ВИБОРЧА ГАЗЕТА

Turkish leader sees opportunity in Trump’s election

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sometimes at odds with Western leaders but has made no secret of what he says were his warm dealings with President-elect Donald Trump during the U.S. leader’s first term. Observers say he is now looking to those warm ties as an opportunity to end regional conflicts, but also to ask for greater U.S. cooperation against Kurdish separatists, as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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In Africa, some excited about Trump return, others worried

Reactions in Africa to Donald Trump’s return to the White House are mixed. Some are excited and eager to see what comes next, while others remember the former president’s first term and don’t expect much from a new Trump administration regarding Africa. VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo has this report. Contributor: Juma Majanga; Camera: Amos Wangwa
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In historic shift, American Muslim and Arab voters desert Democrats

In a historic shift, Muslim and Arab Americans broke with two decades of Democratic loyalty, splitting most of their votes between President-elect Donald Trump and third-party candidates in Tuesday’s presidential election

The exodus, fueled by anger over the Biden administration’s handling of the war in Gaza, helped Trump win key battleground states as he defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House.

Less than half of the Muslim voters who voted backed Harris, according to an exit poll of more than 1,000 voters by the Council on American Islamic Relations. Most voted for either a third-party candidate or Trump, said Robert McCaw, CAIR’s director of government affairs.

“This is the first time in the past in more than 20 years that the Muslim community has been split between three candidates,” McCaw said in an interview, with VOA.

CAIR’s exit poll findings are set for release on Thursday.

The shift in the Muslim vote echoed among Arab American voters, who had backed Democratic presidential candidates 2-to-1 for more than two decades, said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.

“And then you come to this election where Gaza took a toll and caused a great deal of dissatisfaction among demographic groups in the community that I wouldn’t have expected it to have that degree of impact,” Zogby told VOA. “What they saw happening in Gaza impacted them quite profoundly.”

There are an estimated 3.7 million Arab Americans, most of them Christian, and a similar number of Muslim Americans.

The voter revolt was strongest in Michigan’s Arab strongholds of Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, and Hamtramck.

In Dearborn, where more than 55% of the residents are of Middle Eastern descent, Trump won more than 42% of the vote, up from 30% four years ago. Harris received just 36% from a community that gave President Joe Biden nearly 70% of its vote.

In nearby Hamtramck, the first majority-Muslim city in the U.S., Trump picked up 43% of the vote, up from just 13% in 2020. Harris secured 46%, down from the 85% that Biden notched four years ago.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein, a staunch critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, pulled less than 20% of the vote in the two towns.

Samraa Luqman, a Dearborn-based realtor and political activist, said the shift was “absolutely astounding.”

“It’s really, really, wow,” said Luqman, who campaigned for Biden last fall before switching sides over Gaza.

The last time Muslim Americans overwhelmingly voted for a Republican was in 2000 when George W. Bush received the community’s support.

That changed after the attacks of 9/11. In recent years, however, some conservative Muslims started to drift back to the Republican Party over cultural issues.

Anger over Gaza solidified the rightward shift, Luqman said.

“It really put the nail in the coffin for the Democrats for this election,” she said.

Yet some experts urge caution in interpreting Harris’ lackluster performance among Muslim voters. AP VoteCast showed the vice president captured 63% of Muslim votes overall, just slightly below Biden’s 2020 showing, said Youssef Chouhoud, a professor at Christopher Newport University.

“While Dearborn is a unique case, I do think we need to wait and see what the larger trends are for Muslim voters nationwide,” added Saher Selod, director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU).

Still, Trump made noticeable inroads. After winning 35% of the Muslim vote in 2020, he actively courted Muslim and Arab voters this year, promising to end the Gaza conflict. Last week, he visited Hamtramck, whose Muslim mayor had endorsed him.

“His outreach didn’t go unnoticed,” said Asm “Kamal” Rahman, a Bangladeshi American who ran for mayor in 2021, and voted for Trump.

Luqman said Trump’s message of peace resonated with many voters.

“This year, he stated several times, and it became kind of like a model, that he wanted to stop the war, stop the war, stop the war,” Luqman said.

While Gaza was the No. 1 issue among Muslim Americans, kitchen table issues also pushed many away from Harris, according to several activists and voters.

“I want people in office that are going to focus on solving the problems of Americans here at home, first and foremost,” said Nagi Almudhegi, a data analyst in Dearborn.

