▲ Republican Candidate Donald J. Trump Wins Re-election (Source: CNN)

On Nov. 5, Republican candidate Donald Trump was elected as the 47th president of the United States. Not only did he win a majority, securing 312 of the total 538 electors, but he also outperformed Democratic vice president Kamala Harris to win re-election. In particular, he turned the game around, winning all seven of the races in Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina. In addition, he won the race by boosting his approval rating among African American and Hispanic male voters, who were classified as Democratic supporters in the Southern states. After the electors' vote in December is officially over, the final tally of votes will be made in the U.S. Congress on Jan. 6 next year. Trump will then begin his term on Jan. 20.

Trump led the way by winning North Carolina and Georgia, two of the contending states in the South, where counting began early. Harris needed Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania to turn the tables. However, hopes were dashed, with the electorate losing Pennsylvania, the largest number of votes, to Trump by 19. Trump, who secured 267 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election, declared his victory in front of supporters gathered at the Palm Beach Convention Center in Florida at 2:30 a.m. (local time) on June 6, before the vote was even counted. He then won Wisconsin, securing an additional 10 electors, and the 2024 U.S. presidential election confirmed the winner earlier than expected.

Harris' loss in the presidential election is mainly attributable to disappointment with the Biden administration's economic policies, support for Trump's anti-immigration policies, and her failure to differentiate between Harris and Biden's policies. Rising prices due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war during Biden's presidency, have made it difficult for citizens to make ends meet, apart from the overall growth of the U.S. economy. Trump has held Biden and Vice President Harris accountable for the stress on taxpayers in relation to the issue of illegal immigrants throughout the election, but Biden has not been able to respond clearly. Harris, a candidate after Biden's announcement this year that he will not run for president, has also faced limitations in persuading voters regarding the issue of living. Trump, on the other hand, has actively raised issues of illegal immigration in southern states. He has succeeded in winning the votes of African American and Hispanic men in the southern Sun Belt region by using his logic that illegal immigrants threaten their employment.

At the time of his initial appointment in 2017, Trump put forward the slogan "America First" and implemented isolationist policies to reduce interest in foreign issues and take care of the American people first. In the trade sector, high tariffs were imposed on foreign goods, and the defense contributions of the U.S. Forces Korea were also an extension of this policy stance. This foreign and security policy was the opposite of the existing line that the U.S. supported free trade after the Cold War, claiming to be the police of the world.

Trump was joined by established vested advisers, who had no political connections during his last term, but is expected to pursue a much stronger policy this time by appointing people who are loyal to him. Experts are raising the possibility that his tenure could lead to the weakening of the global alliance system along with the suspension of U.S. support for Ukraine. It is also predicted that China and Russia's influence will increase if the U.S. intervention in global security is reduced due to reduced spending. Trade barriers targeting Korea and China are expected to rise further, and while international demand is expected to increase in the fields of shipbuilding, defense, construction, and nuclear power by industry, the semiconductor, automobile, and battery industries are likely to be hurt by the impact of the U.S. tariff policy. With the possibility that the U.S. President, who has great influence over the world, will develop policies that are different from the past, it is now time to respond quickly to the conceivable fallout from the domestic industry.

By Kim So-ha, reporter  lucky.river16@gmail.com

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