Close Menu
    What Would A Harris Or Trump Presidency Mean For Armenians? - CIVILNET
    Armenia

    What Would A Harris Or Trump Presidency Mean For Armenians? – CIVILNET

    View 5 Comments

    5 Comments

    1. Lucine- on

      **Trump on Armenian issues:**

      Among Armenians, Trump is perhaps best known for being president during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. The conflict, which resulted in Armenia losing control over a large part of Nagorno-Karabakh and later paved the way for the region’s ultimate loss last year, was a significant turning point for the country. Under Trump, the United States took a passive position and did little to mediate an end to the conflict, beyond lukewarm condemnations and two-sided calls to cease hostilities. The president did, however, promise in 2020 that he would “straighten out” the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and praised Armenians as “good people” and “great businesspeople.”

      In addition to an apparent “hands-off” policy on Nagorno-Karabakh, the Trump administration made repeated and concerted efforts to block U.S. aid to the region. It repeatedly targeted the U.S. aid program to Nagorno-Karabakh, ultimately cutting off all humanitarian aid and defunding demining efforts.

      Under Trump, the United States also broke years of precedent of sending equal U.S. military aid to Armenia and Azerbaijan, instead boosting Azerbaijan’s funding to more than $100 million. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s budget requests called for reductions in aid to Armenia. As president, Trump publicly embraced Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose military directly assisted Azerbaijan’s assault on Nagorno-Karabakh. He also failed to condemn or take action against Erdoğan’s bodyguards when they physically assaulted peaceful protesters on U.S. soil during an official visit to Washington.

      According to political consultant and CivilNet commentator Eric Hacopian, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would welcome another Trump presidency. It is not Trump’s specific policies, but rather the foreign policy environment he creates, that would allow Azerbaijan to continue to act with impunity, he said.

      In an interview with CivilNet last month, Hacopian said that Azerbaijan is “looking forward to a Trump world, because they think a Trump election means Russian victory in Ukraine, less U.S. involvement, and a freer hand for every dictator around the world, specifically [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or Aliyev himself.”

      In addition, during his four years in office, Trump not only failed to recognize the Armenian Genocide, but also actively tried to block recognition efforts in Congress. After the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Armenian Genocide Resolution in 2019, Trump enlisted Senators Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to block passage in the Senate. However, Trump’s efforts were unsuccessful and the bill was ultimately passed.

      Like all of his predecessors and his successor too, Trump waived Section 907 of the 1992 Freedom Support Act all four years of his term, overriding restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan due to its blockades of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

      Another important issue for many Armenians living in the United States is immigration, as many families emigrate from Armenia to the United States and become naturalized citizens. Under the Trump administration, significant cuts were made to legal, family-based immigration, which would affect any Armenians who hope to sponsor their families’ immigration to the United States.

      Meanwhile, Trump’s vice presidential pick, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), has a more solid record of engaging with issues relevant to Armenia. In a memo to Congress last October, Vance highlighted “the rapid overthrow of the cease-fire agreement in Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan and the exodus of an ancient Christian community.” And in January, Vance wrote to the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury urging her to block arms sales to the Czechoslovak Group, a controversial firm that, among other things, Vance claimed has been implicated in “violations of the arms embargo to Azerbaijan.”

    2. dssevag on

      Armenian Trump supporters, after reading this article, why do you still think it’s better to vote for Trump? This is a genuine question, not a criticism; I’m just trying to understand your perspective.

    4. Educational-Algae203 on

      If Trump wins, US will most likely limit the aid to Ukraine and allow Russia to win there and Putin become more free to deal with South Caucasus.

      The question is, as Armenians, do we want Putin to get more involved in Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict?

      Putin hates Nikol and his policies. Honestly I also hate Nikol, but having stronger Russia mediating things in Caucasus might not be the best thing for us right now. And oh, let’s not forget that Putin and Aliyev are a tandem, working together.

    5. Notorious_Degen on

      Nothing honestly. Armenia is fucked either way because of Nikol. We lost Artsakh, what’s next Yerevan ? This world doesn’t realize how mental Erdobeleeg and Aliyev are.
      I honestly love listening to Armenian Trump MAGA supporters because how stupid they sound. Trump barely cares about your everyday American. You think he gives a fuck about Armenia?! It’s truly sad honestly