An ISPU survey over the summer found that the economy was the No. 3 issue for most Muslim voters, after the Gaza conflict and ending foreign wars.

“They’re feeling the pinch as much as anyone else, and so I think that’s a major issue as far as just very specific sort of interests and concerns of the Muslim community,” said Chad Haines, co-director of the Center of Muslim Experience in the U.S. at Arizona State University.

Haines, a Muslim convert who voted for Harris, said the election divided the Muslim American community between those who wanted to send Democrats a message over Gaza, and others who feared a Trump return.

“So … one camp is happy that … the Democrats have taken, in a sense, a hit, and another is deeply concerned about the next four years,” Haines in an interview.
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Trump moving quickly to consider key appointments

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is moving quickly to consider appointments to key positions in his new White House administration and could name some choices within days.

Trump, fresh off his decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election, has been huddling with aides at his oceanside Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida to mull over his options.

Even before the election, transition chiefs Howard Lutnick and Linda McMahon met with some potential candidates for top-notch jobs, either in the White House or to head the government’s Cabinet-level departments and an array of other agencies.

Trump aides also have prepared a long list of possible executive orders and regulation reversals for him to sign on his first day in office on January 20, to end policies that have been adopted by President Joe Biden over the last four years.

Biden, who defeated Trump in the 2020 election and was running for reelection until a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June forced him from the contest, has promised a peaceful transition back to Trump.

Biden has invited the president-elect for a White House visit in the coming days and called him Wednesday to congratulate him. Biden is speaking on the election from the White House Rose Garden on Thursday morning.

Biden on Wednesday praised Harris for her campaign, saying, “She’s been a tremendous partner and public servant full of integrity, courage, and character.”

“Under extraordinary circumstances, she stepped up and led a historic campaign that embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation that is more free, more just, and full of more opportunities for all Americans,” Biden said.
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Taiwan braces for uncertainty following Trump’s victory

Taipei, Taiwan — Leaders from China and Taiwan have congratulated Donald Trump’s national election victory, despite growing uncertainty about how his second presidential term might impact dynamics across the Taiwan Strait.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged China and the United States to find the right way to get along in the new era, to benefit ‘’both countries and the wider world.”

He hopes the two sides will “uphold the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, strengthen dialogue and communication, properly manage differences and expand mutually beneficial cooperation,” according to a readout released by China’s official Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who came to power in May, said in a post on social media platform X that he is confident that the “longstanding Taiwan-U.S. partnership, built on shared values and interests, will continue to serve as a cornerstone for regional stability and lead to greater prosperity.” 

On the Chinese internet, some social media users say they expect Trump to impose high tariffs on Chinese products but expressed mixed views on how the looming trade war might affect the Chinese economy. 

In Taiwan, some Taiwanese people express concern about the U.S. reducing their support for Taiwan under Trump’s second term due to his comments about Taiwan during the campaign and his isolationist approach to international affairs. 

“Judging from his comments on Taiwan over the last few months, I worry the U.S. won’t be so supportive of Taiwan if they want to stabilize relations with China,” Lydia Yang, a 35-year-old marketing professional in Taipei, told VOA by phone.

During an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek in July, Trump said Taiwan should pay the U.S. for defense and compared U.S. military spending on Taiwan to an insurance policy.

“I know the people very well. Respect them greatly. They did take 100% of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense,” he said during the interview. 

In addition to asking Taiwan to pay for U.S. protection, Trump also accused Taiwan of stealing semiconductor technologies from the United States and threatened to impose tariffs against Taiwanese semiconductor companies.

“We put up billions of dollars for rich companies to come in and borrow the money and build chip companies here. They’re not going to give us the good companies anyway,” he said during an interview with Joe Rogan on October 25. 

Some Taiwanese people said these comments reflect Trump’s transactional approach to foreign policy and underline that he would prioritize American interests once he returns to the White House next January.

“When it comes to things that don’t directly benefit the U.S., I would be worried about his approach,” Lai Ming-Wei, a 44-year-old engineer, told VOA in a recorded interview.

The Trump campaign has not yet responded to a VOA request for comment regarding the president-elect’s policy toward Taiwan.

Despite these concerns, some Taiwanese officials have tried to reassure the public that bilateral relations between Taiwan and the United States won’t significantly change under the second Trump administration.

