As Americans waited anxiously for the results in a knife-edge election, newspaper headlines around the world captured the uncertainty – and fears of unrest in the near future.
The Guardian’s headline is “Hope… and fear” over a photograph of Democratic presidential candidate and US vice-president Kamala Harris. The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, describes the feeling Americans have as “see-sawing between anxiety and hope”. A second front page story is headlined “Democrats dare to believe”.
Guardian front page on Wednesday, 6 November 2024, the day after the US presidential election. Photograph: Guardian
The Times looks beyond the US to how people in other countries feel about elections in the world’s largest economy, with, “World awaits America’s fate”:
The International New York Times had two US election stories: an opinion piece with the headline “Trump’s fans should also fear a victory” and a piece headlined “Voters share a deep sense of anxiety at ballot boxes”.
The Daily Mail captured fears of what will happen if either candidate wins in a single word – “tinderbox” – as well as how close the polls are: “Tinderbox America on knife edge”.
The Financial Times leads with a demure “America decides”:
The i Paper: “America votes for its future – and braces for election unrest”. Instead of a photograph of either candidate, or both, the paper’s front page image was of security personnel wearing helmets and bullet proof vests and carrying guns.
The ellipsis makes its second appearance on the Daily Mirror’s front page with: “Pray for victory… brace for chaos’:
In France a play on “Après-moi, le deluge”, with Libération’s “Après l’election, la peur d’embrasement” – after the election, fear of unrest:
The front page of Libération. Photograph: FrontPages.com
And “The world hangs on the choice of Americans” in Le Figaro:
Front page of Le Figaro on the day after the 2024 US election. Photograph: Frontpages.com
Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung’s headline is simply, “Her or him”, while Tagespiegel’s headline is “A desk full of worries”, with a picture of the Resolute desk in the Oval Office with nobody behind it.
The front page of Süddeutsche Zeitung. Photograph: FrontPages.com
Frankfurter Allgemeine has a photograph of the Sesame Street character Oscar the Grouch popping out of a garbage bin, and the headline – a reference to a movie about the Vietnam war – “Good morning America”:
The front page of the Frankfurter-Allgemeine Zeitung the day after the US election. Photograph: Frontpage.com
In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald carries a reference to the tagline of the Melbourne Cup, a horse racing competition that happened on Tuesday, with the headline: “Real race that stops a nation”:
Front page of the The Sydney Morning Herald the day after the US election. Photograph: FrontPages.com
From coast to coast, Americans watched the results of a pivotal election Tuesday for the next president of the United States with a mix of tension, elation, relief and resignation as the votes were counted.
Young and old mingled in crowds in public spaces, such as Times Square in New York City and college campuses, seeking out communities of friends to share the night and the roller coaster of emotions as the votes were tallied.
Others sought solitude or quieter spaces, such as a darkened beach or the end of a tavern bar, where the glow of hand-held devices or neon lights illuminated the results as they trickled in.
Some prayed. Some rejoiced.
And the world watched, too. From Taiwan to Jerusalem to India and beyond, many around the globe waited for the outcome of an election and wondered just how it would affect their lives in the coming days, months and years.
From Brazil to Ireland and Germany to the Caribbean, this year’s knife-edge – and more than usually momentous – US presidential vote will be watched at a multitude of election-night events, some with a particular interest in the outcome.
In St Ann Parish, Jamaica – and most particularly in Browns Town, where Harris’s father Donald was born and the Democratic candidate spent many happy childhood holidays – her supporters plan watch parties, drink-ups and other social gatherings.
“I certainly will be watching it with bated breath. I’m anticipating a close election, but expecting a win for Kamala Harris because she is a dynamite, and I’m praying that, in the interest of democracy, she wins,” said 74-year-old resident Delroy Redway.
Redway, whose brother will be hosting a watch party at his sports centre, said Browns Town was on a “knife edge” for Harris, who people consider a “little sister”.
“Her grandfather is buried in the Anglican church, right there in Browns Town … so we will celebrate [her] victory,” he said.
St Ann Parish’s mayor, Michael Belnavis, is also planning a celebratory watch party. A Harris win, he said, would be a signal that democracy is alive and well in the US. “As you know, St Ann is particularly close to her,” Belnavis said.
“So I feel particularly close to this election … and we want to watch it and make it a celebratory thing by having a drink-up and just watching the big screen at John Crow’s Tavern in Ocho Rios with some close friends. Whichever way it goes, it’s going to be historic, and we want to be a part of that.”
