US election: Brits back Harris, fear Trump's isolationism

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) — Most people in Britain prefer US Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris over Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump over a range of concerns including climate change, the war in Ukraine, and isolationism.

The US presidential election is now less than a week away, with polls indicating a very tight race.

According to a YouGov survey conducted in October, two-thirds of the British public support Harris, with only one in six hope for a second Trump term.

The survey suggested that Britons' preference for Harris over Trump is "clear" across nearly all segments of society.

Steve Rouse, a 66-year-old pro-European campaigner, said "Kamala all the way."

Speaking to Anadolu, Rouse criticized US climate policy under Trump's 2016-2020 presidency, when over 100 climate action laws were reversed and Washington withdrew from the Paris Agreement.

In contrast, the administration of President Joe Biden has been prolific in environmental legislation, he said, adding that this was the main reason he "really hopes" the Democrats win the 2024 race.

"Messaging is very important, and Kamala's message is so opposite to Trump as she has a warm, open, friendly face, and she tries to give reassuring hope," said Rouse.

This is also the US' "chance to have the first female woman of color" as president which is "amazing," he added.

Rouse expressed his concern over the situation in Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia since February 2022, in the case of a victory for Trump, whom he claimed "would end it by doing the dirty deal with (President Vladimir) Putin."

"I think if Trump just does a deal with Putin and says, 'Okay, you can keep what you've got' ... you're going to actually open it up to more wars, because Putin is not going to stop," he said.

"You'll stop for a couple of years, rearm and come back much worse," he said, also pointing to previous remarks by Trump that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "doing a good job" in Tel Aviv's deadly Gaza onslaught that has claimed the lives of "thousands Gazan children."

- Both Harris, Trump 'support genocide'

For her part, Jan, a 69-year-old retired social worker, said it would be better for Europe "if it wasn't Donald Trump."

"I think he had his turn, and now it's somebody else's turn and I also think it's better for women if the other candidate wins," she noted.

Also voicing concern about the prospects of more war under Trump, Jan argued: "I think that's less likely if the other candidate wins."

"I certainly think it'd be better for Ukraine if Donald Trump wasn't elected," she added.

Also speaking to Anadolu, Graham Korn, 65, said he had reservations about both candidates, adding that he leaned towards Democratic nominee Harris. "Frankly, I don't think either of them are going to be good for European peace ... to me, it's the better of bad choices."

For Korn, both Harris and Trump "are just as bad," when it comes to the situation in the Middle East.

"Both of them seem to support the genocide (in Gaza), and I simply don't think it's going to help," he said. However, he argued that despite this, it would still be better if Harris was elected.

"Because, the Democrats generally are more open, outward facing, whereas Trump ... he's very much isolationist, and takes a very chauvinistic, nationalistic view of American interests and actually promotes resentment of Europe."