“On relations across the Taiwan Strait, we believe that the United States will continue its current approach of constraining China and being friendly to Taiwan,” Tsai Ming-yen, Director-General of Taiwan National Security Bureau, told journalists on the sideline of Taiwan’s parliament on Wednesday.

Analysts say while the basic elements of U.S.-Taiwan relations will remain the same, Trump’s campaign comments and more isolationist foreign policy approach could increase uncertainty for bilateral relations between Taipei and Washington.

“We don’t know what version of Donald Trump we are going to see and this kind of uncertainty doesn’t bring stability and predictability to the Taiwan Strait,” Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Taiwan University, told VOA by phone.

Other experts say Taiwan will have to take concrete actions to convince Trump that the island is serious about boosting its defense capabilities amid rising military pressure from China.

“Taiwan needs to offer something concrete, such as increasing the defense budget, because if Taiwan fails to do so, Trump may think Taiwan isn’t doing anything, so he doesn’t need to be too nice to Taiwan,” said Chen Fang-yu, a political scientist at Soochow University in Taiwan, speaking by phone to VOA.

Taiwan’s defense minister Wellington Koo said on Tuesday that Taipei must show its determination to defend itself regardless of who won the U.S. presidential election.

“We have to let them understand that Taiwan has the determination to defend itself, and the importance of Taiwan’s economic security and strategic geopolitical position,” he told journalists on the sidelines of the parliament. 

However, some Chinese analysts say Taiwan’s attempt to deepen military cooperation with the United States, including buying more weapons from Washington, would be counterproductive to the stability across the Taiwan Strait.

Trump’s comments about Taiwan paying for U.S. protection mean “he is asking Taiwan to increase their defense spending so they can buy more American weapons, but sending more arms to Taiwan wouldn’t help convince China that peaceful reunification is still possible,” Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University in China, told VOA by phone.

Despite concerns about Trump’s potential policies toward Taiwan, based on his campaign comments, some analysts say it remains to be seen how his administration will formulate Taiwan policies.

“There are different voices in his camp. There are voices focusing on the economic competition side, which is represented by Trump himself, and there are voices talking about pulling away from Europe and focusing more resources in Asia to compete with China, and there are voices looking at drawing together U.S. assets, including allies, to compete hard with China,” Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, told VOA by phone.

However, he said Taiwan should be prepared for potential inconsistency in Trump’s approach as he tends to “cycle through officials very quickly” during his first term in office. “That inconsistency may create an impression that there’s an opening for Beijing,” Chong said.
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China expects bumpy relations with the US under Trump

Taipei, Taiwan — Following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory, Chinese netizens said they expect the U.S. to increase trade tensions with China while analysts say Washington’s efforts to counter China’s expansion might weaken under a second Trump administration.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump has vowed to impose tariffs, between 60% to 200%, on Chinese products on several occasions. During an interview with Fox News on February 4, Trump said he would impose more than 60% tariffs on Chinese imports but emphasized he wasn’t going to start a trade war with China.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump said he would tax China at 150% to 200% if Beijing decides to “go into Taiwan.”

Some Chinese internet users expect Trump to follow through on the campaign promise to impose huge tariffs on Chinese products but have mixed views about how the tariffs will affect the Chinese economy and their livelihoods.

Amid China’s ongoing economic downturn, some Chinese social media users worry that Trump’s return to the White House could exacerbate the economic pressure on many Chinese citizens.  

“It’s hard to look at Trump’s victory with pure joy, because he is going to launch a trade war with China when he comes into power, and our economy will suffer further,” a Chinese netizen in the capital, Beijing, wrote on the popular microblogging site Weibo, which is similar to X.

“How will the lives of normal citizens change? I’m feeling a sense of unease about the unpredictability of the future,” the person added.

Others say the 60% tariff on Chinese imports to the United States that Trump proposed during the campaign will push Chinese companies to redirect exports from the U.S. to other markets, including Southeast Asia, South America and Europe.

“Trump’s approach of being [an] enemy with the whole world may make some left-wing regimes in Europe disappointed, and this development may lead to a de-escalation of trade tensions between China and Europe,” Niu Chun-bao, chairman of Shanghai Wanji Asset Management Co., posted on Weibo.

Some Chinese netizens predict the immense pressure that Trump is likely to impose on Beijing will enhance China’s domestic unity, and his transactional approach to resolving tensions may offer more room for negotiation and bargaining.

