Trump declares victory in 47th U.S. presidential election

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump declared his victory in the 47th U.S. presidential election, signaling that the “America First” president-elect will cause a great change to the situation on the Korean peninsula and international political order overall.

Trump outcompeted his Democratic counterpart Kamala Harris, current vice president, by earning 276 electoral votes, a majority of 538 votes in the Electoral College as of 2 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. He conquered not only the Sun Belt states, including North Carolina and Georgia, but also Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where he lost to Joe Biden in 2020. He is very likely to win the election given that he is taking a lead in Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada, where elections officials may still be counting ballots. He will likely have an overwhelming victory in all the seven swing states where a close race was originally expected to happen.

Despite his refusal to accept the 2020 election results and the following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, which made him the first U.S. president facing criminal charges, the country chose him as the next president over Harris as she failed to win over the hearts of white U.S. workers driven to despair by the Biden administration amid rising prices, and even young voters, Hispanic Americans and African-American people, many of whom have traditionally been Democrats. Additionally, his victory is partly explained by a growing number of U.S. citizens who want isolationism and protectionism as global conflicts such as the Russo-Ukrainian war and the Israel-Gaza war have only been intensifying in recent years.

As the Republican party has taken the Senate majority for the first time in four years in the congressional elections held along with the presidential election, chances are Trump will push forward with universal tariff proposals, plans to halt military aid to Ukraine, and stronger America-first programs compared to his first presidency. The Korean peninsula will inevitably be met with rapid changes if he seeks another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and demands renegotiations on defense cost-sharing.

Trump said in his victory speech on Wednesday, “We're going to help our country heal,” adding that he will bring the country back together to ensure that it regains respect.


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