91茄子

91茄子
The international community is watching the U.S., as they too are curious to see what the results of the presidential election will be. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, a Kremlin-funded news organization said on Twitter that the election was 鈥渘either fair nor free.鈥 (91茄子/Maya Smith)

World watches as US keeps counting, and counting

91茄子 spoke to students and young professionals in Italy, England, Armenia, Vietnam and South Korea about who should win the U.S. presidency.

Americans aren鈥檛 the only ones anxious for election results this week. The international community is also on edge since the U.S. president will have a broad influence on global affairs.

Bologna-native Valentina Fabbri, 20, studies in the university in Milan, Italy. She studies public relations and corporate communications. Fabbri said that even though this year鈥檚 U.S. election is 鈥渁 little weird鈥 she continues to watch the news because she knows it鈥檚 important.

鈥淯p to this point, I think Biden will win,鈥 Fabbri said. Before Barack Obama and President Trump were candidates, she didn鈥檛 pay much attention to American politics. But this year is different.

鈥淚 feel like this is a very particular election,鈥 Fabbri said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to decide because everything can change in a minute.鈥澛

Fabbri has tried to inform other Italians about the political events happening in the United States but she said they aren鈥檛 interested.聽

鈥淲hat happens in America has consequences all over the world. And some Italian people that say 鈥極h we鈥檙e Italians, we don鈥檛 care about this,鈥欌 she said. But 鈥渓ike no, what the U.S. does, affects you and affects the entire world,鈥 Fabbri said she tells her peers.

In 2016, Harutyunyan participated in an exchange program to the U.S. where she lived with an American family in Iowa. The program called 鈥淔lex鈥 provides high school students from Europe and Eurasia to spend an academic year in the United States. (Courtesy of Nelly Harutyunyan)

Like Fabbri, Nelly Harutyunyan, 21, is also a student. But she lives in Yerevan, Armenia, a country in the middle of a war with Azerbaijan over a territory called Nagorno-Karabakh.聽

Harutyunyan, lived in Iowa for one year in 2016 during an exchange program. She said she was very disappointed when she heard Trump won Iowa, her host state during her stay in the U.S.

鈥淚 had very high hopes for Iowa,鈥 Harutyunyan said.聽

Harutyunyan said she doesn鈥檛 keep up with politics much but because the U.S. election results can affect Armenia, she tries to keep up with current events happening in the U.S. She said she believes Biden will replace Trump as president.聽

鈥淏etween the candidates, of course, I鈥檓 anti-Trump. And I think a lot of people are just voting for Biden,鈥 Harutyunyan said. 鈥淭rump has been providing a lot of support to Turkey and Azerbaijan which affects Armenia in a very bad way.鈥澛犅

In early October, Senate Democrats sent a to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging the president to suspend aid to Azerbaijan and call for an immediate ceasefire.聽

Other students are closely monitoring the election, as well. Change-min Kim is a graduate student from Daegu, South Korea. Kim studies political science and international relations. Kim hopes Biden will win.

鈥淚 think Biden may win because he is getting more votes in Wisconsin and Michigan,鈥 Kim said. 鈥淏ut there are some variables like Nevada I鈥檓 worried about.鈥澛

Vietnamese tech worker: Trump not going away

Jill Nguyen, is a 27-year-old professional working in the tech field. Nguyen, who is from Hanoi, Vietnam said there are intersections between her work in technology and political campaigns.聽

鈥淟et鈥檚 say if Biden does win, I don鈥檛 see Trump going away,鈥 Ngyuen said. 鈥淚 do see his followers, his supporters, and even himself and his family continue using social media to create misinformation and chaos.鈥澛

Nguyen said she is 鈥渃autiously optimistic鈥 that Biden will win. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very close.鈥澛

Michael Heaven, is a 36-year-old working in the music industry in London. Heaven, originally from Liverpool said he was up all night just to watch the election and see the outcome. He, like many others from the international community, are awaiting the results.聽

鈥淚 think Biden is going to win,鈥 Heaven said. Heaven says he is confident that Biden can get the 270 votes he needs to win the election.

聽鈥淚 think Biden can get there without Pennsylvania,鈥 said Heaven. 鈥淚f he holds Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, it鈥檚 over.鈥澛

Zo毛 Watkins

Zo毛 Watkins is a journalist interested in immigration, foreign policy, climate change, and culture. She currently covers Columbia Heights for 91茄子. When Zo毛 isn't writing, she's watching international dramas or studying languages on Duolingo.

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