“As long as there are no major internal problems, no external pressure can overwhelm China. So, I think the overall situation may still be positive,” another netizen in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong wrote on Weibo.

‘Significant hit’

While Chinese netizens hold mixed views about the potential tariffs that Trump has vowed to impose on Chinese imports, analysts say this move would be “a significant hit” to the Chinese economy, which has been troubled by an ongoing property crisis, high youth unemployment and weak domestic demand.

If Trump decides to impose 60% tariffs on all Chinese products imported to the U.S., “This would be a return to a big-picture trade war rather than a narrow tech war. And it would have a much deeper impact on China’s export-driven growth potential because he is hitting the entirety of China’s exports to the U.S.,” Jacob Gunter, an expert on China’s political economy at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, told VOA by phone.

In Gunter’s view, Trump may use the tariffs to force China to make more concessions on trade. After imposing up to 25% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods imported to the U.S. in 2019, the Trump administration and China reached a trade deal that saw Beijing promise to increase purchases of American goods to at least $200 billion.

“We could see a return to the deal-making Donald Trump, where he wants to strike a deal and be viewed as this great negotiator, because that’s who he imagines himself to be,” Gunter said, adding that it remains to be seen how Trump might position the tariffs during his second term.

Other experts say one thing to look out for is what concessions Trump might make during a potential negotiation with China.

“One big question is whether Trump will soften the position the Biden administration has maintained on Taiwan in exchange for more exports and more U.S. investment into China,” Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia Pacific at French investment bank Natixis, told VOA by phone.

The Trump campaign has not yet responded to a VOA request for comment regarding his administration’s trade plans with China once he takes office in January.

In response to potential tariffs that the incoming Trump administration could impose, analysts say China could impose counter-tariffs on U.S. agricultural products from states controlled by the Republican Party.

“Economic and political tensions between the two countries will inevitably rise, while the global economy and global supply chains will be thrown into chaos,” Zhiqun Zhu, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Bucknell University, told VOA in a written response.

Weakened coordination with allies

While trade and economic tensions between China and the U.S. are expected to rise during Trump’s second term, Zhu said Trump’s return to power may also be good news for Beijing, as Washington’s efforts to counter China’s expansion of its influence in the Indo-Pacific region may be weakened due to Trump’s isolationist approach in international affairs.

“Trump is more likely to push ahead with his agenda without consulting allies and partners or seeking their support, and this might be good news for China,” Zhu told VOA.

“China can take a ‘divide-and-conquer’ strategy to dilute the effectiveness of Trump’s foreign policy, especially the Indo-Pacific strategy, and we may see improvements in China’s relations with its neighbors, particularly Japan, South Korea and India, as well as U.S. allies in other parts of the world,” Zhu added.

In his view, bilateral relations between China and the U.S. will be dominated by competition under the second Trump administration, but there is also room for diplomacy and cooperation.

“Competition itself is not necessarily harmful, because if the two countries can manage the competition in a healthy way, both sides can benefit,” Zhu said.  
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Harris concedes presidential defeat to Trump

The United States is gearing up for a transfer of power, with President Joe Biden congratulating President-elect Donald Trump on his victory and Vice President Kamala Harris conceding defeat. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from Washington. Camera: Adam Greenbaum.
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Israelis, Palestinians welcome election of Trump

Both Israelis and Palestinians on Wednesday welcomed Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential election victory. Israelis hope he will support them in their conflicts with Hamas and others; Palestinians hope he will offer new statehood ideas. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen.
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Excitement, disappointment in US after Trump’s win

Former President Donald Trump will return to the White House, as is the will of the American people. The news has been received with a mix of cheers and tears in a deeply divided country. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports from Washington. Camera: Afshean Hessam, Veronica Balderas Iglesias.
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A US election watch party in Kenya, excitement at first, followed by disappointment

nairobi, kenya — In a vibrant Nairobi community center, American citizens living in Kenya gathered with palpable excitement early Wednesday to watch the U.S. election results unfold. The atmosphere buzzed with anticipation as expatriates shared snacks and stories, their eyes glued to screens displaying real-time updates.

As the results of the U.S elections trickled in, a mix of American citizens and local Kenyan friends anxiously monitored the results.

Robyn Emerson, an American expatriate in Nairobi and chairperson of Democrats Abroad Kenya, which organized the event, said all American citizens were invited to the event, regardless of the party they support.

