The Biggest Loser in the Debate? National Security.

Tuesday Night, the United States finally saw its two main presidential candidates meet for a debate to sway undecided voters and reassure their own camps of their reliability. While a plethora of different issues were on Americans' minds, Harris and Trump largely focused on three: immigration, economy, and abortion. Although the importance of these issues should not be understated, it's difficult to ignore the topics that received little or no airtime. Generally, with the exception of some talk on illegal migration (which resulted in neither candidate actually laying out a policy solution), key issues with implications for national security were largely ignored. The obvious question comes to mind. Why?.TariffsThe topic of tariffs and trade restrictions was covered in the debate, but only from an economic perspective. When this discussion was underway, it was clear that both candidates support tariffs and promise to expand them if elected. However, according to a paper analyzing the 2018 manufacturing tariffs published by the Federal Reserve Bank, tariffs on China have failed to increase output and employment in the US. Further, a May 2024 report from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) found that China's retaliation, which included retaliatory tariffs, resulted in a net loss of US jobs and income.But protectionists like Trump and Harris defend tariffs by saying that the economic sacrifice is worth the political leverage that tariffs give us. Indeed, if tariffs are an effective way to curb China's malicious dealings like intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices, perhaps they don't need to be economically beneficial. Unfortunately, the USTR report also acknowledged that tariffs have done little to prevent China's activity.All of these facts have been endorsed as true by official bodies of the United States federal government. With this holding true, it brings into question why neither presidential candidate cared to address a top voter priority.CybersecurityAn analysis titled "Urgent Action Needed to Address Critical Cybersecurity Challenges Facing the Nation" was released on June 13 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). According to the research, over 30,000 cybersecurity incidents were recorded by federal agencies in fiscal year 2022, underscoring the urgent need for increased technology security in the federal government.Just as mail scams in the 20th century evolved into email scams in the 21st century, there will be an evolving threat towards critical systems as enemies become wiser and compute power becomes cheaper. These threats extend beyond basic data breaches; they can weaken public confidence in government institutions, harm vital infrastructure, and endanger national security systems. Despite being overlooked in political rhetoric, the GAO report highlights the critical need for a concerted national approach to boost cybersecurity defenses. Given their rising frequency and severity, it is not only a mistake but also a missed chance to reassure the public about the candidates' commitment to national security. Cybersecurity has been a much hotter topic in the past few years after a string of high profile data breaches that occurred. After the largest data theft of American data to date at the end of 2023, hackers had posted 270 million personal data records—including social security numbers—for sale on the dark web in April of this year. China has been the primary culprit behind cyberattacks the Pentagon has dealt with for years as non-state actors and foreign nations target the most data rich country on earth. Cybersecurity concerns genuinely pose a significant threat to US national security in addition to personal data and safety.North KoreaThe US intelligence agency presented the Senate with its yearly threat assessment earlier this year. North Korea has been identified as one of the most serious threats, due to its recent backing for Russia's involvement in Ukraine and its continuous proliferation of nuclear arms and other advanced weaponry. As evidenced by Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin's entire geopolitical partnership, North Korea expanded its military associations with Moscow this year in addition to launching unprovoked missiles. This agreement includes mutual defense duties and military-technical cooperation, which can easily imperil US national security interests by boosting North Korea's nuclear capacity. The ability of North Korea to get over UN sanctions with the help of its allies, China and Russia, significantly complicates the security situation. North Korea is able to test new weapons and bolster its military power because to this cooperation, both of which have the potential to destabilize the Korean Peninsula and beyond. The prospect of North Korea obtaining advanced military technologies from Russia raises the stakes. As a result, more advanced nuclear weapons systems that may elude US missile defenses may be developed. Despite all of this, and despite the intelligence community emphasizing the importance of the threat posed by Kim Jong Un, several political pundits have more questions as to why this isn't being addressed. TaiwanThe subject of China's hostility toward Taiwan is another unexpected omission. Taiwan's essential position in the global semiconductor business makes it imperative to defend the island from China. One of the world's biggest technology companies, Nvidia, has depended heavily on the sovereignty of Taiwan. The CEO of the tech behemoth Jensen Huang delivered a clear message of reliance on Taiwan based TSMC when speaking with company stakeholders recently. Although he stated that alternatives exist to TSMC, they are the best producers of semiconductors by a wide margin. Semiconductors are the key ingredient for tech advancement in the 21st century. From sophisticated military systems to cellphones, these chips are necessary for virtually all advancements within the tech space. According to a report released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, any confrontation in the Taiwan Strait might cause severe manufacturing bottlenecks in semiconductors, which would have a dire impact on American national security and economic prosperity.The People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China serves as the conduit for this threat towards the all-important country. The Chinese military completed two days of operations in May that involved the navy, army, air force, and rocket force. The exercises were intended to assess China's ability to seize critical regions of the island and to reprimand Taiwan's president for delivering a speech that reaffirmed Taiwan's pledge to democracy and independence. With tensions rising in the region, more eyebrows are drifting towards the question mark of why this hasn't been addressed.The Show Must Go OnWith 54 days until the election, it wouldn't be out of the question for these issues to remain on the backburner while candidates continue campaigning on key domestic issues. At the end of the day, the job of a presidential candidate is to campaign on topics that the public care most about. Perhaps the omission of national security issues is, therefore, the result of an existing lack of care on the same issues from the mind of the average voter.