Also watching with more than the customary interest will be residents of Thulasendrapuram, Harris’s ancestral village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where her grandfather was born more than a century ago.
Excited preparations have long been under way for election day, with the women of the village creating kolam, colourful images made from rice paste, outside all the homes, seeking divine blessings for Harris in the election.
A special prayer (puja) is planned at the local Dharmasastha temple. “Our Dharmasastha [Hindu deity] will guarantee her victory,” was the confident prediction of temple trustee S Venkataraman.
In Berlin, the Democratic-friendly scene of the biggest rally of Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, jazz club Donau 115 in the city’s Neukölln district, a favourite with the American community, is hosting a “@donau115 is brat” party, riffing on Charli XCX’s early endorsement of Harris.
A live feed of election coverage will begin just before midnight “and end when we know who the winner is and/or when we pass out from anxiety”, say the organisers, who also promise “dynamic” drink specials based on electoral college results, geopolitical trivia contests, and “a terrible sax solo every time a state gets called”.
Across town in east Berlin, Democrats Abroad will hold an election night at their traditional venue in the century-old cinema Kino Babylon with commentary from the stage, live music and “comedy – regardless of how the night turns out”.
In Paris, the legendary watering hole Harry’s Bar has held a ballot on the US election since 1924 and has only been wrong three times: in 1976, when drinkers backed Gerald Ford over Jimmy Carter; in 2004, when they backed John Kerry over George W Bush; and in 2016 in favouring Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.
The straw poll tradition dates back to before the days of proxy or postal ballots allowing Americans abroad to vote, when Harry MacElhone, the then owner of the bar that claims to have invented the Bloody Mary, wanted to bring the expat community in Paris together and allow them to express a view.
Any customers who can provide proof of US citizenship can vote in the poll, casting their ballots into a century-old wooden box at the end of the bar. The latest figures from the bar were 265 for Trump – and 302 for Kamala Harris.
In Brazil’s São Paulo, Latin America’s largest city, O’Malley’s Irish pub will be decked out for the occasion with flags, balloons, stars, and the stars and stripes, and will serve an eclectic menu of fish and chips, tikka masala, burritos and kebabs, plus nine different burger options (including the “big monster”: bacon, fried egg, three types of cheese, guacamole, jalapeños, baked beans and chilli).
Organised by Democrats Abroad but open to people “from both sides”, the event starts at 10pm local time and runs until 2.30am when exit polls are expected. “We held events at the same pub this year for the presidential and vice-presidential debates, and they were hugely successful,” said a Democrats Abroad official, Kelly Ann Kreutz.
In Ireland, by contrast, Donald Trump’s golf hotel in Doonbeg in County Clare will be closed as usual on Tuesday night, with no event planned to either celebrate or mourn the outcome of its owner’s third bid for the White House.
University College Dublin is holding two election watch parties, but with a general election pending in the next month and fears a Trump victory could threaten the significant US tech and pharma presence in Ireland, events are few and far between.
Reporting by Natricia Duncan, Anthony Lugg, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, Deborah Cole, Kim Willsher, Tiago Rogero and Lisa O’Carroll
As the United States presidential election approaches on November 5, polls show Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump locked in a tight, too-close-to-call race.
But while the US election is about who the American people want to see leading them, the country’s outsized influence means the contest is being watched closely in capitals around the world.
So who would various world leaders want to see in the White House?
Vladimir Putin, Russia
While the Russian leader has suggested — perhaps in jest — that he might prefer Harris as president, many signs point towards Putin actually favouring a Trump win.
“Putin would love Trump as president for various reasons,” Timothy Ash, an associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera.
“First, Putin thinks Trump is soft on Russia and will roll over to give him a great deal on Ukraine – cutting military support to Ukraine and lifting sanctions on Russia,” he said.
“I think Putin looks at Trump and sees a mirror image of himself, an authoritarian, sociopath. He likely thinks he understands Trump,” Ash added.
Furthermore, Putin “hates” the system of Western liberal market democracy, and the Russian leader “thinks Trump will continue where he left off in Trump 1.0 in sowing disunity and chaos”, undermining institutions like NATO and the European Union.
However, Russian analysts say regardless of who wins, Moscow officials believe the US’s aversion towards Russia will remain, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Putin has previously been outspoken about his thoughts on US presidential politics and has made endorsements for candidates time and time again since 2004.
Before the 2016 election, Putin talked Trump up to reporters during an annual news conference. “He is a bright and talented person without any doubt,” he said.