“American voters have come to a central place so that we can be together and watch the election come in so that we can really celebrate the right to vote,” Emerson said. “That we have done our part; we participated in a democratic process. And watching how the different states are coming in, and the results that are there.”

Bentley Wilson, an independent voter from the western state of Utah, agreed.

“It’s important for us to see each other as one country. And no matter whether we go for a certain party, it’s important for us to come together because it’s our country’s significance that’s at stake,” Wilson said. “So, we better come together. I like coming together no matter whether I’m leaning one side or another, to come together with citizens of my country to support the cause of … choosing an elected official.”

The Democrats Abroad Kenyan chapter estimates that approximately 30,000 American expatriates reside in the country.

Tom Wolf, an American researcher based in Nairobi, said most expatriates are keen to engage in the election process back home.

“They are well educated people … or they wouldn’t be allowed to stay in Kenya, they wouldn’t have jobs here,” Wolf said. “Whether they are diplomats or businesspeople, or with NGOs. So, they tend to be of higher education levels than the averages in their home countries. And we all know from studies of voting that people with higher education levels are more likely to vote.”

Lisa Maroni, a native of Detroit, said the event provided her with a special opportunity to interact with fellow citizens.

“I’m so grateful for the community in Kenya. I think it’s really special. I’ve lived in other countries and never had such an opportunity to spend time with other Americans and friends,” she said. “There are some allies from other countries here who are interested in what’s happening in the country, and I’m just very grateful to have somewhere to share that experience.”

Given that the event was organized by Democratic Party supporters, the early morning excitement began to dissipate as it became clear that their candidate, Kamala Harris, was losing to the Republican, former president Donald Trump.

Wilson, a Harris supporter, was among the disappointed people.

“I was really hopeful that we would vote the first U.S. woman and woman of color president this year,” Wilson said.

Disappointed in the results, most of the participants started leaving the event and it ended earlier than scheduled.
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In Photos: Reaction to US presidential election

Around the nation and around the globe, people responded as former U.S. President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to earn a new four-year term as the country’s leader.
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Donald Trump projected winner in US presidential race

With Donald Trump’s projected victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, VOA’s Tina Trinh explores how his past policies and current positions offer insight into the upcoming presidency. (Camera: Tina Trinh)
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Trump wins US presidential election 

Former U.S. President Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to earn a new four-year term as the country’s leader. 

In a tightly contested race, Trump secured at least 277 of the 538 available electoral votes in Tuesday’s election, giving him the necessary majority to become the first U.S. leader to win non-consecutive terms since the 1890s. 

Harris, the Democratic candidate who joined the race late after President Joe Biden dropped out in July, was trying to become the first woman elected to the U.S. presidency. 

Trump claimed victory early Wednesday as he thanked his supporters at a rally in Florida. 

“This was a movement like nobody’s ever seen before, and, frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time,” Trump said. 

He pledged to “fix our borders” and “fix everything in our country.” 

Trump also said he would work to deliver a “strong, safe and prosperous America.” 

A Harris campaign official told a crowd of her supporters in Washington that she would not address the gathering overnight but would speak later Wednesday. 

In the U.S. system, where the presidential election is tallied in a series of state-by-state contests, both Harris and Trump were quickly declared winners in states where their parties enjoy clear majority support, while the nation focused on roughly seven so-called battleground states that were expected to tip the balance in the direction of the winner.  

Ultimately it was Trump’s victories in Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin that gave him the advantage.   

Republican success Tuesday extended to Congress, where the party won back a majority in the Senate with at least 51 of 100 seats. Control of the House of Representatives, which is currently held by Republicans, was not yet decided early Wednesday. 

Trump served from 2017-2021 but left office after losing to Biden in an election that Trump continued to falsely assert that he won. That denial helped fuel the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of his supporters who disrupted the official tallying of the 2020 election results. 

Trump and his allies also launched numerous legal challenges after the 2020 vote, with state and federal judges eventually dismissing more than 50 lawsuits. 

Since leaving office, Trump was convicted of 34 charges linked to hush money payments he made to an adult film actress in the lead-up to the 2016 election.  Sentencing in that case is scheduled for November 26. Trump was also indicted in three other cases, including two accusing him of trying to illegally overturn the 2020 election and another alleging he took hundreds of highly secret national security documents to his Florida home.  

Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated for a new term on January 20. 

A key foreign policy focus in a new Trump administration will be relations between the United States and China, including subjects such as trade, Taiwan and China’s actions in the South China Sea. 

Trump instituted a series of tariffs against Chinese imports amid a trade war with China during his previous administration. 

Vincent Wang, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Adelphi University, told VOA Mandarin that China would be less likely to take an aggressive stance than it would have been if Harris won. 

“If Trump is elected, I think China may not dare, because he doesn’t go through drafts, he has already said harsh words. If he wakes up today, he might say he’s going to raise tariffs by 200 percent. If he wakes up tomorrow, he might want to bomb Beijing. So I think this so-called this Trump-type deterrent, on the contrary, will make them a little bit more restrained,” Wang said Tuesday. 
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World leaders congratulate Trump on election win

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — World leaders offered congratulations to Donald Trump after news media projections showed he secured a decisive victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Trump defeated his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, marking a historical political comeback for the former Republican president following four years out of office.

Early Wednesday, many world leaders took to the social media website X to congratulate Trump, whose unpredictable “America First” foreign policy approach complicated relations with many U.S. allies and foes alike during his first term in office.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was one of the first U.S. allies to send a message of support, praising Trump’s “historic return,” which he said offers a “powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has called for more U.S. and Western support to fight off Russia’s invasion, spoke positively of what he said was Trump’s commitment to ‘peace through strength’ in world affairs.

“This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together,” said Zelenskyy.

The head of NATO — the Western military alliance that Trump has long criticized for not doing enough to take care of Europe’s defense — made similar comments in his congratulatory message for Trump.

“His leadership will again be key to keeping our Alliance strong. I look forward to working with him again to advance peace through strength through #NATO,” said Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General.

French President Emmanuel Macron also quickly offered congratulations, saying he is “ready to work together as we did for four years…with your conviction and mine.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government stands “shoulder to shoulder” in defense of shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.

“From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come,” Starmer said.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission, said she “warmly congratulate[s]” Trump and praised the “true partnership” between the European Union and the United States.

During Trump’s first term, friction erupted between the EU and the U.S., partly over Trump’s imposition of tariffs on European exports.

Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, a conservative Trump ally, called Trump’s victory the “biggest comeback in US political history” and said it was a “much needed victory” for the world.  

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not commented on the U.S. election results. But on X, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev relished the apparent defeat of Harris, saying “Kamala is finished…let her keep cackling infectiously.”

Asian leaders also began sending congratulatory messages.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, “Australians and Americans are great friends and true allies.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered the “heartiest congratulations” to Trump, who he called his friend.

“As you build on your successes of the previous term, I look forward to reviewing our collaboration to further strengthen” the U.S.-India relationship, Modi said.

In a statement, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed hope that the “unshakeable alliance” between Washington and Manila, “will be a force of good that will blaze a path of prosperity and amity, in the region, and in both sides of the Pacific.”
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US voters explain their choices on Election Day

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How Votes Are Counted in US Elections

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Trump campaign blocks some journalists from watch party

Washington  — At least six journalists have been denied media credentials to cover Donald Trump’s election night watch party in Florida, at least one of whom was told it was because of her coverage of the Republican presidential candidate.

VOA confirmed that the six journalists work for the media sites Axios, Politico and Puck.

In the case of Politico, three reporters and a photographer had been approved to attend the event in Florida.

On Monday, Politico Magazine reported that a White nationalist had been fired from working on the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania. The following morning, the Politico reporters and photographer found out that their credentials had been withdrawn.

Politico declined to comment to VOA.

Tara Palmeri, political correspondent at the news site Puck, was publicly denied access by Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita.

In a post on the social media platform X last Thursday, LaCivita said Palmeri was denied credentials to enter Mar-a-Largo.

Palmeri confirmed the incident in an email to VOA. She was scheduled to cover the Republican watch party as part of Amazon’s election night special hosted by Brian Williams.

On a podcast, the journalist said she would now broadcast from Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Axios reporter Sophia Cai was denied a credential not long after she reported on “anxiety” within the Trump campaign ahead of Election Day, according to media reports.

Cai referred VOA to Axios’ communications team. In a statement emailed to VOA, Axios Editor-in Chief Aja Whitaker-Moore defended Cai, calling her “an excellent reporter who has covered the 2024 presidential election with essential, clinical coverage.”

