[New Square 10] "Will Trump's era come again"...Where is the U.S. presidential election that's 15 days away?

■ Host: Park Seok-won Anchor
■ Video connection: Kim Dong-seok, representative of the Korean-American Voters Association

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN New Square 10AM] when quoting.

[Anchor]
With the U.S. presidential election just 15 days away, it is predicted that Trump has more than a majority chance of winning. Let's take a look at the current local atmosphere in the United States. Kim Dong-seok, the representative of the Korean-American Voters Association, is connected. The CEO is here, right?

[Kim Dong-seok]
How are you?

[Anchor]
Hello. Until now, there have been many stories that it is a close game and it is difficult to predict, but it seems to lean toward candidate Trump.

[Kim Dong-seok]
That's right. There are only a few U.S. elections right now. Of the seven competing areas, the data just updated shows that Harris is up about 2% in only one state of Wisconsin. Of the remaining six states, three are dominated by Trump and the rest are tied. Trump almost led the election flow. And it's a small trend, but it's right to see Trump on the rise. Experts are now coming out and everyone is predicting that. The Harris camp side is on alert. He is one of the Asian activists who is targeting votes of people of color in the competitive area, and I have many suggestions that I should go to Georgia several times today, so Trump is on the rise with about 10 days left, I think it's right to see it that way.

[Anchor]
The market seems to be moving this atmosphere quickly first. It is said that not only Trump-related stocks but also the virtual currency market is soaring, but is this atmosphere detected locally?

[Kim Dong-seok]
Since last weekend, there are gambling sites for election predictions, and then the beneficiaries of which companies benefit from both candidates are starting to move. The stock market, which is favorable to Trump beneficiaries and Trump, is focused. It seems clear that Trump is on the rise now, given that there are many reports on gambling sites that more than two-thirds of them predict Trump and bet on Trump.

[Anchor]
Candidate Trump himself is also the president of virtual currency. As he calls himself a president of virtual currency, the related virtual currency is also showing a sharp rise. What do you think is the background of this, which seems to be leaning a little in the recent tight race of candidate Trump?

[Kim Dong-seok]
This is a phenomenon that appears in the fact that candidate Trump came at the last minute and took the lead. Strictly speaking, experts are predicting that Kamala Harris' approval rating has risen due to the convention effect because she has not actually stopped the bubble from sinking. In fact, after Biden announced his resignation around July 20, voters in the U.S. were focused on a new face called Kamala Harris, with interest rising. Therefore, expectations were high. However, expectations were high for Kamala Harris at a time when Biden and Trump were very unfavorable, but in such a situation, they failed to show anything different from Biden, which is a phenomenon in which their approval ratings are sagging at the end of the election. This is what experts say now.

[Anchor]
CEO, you said that the foam fell out. People of color, especially Latinos, didn't they have a very strong support for the Democratic candidate? Why are you suddenly changing your mind?

[Kim Dong-seok]
In fact, non-white voters in the United States were continuously losing support for the Democratic Party. Just because, as you know, four years ago, they were united in the Black Human Rights Movement and almost all of them supported Biden in non-competitive races, so then the surprise minority became president because they supported Biden in the Democratic Party and won in competitive states. And then in Biden's four years, not much has been done by Black or Hispanic or even Asian promises. So maybe minorities are different from Biden when it comes to Harris. Especially the economic problem and the immigration problem. Since the U.S. election is held in such an atmosphere that the economy and immigration are almost 10% better for Trump, it is true that this is the cause of the phenomenon that minority votes are leaving due to the imminent Kamala Harris election.

[Anchor]
It's 15 days left, and we'll also look at the last-minute strategies of the two candidates. Harris, in particular, has been looking for moderate votes and black churches, and has so far moved to rebuild the garden once again, but the competition for allies seems to be fierce.

[Kim Dong-seok]
Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania and Michigan, where there is only campaigning in the contested areas where there are a lot of swing voters. We did it again and again where we were on the campaign trail. Trump's last-minute gains have reignited headlines. Because it's how he did it in 2016 and 2020, he leads the election. As the rude talk and negativity get worse, it is expected that he will continue to raise his attention to himself, and Kamala Harris of Yo should be connected to specific votes without any other way, but she can't.