In July 2016, the US intelligence community accused Putin of election interference with the aim of helping Trump defeat Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton. In 2020, a bipartisan US Senate report found that Russia had meddled in the 2016 election. US intelligence also alleged that Russia meddled in the 2020 election.
On July 9 this year, a US intelligence official – without naming Trump – indicated to reporters that Russia favoured Trump in the 2024 race.
“We have not observed a shift in Russia’s preferences for the presidential race from past elections, given the role the US is playing with regard to Ukraine and broader policy toward Russia,” the official from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said.
In September, Putin made a tongue-in-cheek reference to Harris, describing her as having an “expressive and infectious laugh” which, he said, indicates “she’s doing well” and maybe would not impose sanctions on Russia.
“I don’t know if I’m insulted or he did me a favour,” Trump responded at a campaign rally on the same day as Putin made the wry remarks.
In October, veteran reporter Bob Woodward alleged in his new book that Trump had made at least seven phone calls to Putin since he left the presidency in January 2021. These allegations were rejected by Trump’s campaign and by Trump himself. “He’s a storyteller. A bad one. And he’s lost his marbles,” Trump said about Woodward to ABC News.
Later in October, during the closing of the BRICS summit, Putin said Trump “spoke about his desire to do everything to end the conflict in Ukraine. I think he is being sincere”.
Trump has been critical of the aid the US sends to Ukraine against Russia’s war and says he will promptly “end the war” if elected.
US President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, on July 16, 2018 [Pablo Martinez Monsivais/File]
Xi Jinping, China
China’s President Xi Jinping has not publicly made an endorsement.
As with Russia, both Democrats and Republicans have taken a tough stance towards China. During his presidency, Trump started a trade war with China, imposing tariffs on $250bn of Chinese imports in 2018. China hit back, placing tariffs on $110bn of US imports.
It does not seem like Trump would back down from that if elected, but Democrats could also rally against China’s growing influence worldwide.
When Joe Biden became president, he kept Trump’s tariffs in place. Furthermore, on September 13 this year, the Biden administration announced increases in tariffs on certain Chinese-made products. If Harris wins, she is expected to stay consistent with Biden’s policy towards China.
Neither Trump nor Harris have gone into detail about what their course of action would be towards China if they are elected.
Despite Trump’s trade war, he has boasted of his good relationship with Xi. After Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 14, he said world leaders had reached out to him. “I got along very well with President Xi. He’s a great guy, wrote me a beautiful note the other day when he heard about what happened,” Trump told a rally.
However, behind the scenes, Chinese officials may be slightly leaning towards Harris, NBC News quoted Jia Qingguo, the former dean of the School of International Studies at Peking University, as saying.
“The irony is, Xi probably wants Harris, as does Iran,” Ash told Al Jazeera while talking about Putin.
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed either candidate. However, it is widely believed that he leans towards a Trump win.
Netanyahu and Trump had a good relationship during the former US president’s first term. In 2019, at the Israeli-American Council, Trump said: “The Jewish state has never had a better friend in the White House than your president.”
The feelings were mutual. Netanyahu, in a 2020 statement, said that Trump was “the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House”.
Relations between Trump and Netanyahu soured after Biden was elected. When Biden was sworn in, Netanyahu congratulated him. Trump said he felt betrayed by this, in an interview.
However, the Israeli prime minister has made attempts to rekindle the old bond. During a US visit in July this year, Netanyahu visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Axios reported that an ally of Netanyahu even travelled to Mar-a-Lago before the actual meeting of the two leaders, to read passages from Netanyahu’s book, praising Trump.
The Israeli leader also posted a video on social media expressing shock about the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in July, which was reposted by Trump on his social media platform, Truth Social.
At the same time, the Biden administration has shown unwavering diplomatic and military assistance to Netanyahu’s government amid Israel’s war on Gaza, where the death toll of Palestinians stands at 43,061 according to the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA), as of October 29.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7 last year – following a Hamas-led attack on villages and army outposts in southern Israel – Biden’s government has sent billions of dollars in military aid to Israel.
Last October 4, Biden told a news conference that he does not know whether Netanyahu is purposefully holding up a ceasefire deal in Gaza, despite reports and speculation that the Israeli leader might have been holding up an agreement on purpose, possibly to influence the US election result.
“No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None. None. None. And I think Bibi should remember that,” Biden said during the news conference, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.
Former US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they pose for a photo at their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, United States, on July 26, 2024 [Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images]
European and NATO leaders
A majority of European leaders prefer Harris as the US president.
“I know her well. She would certainly be a good president,” Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany told reporters.