VOA contacted the Trump campaign for comment, but as of publication had not received a response.

The broadcaster CNN reported that VOA journalists were among those denied accreditation for their coverage, which a VOA spokesperson denied.

“VOA requested several credentials to cover Trump headquarters and some were granted, but not all were able to be accommodated,” a VOA spokesperson said.

Separately, Trump last week sued CBS News over an interview of Democratic rival Kamala Harris and filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against The Washington Post.

Media analysts have expressed concern that Trump will restrict press freedom in the United States if he returns to the White House. Throughout his campaign, he has called for major news networks to lose their broadcasting licenses.

Trump’s campaign and his former administration have previously revoked credentials from journalists, including CNN’s then White House correspondent Jim Acosta in 2018.
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VOA talks with US presidential 3rd party candidates

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have spent the past few months battling for the White House, and experts say that votes for third party candidates could be a deciding factor for who will become the next president of the United States.  

With the latest polls showing Harris and Trump in a dead heat in battleground states around the country, ballots cast for third-party candidates Jill Stein of the Green Party, independent Cornel West and Libertarian Chase Oliver could be enough to tip the scales.  

VOA Persian spoke with all three of them. Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.  

Green Party candidate Jill Stein 

VOA: During one of his final campaign rallies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, former President Donald Trump praised you, saying he loved the Green Party and that you might be one of his favorite politicians. What do you make of this?  

Jill Stein: I make of that about as much as I make of Donald Trump’s assessment of climate change, which is that he sort of believes the opposite of reality. I am in this race to provide an alternative to the two parties that are bought and paid for, that are serving Wall Street and the war contractors and definitely not the American people. So I don’t have a lot of high regard for Donald Trump’s political strategies or his values.  

VOA: How much support do you expect to receive in battleground states like Michigan? There were some polls that suggested you have support of over 40% of the Arab American population there.  

Stein: Exactly what the numbers will turn out to be, it depends how many people are turning out to vote. It depends how strong the vote of the, not only the Muslim population, but also many African Americans and Hispanics and young people who feel like they do not have a future under Kamala Harris, and they do not have a future under Donald Trump. At this point, it’s too soon to say. We ourselves do not strictly work based on polls. We’re really in this based on principle and for the long haul. We would be delighted if we make the 5% cut in the national poll in the national results, but it’s very hard to say at this point.  

VOA: What would be your position regarding the government of Iran?  

Stein: I think we need to open the door to negotiations with Iran. Iran has elected a new president who is said to be moderate and interested in improving relations with the West, and we need to explore that. I think the most critical thing in the Middle East right now is resolving this expanding war and the intention of Bibi [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to create a wider war and drag the U.S. into it. I think that is the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East right now and has the potential to grow into a conflict that’s even bigger than the Middle East. 

Independent candidate Cornel West 

VOA: How many states allowed you to have your name on the ballot and why did others not?    

Cornel West: We’ve got 16 states where we have direct ballot access. We have 24 states where we have write-in access, and that did require petitions and signatures. So that required a lot of work on behalf of magnificent volunteers. But it was very difficult. There’s been a tremendous struggle, but we come up swinging.  

VOA: How different will your policy be compared to what we hear from Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump?  

West: Martin Luther King [Jr.] said, militarism, racism, poverty and materialism are the four forces that are sucking the democratic energy out of the American social experiment. I take very seriously his critique of militarism. I see that as a criticism of American foreign policies in which we are so eager to create these lethal armed forces rather than engage in wise diplomatic processes. And so there would be no genocide. I would have had an embargo on any kind of military or financial support of Israel as it was very clear that they were laying bare this kind of massive massacre on innocent people, especially innocent children and women and men.  

The same would be true in terms of being able to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Same would be true in terms of trying to be more diplomatic with China. I see Kamala Harris as a militarist, Black woman. That is to say she’s willing to not just provoke, but to push [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. And I think Putin himself is still very much a gangster and a war criminal in his own way, but he has a right — Russia has a right to security. And the same is true with China. There’s too much provocation, and I think that moves us toward World War III in the same way that Trump moves us towards Civil War II at home. And that was one reason why I wanted to provide some kind of alternative to Trump and [U.S. President Joe] Biden.

