[지구촌 오늘] Trump wins all battleground states…Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba re-elected

This is ‘Global Village Today’, which brings you important news from various countries around the world. Let’s find out what’s happening at this moment with reporter Kim Jeong-woo.

Host) What news is there today?

Reporter) US Republican President-elect Donald Trump won Arizona. With this, President-elect Trump swept all seven battleground states. Shigeru Ishiba, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, was re-elected as prime minister.

Host) Today in the world, first, news of the US presidential election. Republican President-elect Donald Trump also won Arizona, right?

Reporter) That’s right. The Associated Press announced on the night of the 9th that President-elect Trump won the state of Arizona. President-elect Trump received 52.4% of the vote, ahead of Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris, who received 46.6%. In terms of special votes, there is a difference of about 180,000 votes.

Host) With his victory in Arizona, President-elect Trump has won all of the battleground states, right?

Reporter) That’s right. They swept all seven battleground states: Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. President-elect Trump has so far secured 312 electoral votes, and Vice President Harris has secured 226. To be the winner of the US presidential election, you must secure at least 270 electoral votes.

Host) In the 2020 presidential election, which of the two party candidates, Democratic and Republican, won Arizona?

Reporter) Yes. President Joe Biden narrowly defeated President-elect Trump. President Biden was only the second Democratic candidate to win Arizona in the past 70 years.

Host) The results of the federal Senate and House of Representatives elections are almost finalized, right?

Reporter) Yes. According to an Associated Press tally, Republicans held the majority with 53 seats out of 100 in the Senate. On the other hand, the Democratic Party and independents who support the Democratic Party won 46 seats. In the House of Representatives, Republicans have 214 seats and Democrats have 203 seats. 218 seats are needed to have a majority in the House of Representatives, but 18 seats are currently undecided. Therefore, the possibility of the Democratic Party winning a majority in the House of Representatives has not disappeared at all. However, most media outlets predict that the Republicans will eventually become the majority party in the House of Representatives.

Host) Meanwhile, President-elect Trump is appointing senior officials one after another for the newly launched administration. On the 7th, Suzy Wiles, co-chair of the campaign committee, was selected as White House chief of staff. This time, you appointed a ‘border czar’ to oversee border policy, right?

Reporter) That’s right. President-elect Trump announced on the 10th that he would nominate former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tom Horman as border czar. In a post posted on his social network service (SNS) on the 10th, he explained, “I have known him for a long time, and there is no one better than Tom to control and monitor the border.” “Similarly, Tom Horman will be in charge of deporting foreigners who entered the United States illegally to their home countries,” President-elect Trump said.

Host) What kind of person is former Acting ICE Director Homan, who was appointed border czar?

Reporter) Yes. He was appointed acting ICE director in 2017, at the beginning of the first term of the Trump administration, and served for 16 months. Nominee Homan previously worked as a police officer and Border Patrol agent. After he stepped down as acting director of ICE, he continued to appear in conservative circles supporting President-elect Trump’s policies. In an interview with CBS’ current affairs program ’60 Minutes’ last month, Homer announced that he would resume arresting illegal workers once the new government is inaugurated.

Host) During the election campaign, President-elect Trump pledged that he would deport illegal immigrants in large numbers once he takes office, right?

Reporter) That’s right. That is one of the agenda items that President-elect Trump will implement on his first day of office. In a recent interview with NBC News, he emphasized that deporting illegal immigrants is not about cost and that it is not a matter of choice. Previously, President Trump promised to issue an executive order right after starting work to stop federal agencies from automatically granting American citizenship to the children of immigrants who entered the United States illegally.

Host) In addition to those measures, there is a high possibility that the Biden administration will revive the measures it suspended regarding illegal immigrants, right?

Reporter) That’s right. Construction on the southern border wall appears likely to resume. They could also reimpose policies such as requiring people seeking asylum in the U.S. to remain in neighboring Mexico while their immigration court cases proceed.

Host) How many illegal immigrants are there in the United States?

Reporter) Yes. Citing the Center for American Progress, a progressive private research institute, CNBC reported that there are approximately 11.3 million illegal immigrants in the United States, of whom 7 million are working.

Host) President-elect Trump promised to deport them in large numbers, but there are also indications that this will cost a huge amount of money, right?

Reporter) That’s right. According to CNBC, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a private organization, estimates that, assuming deportation of 1 million people a year over the long term, it will cost an average of $88 billion per year, even conservatively, and about $970 billion over 10 years in total. .

Lawmakers applaud after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was re-elected as Prime Minister in the Japanese Parliament’s Prime Minister nomination election held in Tokyo on November 11, 2024.

Host) Global village today, this time news from Japan. So Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is keeping his position?

Reporter) That’s right. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party), was re-elected as prime minister on the 11th. On this day (11th), Prime Minister Ishiba came in first place in the Prime Minister nomination election held in the House of Representatives (House of Representatives) and the House of Councilors (Senate) and became Prime Minister again. Prime Minister Ishiba defeated Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, in the vote in both houses.

Host) It hasn’t been long since Ishiba, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, became prime minister, right?

Reporter) Yes. He was elected as the 102nd Prime Minister on the 1st of last month (October). Afterwards, Prime Minister Ishiba declared an early general election to secure leadership within the Liberal Democratic Party and reform the party and government.

Host) Prime Minister Ishiba proposed an early general election, but the results were not very good, right?

Reporter) That’s right. The Liberal Democratic Party and the ruling coalition party, Komeito, failed to secure a majority in the House of Representatives. On the other hand, the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, increased its power by securing 148 seats, an increase of 50 seats in this early general election. As the opposition party has more seats than the ruling party, the second Ishiba government can be said to be a weak minority government.

Host) Since the new government is a minority government, do you think Prime Minister Ishiba will have difficulty implementing policies?

Reporter) That’s right. We are immediately awaiting the issue of additional budget allocation until March of next year. There is a lot of work to be done, including processing other bills. To do that, you need the support of at least one opposition party.

Host) When the power of two parties in Congress is similar, the third party vote that determines the winner or loser is called a ‘casting vote’. Which party currently holds this casting vote in the opposition party?

Reporter) Yes. Many media outlets point to the People’s Democratic Party, led by Yuichiro Tamaki. The People’s Democratic Party won 28 seats in the House of Representatives in this general election. He does not want to join the ruling coalition, but rather cooperate on policy with the new Ishiba government. Earlier, Representative Tamaki met with Prime Minister Ishiba and discussed ways to cooperate. However, National Democratic Party members opposed retaining Prime Minister Ishiba in a vote in the House of Representatives.

Host) What is the tendency of the People’s Democratic Party to act as a casting vote?

Reporter) Yes. It is assessed to have similar policy orientations to the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito Party. In this general election, the People’s Democratic Party pledged to increase the actual income that people earn, including by significantly raising the earned income tax exemption standard. This policy received a lot of support from low-income people and young people.

Host) Will there be a cabinet reshuffle as the new Ishiba government takes office?

Reporter) Yes. Prime Minister Ishiba decided to reappoint most of his cabinet members, including the Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Chief Cabinet Secretary. However, there are plans to replace officials from the ruling coalition Komeito Party and two cabinet members from the Liberal Democratic Party who lost in this general election.

Host) Prime Minister Ishiba is about to have an important diplomatic event, right?

Reporter) Yes. I will be attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Peru this month (November) and the G20 meeting in Brazil. You may also meet US President-elect Donald Trump on your way back home.

Host) Global Village concludes today. This was reporter Kim Jeong-woo.