This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.

During last night’s debate between Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Kamala Harris, a key question was squarely put about their running mates’ policies towards China. Mr. Pence emphasized that Donald Trump had “stood up” to the Chinese Communists and would continue to do so.

Ms. Harris declined to answer. The closest she came to doing so was to refer to Joe Biden’s belief that foreign policy comes down to personal relationships. That’s really worrying, since his close ties with PRC dictator, Xi Jinping, mightily contributed to the policy of appeasement the Obama team pursued when Biden was its point man on China. 

The then-Vice President’s official stenographer, Michael McCormick, describes in a new memoir how Xi and Vladimir Putin manipulated and humiliated Joe Biden. Leaders’ misplaced emphasis on personal ties usually undermines U.S. foreign policy interests, rather than advance them.

This is Frank Gaffney.