And then when Biden had his LBJ moment [referring to Biden’s poor debate performance] something that we talked about many, many months ago, we just predicted that Harris now is following through on the same militarism in Gaza. And of course, genocide, the crime of genocide, is a litmus test of morality of any nation, any country, and if you deny it, if you enable it, it’s a sign that you don’t have a moral fiber in your military policy.  

VOA: Many people in the occupied West Bank are disturbed by Tehran’s support for militants in Gaza. How do you see this considering the moral aspects of your vision, your doctrine and your policy?    

West: Malcolm X used to say, I’m for truth, no matter who’s for it, and justice, no matter who supports it. People can actually support just movements for motivations that themselves are highly suspicious. When the French supported the American revolutionaries, when Lafayette came to the United States, it was partly because the French were over against the British in Europe, they didn’t have a whole lot of solidarity with these colonists responding against the British Empire. … The Soviet Union supported the freedom struggles in Africa. It wasn’t always because they just love Africans so much. It was anti-United States. They had a Cold War going on, and their policies were strategic and tactical in that way. The same would be true for Iran vis-a-vis Palestinians.

So I think we have to be very truthful about the ways in which the motives might not always be attractive, but when you’re a people like Palestinians this moment, whose backs are against the wall, they need help from anybody, and it’s very important that people highlight their plight so that their babies are not crushed. But that doesn’t mean that those who are supporting them always have the right motives, and therefore we can still be critical of what those motives are.  

Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver 

VOA: In your platform, you mentioned that Libertarians seek the United States at peace with the world. How different will your foreign policy be?

Chase Oliver: It would be a drastic difference than what the status quo has been, certainly since I’ve been an adult. Since I’ve been an adult, let’s just call it the post-9/11 War on Terror kind of foreign policy mindset that we’ve had, which I think is rooted in ideas that are very black and white. You’re either with us or you’re with the terrorists.

The best way to solve a problem is through a preemptive war or through increasing our military presence in the region, to flex our muscle. And what I think that has done is actually created further instability, particularly in the Middle East, which I don’t think has been a success despite the trillions of dollars we’ve spent in both Iraq and Afghanistan. I don’t think you can say either of those nations are particularly bastions of democracy, or that the region itself is now more stable than it was.

And so for me, I would say let’s remove our military footprint and start flexing our diplomatic muscle. Let’s start meeting with world leaders directly, one on one. Let’s start forming coalitions around peaceful ideas and free trade and voluntary exchange to tear down barriers between our nations so that we can have cultural exchanges with one another. I think these are the ideas that we really need to be pushing, and not a militarized foreign policy that’s ruined the idea that the United States must be the world’s enforcer.   

VOA: So you don’t see America as the leader of the free world with its responsibilities?    

Oliver: I absolutely see America as a leader in terms of the markets of the world, the economic engine of the world, the diplomatic arm of the world. But it doesn’t need to be coming, using the military might of the world. Teddy Roosevelt said, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” We have a very powerful military that can defend ourselves, and ultimately, if there were a need and if Congress declared a war, fight a war anywhere in the world with absolute certainty that we could dominate our opponent. But you don’t flex your muscle like that around the world. That’s not a position of strength. When you use that military might to push your agenda, that’s actually a position of weakness, because good ideas should not require force, and you should be able to diplomatically work throughout the world.

And I recognize the world is not perfect. The world does not lack violence. The world is not lacking for bad people, particularly governments around the world who represent good people. And Iran is no different. The government of Iran is abhorrent. They’re abusive to their people. They curtail their rights. But the people of Iran are good, innocent people who don’t deserve to have things like airstrikes and missiles raining down upon them because of the evils of their government. And I hope that ultimately, we can liberalize the world more towards more liberalized things like free speech, freedom of movement and freedom of religion. But that’s not going to come just from us beating people down. 

VOA: How difficult is it to run as a third-party candidate?    

Oliver: Running as an alternative party candidate has a lot of challenges because the two mainstream parties have a lot of built-in incumbency power, both in the number of elected officials they have as well as things like taxpayer-funded primaries. So they basically take taxes out of my wallet to fund primaries that help promote the candidates that are Republicans and Democrats.

And as a Libertarian, we’re kind of left in the lurch there. So there’s a lot of challenges, especially around things like ballot access. There’s a lot of solutions. And actually a big part of my platform is a thing called the voter bill of rights that will open up this process, not just for Libertarians like myself, but all sorts of other alternative parties that really need to have their voices heard. 
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