So it's not too late for Harris camp because you have to go like this in a way that meets specific voters, but it's still 10 days. And now we're gathering volunteers. As you know, in Pennsylvania, on the Trump side, Elon Musk goes and turns out new voters, people who can support new Trump, for money, so this strategy of both sides is expected to go to the end.

[Anchor]
As you mentioned earlier, Mr. President, you also said that Harris is revealing her weakness in the economic sector, but I think candidate Trump is focusing on that. He criticizes that there is no support for hurricane damage because he is spending money on illegal immigrants. What do you think about this?

[Kim Dong-seok]
Ten days ago, hurricanes came to North Carolina, Georgia, and competing areas. There was a lot of difficulty on the Democratic side, but there were many expectations that this would be an opportunity to increase Harris' approval rating as an event before the election. There was a time when Obama was in office in 2012 when the hurricane came. However, despite being an incumbent vice president, it is evaluated that he did not properly recover or take good care of disaster areas for flood victims, and Trump visited only such areas, so such areas are competing areas.

North Carolina is important. There are 16 electors. Go over here and Trump, guys, take a look. It's this hard. It's because of illegal immigrants. Harris said I was good at building the border wall, right? Since immigrants are saying that they are taking all the benefits that should go into you, little by little, the disaster area eats up Trump's rude talk, which is also being eaten by the votes right now and is a slight approval rating, but it appears to be rising.

[Anchor]
Although it is a baseless claim, you analyzed that it worked on voter votes because it touched a weak link, but as you mentioned earlier, wasn't Elon Musk's support campaign noticeable from Trump's side? There are parts that emphasize the fear of assassination, but can this part also target voters' votes?

[Kim Dong-seok]
Elon Musk seems to have had fun with politics, too. Those who go on a campaign trip with Trump and take the super pack they made with $80 million to Pennsylvania to give money and agree on the issue of supporting the Republican Party will give $40 or $70. We give you 100 dollars on weekends. That's why the news came from saying that I'm being threatened just like Trump is being threatened because the mainstream media in the U.S. criticizes me by combining me with Trump yesterday and today.

[Anchor]
Looking at the election process so far, hasn't Trump's shooting and President Biden's resignation been a toss-up at a crucial moment? What are the decisive variables for the remaining 15 days?

[Kim Dong-seok]
For American citizens, Trump's return to power is a disaster with race issues. From the perspective of minorities who want to be Harris, there is too little time for the election campaign. Other candidates became candidates in a week to do more than a year and a half, so during the Obama campaign, they raised their approval ratings, but they're not really successful at specifically connecting them to votes, so how many voters do minorities go to contested areas and attract voters even now? Likewise, I already voted.

With early voting, early voting, and mail voting, supporters have already voted in competing areas, but how many people who vote at polling stations come to the polls and lead to turnout. So, it's going to be like this if Trump and Kamala Harris will change the game. If Harris wants to win the approval rating now, her approval rating must be high beyond the margin of error of 4% to 5%. Because North Carolina, Georgia and Pennsylvania have the most Shy Trumps in the country. Since there are many Trump supporters who do not appear in pollsters, they win only when their approval ratings are high, but compared to four and eight years ago, Harris is very anxious to predict with his approval rating now. That's how I can explain the situation right now.

[Anchor]
Because of the presence of Shy Trump, it is analyzed that Trump's approval rating could rise in a way as the election phase continues in the future. You voted in person, and from the perspective of the polling place, the current close relationship between North Korea and Russia, the situation in the Middle East, and the relationship with China. Do you think these things have an effect on voting?

[Kim Dong-seok]
With 10 days left, there is no basis that the situation in other countries is still coming in to influence votes except for opinion leaders and intellectuals. However, since the Middle East issue and the war in Ukraine are already in conflict with each other, if the war intensifies or the conflict spreads further, it will affect votes. It is true that there is no basis for judging whether or not the North Korean military's participation in the war in Ukraine affects the U.S. election.

[Anchor]
I see. Let's stop here. So far, we've been with Kim Dong-seok, CEO of the Korean-American Voters Association. Thank you.

[Kim Dong-seok]
Thank you.