selod

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.