Five global stories to watch as the US waits for midterm election results
Donald Trump’s surprise win over Hillary Clinton on Tuesday has sparked an avalanche of speculation about his possible impact on the midterm elections in November.
But it’s not yet clear which political divisions will endure most — or if there will be a second Trump administration in January.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest stories likely to play out.
1) Immigration and Trump’s anti-immigrant stance
Donald Trump made the decision in July to ban Muslims from entering the United States, a move that many have said will have a chilling effect on religious minorities.
The president’s comments were a major factor in a voter backlash that elected congressional Republicans to the House and wiped out longtime Democratic seat holders, including Reps. John Lewis and Barney Frank.
The comments also fueled calls from some Trump allies for a second administration to be formed along the lines of the first one.
But Trump’s campaign promises of a crackdown on illegal immigration remain popular among his base and could prove to be a useful tool during the midterm elections.
In particular, Trump has been targeting asylum-seekers at airports, while his focus on immigrants is popular among voters.
“What Trump is going after is more than illegal immigrants,” said Larry Hanley, director of the Immigration Policy Center. “He’s going after people who have broken our laws, committed crimes, and have not assimilated to our way of life.”
His supporters see the move as a way to “re-focus the conversation” around illegal immigration to a more moral approach.
But as the White House tries to find the best place to apply Trump’s policy, it is facing resistance from the Republican-controlled Congress.
Some lawmakers worry that the lawlessness will lead to more crime and crime-ridden neighborhoods, the New Yorker’s Andrew Berman said.
And some immigration reform advocates fear that clamping down on immigration will send a signal that the United States is giving up on its historic ideals of open borders and immigration.
“Is it really possible that the United States, a country that always believed in the best of everyone, will become, in the words of one of our leading statesmen, ‘a nation
