A graduate student in Ukraine, a travel agency owner in Taiwan, an industrial engineer in Mexico: none of them are U.S. voters, but they all have a big stake in the outcome of next week’s presidential election, and their countries. I believe that.
With the fierce election race just a week away, there are growing fears in some parts of the world whether Donald Trump can emerge victorious over Kamala Harris — areas where the former president’s old policies are being rekindled. or regions where new policies are making a comeback) have been promised in election campaigns and could land particularly hard.
Perhaps no country faces such a dark election-related dichotomy as Ukraine. Ukraine will soon enter its third year of attempts to repel a full-scale invasion by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military. Many believe that if President Trump were to win, he would quickly cut off vital U.S. military aid and force an end to the war on the Russian leader’s terms.
“My friends…we are afraid that Trump will win,” said master’s student Vladislav Chirik, 21. Although he is too young to be drafted, he is considering joining the Ukrainian army. It’s yours on the battlefield.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has sought to keep channels of communication open with Trump, having met with him in New York in September. But in raucous rallies and rushed interviews, the Republican candidate routinely mocked Zelensky, recently blaming Ukraine for Russia’s 2022 invasion.
A Ukrainian officer on the front lines near Vovtyansk, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine.
(Efrem Lukatsky/AP)
“I think we are all very concerned about his statements about Ukraine and even his level of knowledge about our country,” said Ksenia Sitnichenko, 31, who works in civil society and humanitarian organizations. Ta.
“It’s clear that President Trump is not going to end well for Ukrainians,” she said.
If Trump wins, aid to Ukraine will almost certainly become a point of contention with U.S. allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
But that is not the only pressure point between President Trump and his transatlantic partners. President Trump’s first term, which preceded the outbreak of the Ukraine war, was a major disruption to the security structure built by American presidents, both Republican and Democratic, after World War II.
In addition to concerns about a trade war, Western allies say Trump’s presidency will erode democratic norms and encourage a resurgence of right-wing politics already felt in many parts of Europe. I am concerned that there is a risk.
Laura von Daniels of the German Institute for International Security Studies said that after Harris became the Democratic nominee, “many people feared that Trump’s return could embolden other populist and nationalist leaders in Europe and beyond.” I am concerned that there is a sexual nature.”
Of course, not everyone around the world is fascinated by America’s political struggles, even if they are considered very dramatic and consequential. Many ordinary people profess to be unconcerned about election results, believing they have little impact on their daily lives.
There is a widespread feeling in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon that neither of the US presidential candidates will do much to quell the war with Israel or protect civilian lives.
“I think whoever takes office[as U.S. president]will be the same for us,” said Majeda Al-Saad, a Beirut woman who organizes workshops for Palestinian women in Lebanese refugee camps. Ta. “They have a good attitude at the start, but the policies are all the same.”
Trump remains widely popular in Israel, especially among supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who believe he will give the country more freedom to act aggressively against Iran and its proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. I keep it.
But Israelis who want a ceasefire in Gaza and an agreement to release the hostages held there are confident that the prime minister will seek a deal from a future Trump administration, despite vague claims by Republican candidates. I am concerned that they will face little pressure to do so. The war should end soon.
Beyond disagreements over US policy in the Middle East and elsewhere, the concept of a US-led world order is being sharply questioned in various international forums.
At a meeting in Russia last week of BRICS countries, a group of emerging economies seeking a greater voice in the world body, leaders called for the creation of an alternative payment system that does not rely on the US dollar. These rallies, and the rhetoric they generate, reflect the hopes of the United States and the sentiments of the American election, but they do not necessarily reflect the concerns of much of the world’s population.
Many in Taiwan supported President Trump in 2020 for his tough stance on China, but some have since grown wary of the former president’s erratic approach to foreign policy.
Participants at the National Day celebration ceremony in Taipei, Taiwan.
(An Ron Xu/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Trump has pitched himself as a powerful figure who can act as a kind of counterweight to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who wants to regain sovereignty over Taiwan as part of China by force if necessary. are.
But Trump’s contradictory claims, including criticizing Taiwan’s semiconductor industry for taking American jobs and declaring that the island’s democracy should pay for U.S. protection, have led some to He’s turning people against Trump.
“Trump is on a path that puts America’s own interests first,” said Kenny Wu, 55, a travel agency manager in Taipei. “As long as there are enough benefits, he can easily abandon Taiwan.”
The election comes at a critical time for Taiwan, as China has launched unprecedented military exercises around the island and sentenced supporters of Taiwanese independence to death. Without U.S. support, the island of 23 million people has little chance of fending off a Chinese military attack.
Harris has said little about Taiwan other than to say she would maintain the status quo and ensure Taiwan’s defense capabilities.
“How Taiwanese view the United States could have a significant impact on how likely they are to defend their country if China invades,” the Brookings Institution found in a July poll. Of the 1,500 respondents, only 17% said they wanted President Trump to win. election.
“He’s very unpredictable,” said Fang-Yu Chen, an assistant professor of political science at Taiwan’s Dongzhou University, who attributes some of Trump’s popularity to pro-Taiwan officials in the previous administration. he pointed out.
That might not be the case if Trump wins this time, he added.
In Latin America, President Trump’s possible victory has also caused some anxiety, particularly over his pledge to crack down on immigration and impose tariffs on U.S. imports.
Perhaps no country is more affected than Mexico. Mexico’s economy relies heavily on its ability to attract factories eager to access the U.S. market, sending $367 billion in goods and services to the United States last year.
A young girl prepares for a photo shoot in a quinceañera gown at the foot of the Monument to the Revolution, which is studded with lavender flowers fallen from jacaranda trees in Mexico City.
(Fernando Llano/AP)
“There is no question that the Trump administration poses a bigger problem for Mexico than the Harris administration,” said Pamela K. Starr, a professor of international relations at the University of Southern California. “No country in the world is more exposed to Trump-related risks.”
As president, Trump imposed tariffs on steel from Mexico and other countries in 2018, prompting counter-tariffs on U.S. agricultural products and straining U.S.-Mexico relations. He threatened to expand tariffs on Mexican goods, but ultimately backed off after extracting promises from Mexican authorities that they would take steps to prevent migrants from reaching the U.S. border.
A recent report from Moody’s Analytics suggests that if a victorious Trump enacts new tariffs, Mexico’s economy will fall into recession, the currency will depreciate, and inflation will rise.
Like many people in Mexico, Fernando Trejo Reyes, 49, views his personal finances through the prism of economic relations between the United States and Mexico. He is one of 14 million people working in manufacturing in this country.
More than 20 years ago, Trejo moved to the industrial city of Querétaro in central Mexico, seeking greater opportunities than the poor, rural Michoacán town where he grew up.
Now an industrial engineer for a company that makes brakes used on vehicles that work in airport hangars, he has forged his way into the middle class, bought a house and sent his two children to private school. Ta. But he said there was already a sense of caution on the part of investors concerned about President Trump’s tariff threats.
“If the situation becomes unstable, we are all at risk, from the lowest operational level workers to managers,” he said. The natural result, he predicted, would be rising poverty rates and northward migration.
“If there are fewer jobs, more people will leave in search of the American dream,” Trejo said.
Times staff reporters King, Yang and Linthicum reported from Washington, Taipei and Mexico City, respectively. Special Correspondent Ayers reported from Kiev, Ukraine. Staff writers Nabi Bross in Beirut, Tracy Wilkinson in Washington, and researcher Xingyun Wu in Taipei contributed to this report.