Trump has threatened to leave NATO several times. However, Politico reported that his national security advisers and defence experts say it is unlikely he will exit the alliance.
Regardless, his complaints about NATO remain. It is expected that he would want NATO allies to increase their defence spending targets.
In February, Trump stirred the pot with allies in Europe by suggesting he would tell Russia to attack NATO allies that he considered “delinquent”.
Additionally, Trump’s victory could mean less alignment with European countries on collaboration for renewable energy initiatives.
This is because Trump has campaigned for more fossil fuel production to enable the US to reduce reliance on foreign energy imports. “We will drill, baby, drill,” he told the Republican National Convention while accepting the party’s nomination in July.
On the other hand, Harris is likely to continue with Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and clean energy transition plans, creating opportunities to collaborate with Europe. However, Harris has also been accused of making a U-turn on sustainability promises such as fracking.
During her 2019 run for the presidential primaries, Harris had promised to ban fracking, a technique of extracting oil and gas by drilling into the earth – which environmental campaigners say is particularly damaging as it consumes large amounts of water and releases the greenhouse gas methane. Trump had criticised her for this promise.
During the presidential debate between Harris and Trump in Pennsylvania in September, however, Harris said: “I will not ban fracking, I have not banned fracking as vice president.”
Narendra Modi, India
While India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a close relationship with Trump during the latter’s presidency, Modi was also one of the first world leaders to congratulate Biden on his 2020 election victory.
“I don’t believe that Modi has a strong preference for one candidate over another,” Chietigj Bajpaee, a senior research fellow for the South Asia, Asia-Pacific Programme at the Chatham House, told Al Jazeera.
“There is a high degree of bipartisan consensus in Washington on deepening relations with India and viewing it as a long-term strategic partner – arguably as much consensus as there is on viewing China as a long-term strategic rival,” Bajpaee wrote in an article for Chatham House.
He wrote that the three key pillars of US engagement with India are that India is the world’s largest democracy, that the US sees India as a bulwark against China, and India’s potentially growing economy.
Michael Kugelman, the director of the Washington, DC-based Wilson Center think tank’s South Asia Institute, told Al Jazeera that the Indian government will weigh the pros and cons for both candidates.
When it comes to Trump, “there may be a sense in New Delhi that that would be a good thing for India because there may be a perception that Trump would not make a fuss about internal matters in India, including human rights issues,” Kugelman said, adding that despite this, the government of India would be concerned about Trump’s “unpredictable” governing style.
“While Donald Trump is more familiar to Modi from his first term in office, a Kamala Harris presidency offers a degree of continuity from the current Biden administration,” Bajpaee told Al Jazeera.
Under Biden, ties between the US and India deepened in terms of defence, technology and economy. Biden made India a Major Defence Partner, despite India not being a formal military ally and its reliance on Russia for military assistance.
In May 2022, on the sidelines of the Quad summit in Tokyo, India and the US announced an Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), to enhance cooperation in AI, quantum computing and other technological advances.
Before Modi’s visit to India in September this year, Trump called Modi “fantastic” but, at the same time, called India an “abuser of import tariffs”.
South Korea
South Korea is a key ally of the US in the Asia-Pacific. While the country’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has not explicitly endorsed a candidate, the relationship between South Korea and the US has flourished under Biden.
Commentary published in September by US think tank Brookings said that during the Trump administration, “South Koreans were dismayed by charges they were not contributing enough to their defence and to the upkeep of US forces, despite providing the bulk of front-line combat forces against North Korea”.
On the other hand, “the Biden administration has done little to address the North Korean nuclear threat. It has, however, focused on strengthening bilateral and trilateral ties between Washington, Tokyo and Seoul,” Edward Howell, a lecturer in international relations at the University of Oxford, told Al Jazeera.
Howell said this was made evident at the Camp David Summit of 2023, as well as in presidential-level meetings between Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol.
Howell added that South Korea will want to make sure that US support for it does not wither under the next president “at a time when the East Asian region faces not just the threat of a nuclear North Korea, but an increasingly coercive and belligerent China”.
Japan
For US ally Japan, a Trump win may mean he will shift focus to domestic policy and reduce collaboration with Japan, increase tariffs, as well as expect Japan to increase military spending, an analysis published by the Japanese website Nippon Communications Foundation says.
However, Japanese government officials have formed relationships with officials from the last Trump administration, including Bill Hagerty, who is a former ambassador to Tokyo and is seen as a favourite for secretary of state, the analysis by Kotani Tetsuo says.
