In Munich, Harris tries to reassure European allies while Trump discredits NATO

As Air Force Two taxied for takeoff to Germany, Vice President Kamala Harris made her way through the plane and handed out heart-shaped Valentine's Day cookies. It was good practice for her trip to the Munich Security Conference, where her mission will be to reassure European allies that America still loves them.

Arriving in Munich, with House Republicans blocking military aid to Ukraine and former President Donald J. Trump vowing to encourage Russia to attack “delinquent” NATO allies, Ms. Harris has the unenviable task of leading Europe's telling leaders not to worry too much about those things. . And she faces the challenge of arguing that Mr. Trump and his supporters are wrong about the value of alliances.

While the meetings she and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will hold in Munich will be aimed at calming European leaders, the speech she will give at the conference on Friday will be equally aimed at the American public At home. Without mentioning Mr. Trump by name, officials say, she plans to use the platform to forcefully counter the former president, who wants to reclaim his old job, arguing that international partnerships are critical to U.S. security , and not a burden to be thrown away lightly.

It will also be a chance for her to prove herself on the world stage in an election year when her running mate, President Biden, is facing questions about his age. While no one in the White House would say this too openly, Ms. Harris' challenge in the campaign is to demonstrate that she is up to the task so that voters don't have to worry about re-electing an 81-year-old president who 86 at the end of a second term.

“I am ready to serve. There is no doubt about that,” Ms. Harris told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published this week. Everyone who interacts with her, she said, “walks away fully aware of my ability to lead.”

Munich has been a favorite platform for Ms. Harris to demonstrate that for years. In 2022, she spoke just days before Russia invaded Ukraine, calling it a “defining moment” for the world. Last year she used the conference to accuse Russia of “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine, raising the diplomatic stakes of the war.

She had already planned to speak this year about the dangers of American isolationism, even before Mr. Trump told a campaign rally last week that, if re-elected, he would not only not defend NATO members attacked by Russia if they 'didn't pay enough', but he would even “encourage” Russia to “do whatever they want” with the Allies. The resulting furore made her theme all the more striking.

A White House official, who previewed the speech on condition of anonymity, said she would use it to expose and argue for the “failed ideologies of isolationism, authoritarianism and unilateralism” represented by Mr. Trump that his approach to foreign policy could lead to a world of disorder. She will focus on what the official described as four choices: globally engaged versus isolationist, international rules and norms versus chaos, democratic values ​​versus authoritarianism and collective action versus unilateralism.

Perhaps just as importantly, she will try to convince world leaders that she and Mr Biden will win in November, despite growing doubts among European leaders and analysts, who are already considering the contingencies for a second Trump presidency.

Former Representative Jane Harman, a California Democrat who traveled with Ms. Harris on Air Force Two, said the vice president will be forced to explain the intransigence on Capitol Hill to approve more aid to Ukraine even though it has, according to most reviews show bipartisan support. majority. “The real villain is Congress, which profits from blaming the other side for not solving problems,” Ms. Harman said. “Trump is exploiting this brilliantly, although I don't like to give him credit for it.”

But many Europeans also remain uncertain about Ms Harris herself, claiming she has not yet found a clear identity. “Does she have an opinion and does she have certain knowledge?” asked François Heisbourg, senior adviser for Europe at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “Who is she?” He said he didn't mean it “pejoratively,” adding, “It's just baffling.”

Ms. Harris will have the opportunity to define herself in a series of meetings with world leaders. She will meet separately on Saturday with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany. The sessions will likely focus on how Ukraine can hold its own against Russian forces, pending whether or not U.S. military aid arrives.

European officials are increasingly predicting a U.S. withdrawal could lead to further Russian aggression. German and Estonian officials have said Russia could attack a NATO member within five to eight years, while the Danish defense chief put the risk at three to five years.

The somber mood in Munich will require intense American comfort, analysts said. “If hand-wringing were an Olympic sport, we would be handing out a lot of medals,” said Heather A. Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a group that promotes the transatlantic relationship. .

Recognizing European uncertainty, the White House announced Thursday that Mr. Biden would host President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland for a joint meeting at the White House on March 12. It will be their first meeting since a centrist-progressive coalition won elections in October, ousting a nationalist government seen as one of Trump's supporters.

“The leaders will reaffirm their unwavering support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's brutal war of conquest,” the White House said in a statement announcing the visit. “The meeting also coincides with the 25th anniversary of Poland's accession to NATO and underscores the shared ironclad commitment of the United States and Poland to the NATO alliance, which makes us all more secure.”