Trump or Harris? In a world plagued by crises, politicians are resigned to both

The annual United Nations Week is always chaotic.

It might be called the Super Bowl of diplomacy, but this year perhaps the most apt analogy is a marathon.

Since World War II many world conflicts have piled up, Lebanon is on the brink as leaders arrive in New York City.

Given the current state of uncertainty, the upcoming US election has been on everyone’s mind here.

One of the Western officials told me that no one expects things to move forward with the Israel-Gaza war until the winner of the race for the White House is announced.

“We understand that the current administration is under pressure not to take decisions that could interfere with the election,” he said.

“But we hope that after the elections the current administration will use this time to perhaps take decisions that will lead to the improvement of the situation in Gaza.”

But in interviews with a dozen officials from different continents at UN headquarters in Manhattan, a picture emerged of a global community frustrated by the crisis and resigned to working with whoever will occupy the White House.

All were not disclosed to express their candid views.

“I don’t see the difference between the two candidates, just look at the whole world from one end to the other, we are in chaos,” said the ambassador of the South Asian nation.

It’s a sentiment that reflects perhaps disillusionment with US leadership, but also the view of many in the global south that while the rhetoric is changing, America’s broad foreign policies are not changing much from one official to another.

“It’s very easy to blaspheme and raise alarms about what might happen,” one senior Arab representative told me.

He said that although he thinks that the former President Donald Trump cannot be predicted compared to the Vice President Kamala Harris, but the idea that he will destroy the nationalism of different nations is an exaggeration because it has not happened before.

“What really undermines international unity are the actions and conflicts that happen in many parts of the world, and you can’t put it in one country or one government,” he said.

Here at the UN, one long-time UN official tells me there is no panic about the US election.

“We have enough widespread concern about what’s happening today to worry about what’s happening in November,” the official said.

The source added that the UN survived the Trump administration in a way few could have predicted.

“The volume may have been louder, but they weren’t that different from the previous Republicans,” the official said.

If there is a second term, this official told me that their idea is that Trump will focus so much on domestic issues and “settle the points internally” that foreign policy may not be a major focus at first.

Speaking to the BBC, Kenyan President William Ruto sounded undeterred.

“I am sure that the bones of friendship between Kenya and the US go beyond people in positions,” he said. “It will surpass me as president or anyone elected in the US.”

For many Europeans, however, there are concerns about the second Trump administration and what some see as his approach to foreign relations.

A European diplomat told me that since the Security Council cannot control conflicts, there are fears that a bold and potentially over-powerful Trump administration will add to the dysfunction and encourage more movements in Europe towards the ultra-right.

“I think it would be a relief at least for many Europeans if Harris takes office,” he said.

Still, one senior European spokesman said that while Harris’ win would give them a sense of continuity, they now have a four-year working relationship with Trump and feel more prepared than in 2016.

Alongside the UN high-level debate was Climate Week in New York City. Caribbean leaders spoke not only from the Green and Gold World Assembly Hall, but also to rooms full of businessmen and politicians at side events to warn that the world is dangerously behind on its climate commitments, putting their islands at risk.

One minister in the region told me that the climate is the main area of ​​concern for US tensions. “Regarding the real commitment to the US government and the fact that the US government has given leadership,” the minister said, “definitely the Democrats”.

Many still remember Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, and Joe Biden rejoining.

The Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Philip Davis, said that political change has been a challenge to progress in the past 26 years. He said he has always wanted a plan to protect the change in political leadership from blocking or reversing progress.

Election day on November 5th may feel far away to diplomats who have faced more challenges than solutions this past week.

But the time is fast approaching when the votes will be counted in the US, and a new face in the White House.

One European minister, who was rushing to the event, simply said to me: “My hope is that it won’t be too strange.”

Additional reporting by Cai Pigliucci.