On the other hand, while a Harris administration would mean more consistent policy with the Biden administration, new relationships would have to be formed with the officials on Harris’s team.
Australia
For US ally Australia, “a Trump victory would raise many questions”, Australian reporter Ben Doherty wrote for The Guardian.
Doherty added that many in Australia believe Trump is likely to withdraw from the Paris Agreement if he is re-elected, which could weaken the influence of the informal climate coalition, the Umbrella Group, which Australia is a part of.
Australia also shares a trade relationship with China and a Trump win could mean a trade war with China, which could be detrimental to Australia’s economy.
How does the United States compare with other countries on socioeconomic indicators?
These six graphics provide an overview of the economy, demographics, healthcare, education and military spending as voters get ready to cast their ballots on November 5.
Largest economy in the world
The US has the largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of approximately $27 trillion, according to the World Bank. This positions it ahead of other major economies, including China ($17.8 trillion) and Germany ($4.5 trillion)
The US has a GDP per capita of $65,020 – roughly four times the global average, placing it seventh in the world.
The US Treasury has the highest gold reserves in the world, at 8,133 tonnes, valued at about $700bn. This amount is more than double that of Germany’s reserves, which stand at 3,352 tonnes, and three times as much as Italy’s 2,452 tonnes.
While GDP reflects a country’s overall economic output, its gold reserves play a distinct role in the financial landscape by supporting monetary policy and influencing currency stability and trade.
An ageing population
With a population of 335 million, the US is the third most populous country in the world, behind India (1.43 billion) and China (1.41 billion).
However, the population growth rate has been steadily declining, and coupled with an ageing population, presents economic and social challenges, such as maintaining productivity and supporting seniors.
The country’s fertility rate is just 1.84, indicating that the average woman is expected to have fewer than two children in her lifetime, which is below the global average of 2.4 and the replacement rate of 2.1 needed for a stable population without migration.
The countries with the highest fertility rates are Niger (6.64), Angola (5.70) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5.49), while Taiwan (1.11), South Korea (1.12) and Singapore (1.17) have the lowest rates.
The average life expectancy in the US is 81 years, which is slightly higher than the global average of 75 years, but still lower than that of most European and other developed countries.
Quality of life
The US federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009.
Raising the minimum wage is a key election issue, with more than 80 percent of US voters believing the current wage is not enough for a decent quality of life, according to Data for Progress, a progressive US think tank.
With an average work week of 37-52 hours, the annual minimum wage in the US is about $15,080. This is about double the global average of $6,293, but only about half of what minimum wage workers make in countries like Australia ($34,515), New Zealand ($33,487) and Luxembourg ($32,103).
However, when it comes to affordability, such as buying a house, the US ranks among the highest in the world with a price-to-income ratio of 131.3. With 2015 as the base year, this means that the average price of a home in the US has outpaced income growth by more than 30 percent.
Both US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump say they will introduce tax policies to support first-time homebuyers.
World’s most expensive healthcare
The US has the most expensive healthcare costs in the world, with the country spending more than $12,000 per capita each year.
The high costs for services, medications and insurance premiums create barriers to access, especially for the most vulnerable, leaving many people uninsured or underinsured.
US government healthcare spending is 16.6 percent of the country’s GDP, about seven percent higher than the global average of 7.3 percent.
Despite its relatively high healthcare spending, the US’s Health Index Score is lower than that of many other high-income countries. The Health Index Score measures how healthy people are and their access to healthcare services.
Harris is a strong supporter of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which aims to make health services affordable to more Americans. She has pledged to expand this 14-year-old legislation, but Trump tried to repeal it many times during his 2017-2021 tenure as US president.
Education rankings
According to the Education Data Initiative, public education spending in the US falls short of global benchmarks and lags behind economic growth.
The US spends around 6.1 percent of its GDP on education, which is higher than the global average of 4.7 percent.
When it comes to performance in mathematics, science, and reading, the US scored a total of 1,468 points in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
This score exceeds the global average of 1,320 points, but it falls short compared to several Asian countries, including Singapore, which scored 1,679 points, China at 1,605 points and Japan at 1,599 points.
Military expenditure and power
The US spends more on its military than the next 10 highest-spending countries combined, accounting for 39 percent of all global military expenditures.
At nearly $900bn, as a share of GDP, US military expenditure is 3.45 percent, well above the global average of 2 percent.
The US is ranked number one out of 145 countries by the Global Firepower Index, which measures a nation’s war capabilities across land, sea and air.
