Who could lead the Democrats next?
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Sky News US correspondent James Matthews is joined by Reyna Walters-Morgan, vice chair for the Democratic National Committee - the governing body of the Democratic Party - to discuss the challenges of opposition in President Donald Trump's second term.
Should Joe Biden have stepped down sooner, are Democrat representatives and senators doing enough to push back against Trump's policies, and who could lead them into the next election?
If you've got a question you'd like the Trump100 team to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
South Korea votes in snap presidential election after six months of political chaos
South Koreans are voting to elect a new president after enduring months of political turmoil sparked by former leader Yoon Suk Yeol 's botched attempt to impose martial law last December. Turnout is expected to be high with voting open for 14 hours until 8pm local time at 14,295 polling stations across the country. Early voting on Thursday and Friday saw over a third of the 44.39 million eligible voters cast their ballots. By 7am local time on Tuesday, another 1.08 million voters, nearly 2.4 per cent of the electorate, had exercised their franchise, according to the National Election Commission. 'We were the first to arrive with the hope our candidate gets elected and because the presidential election is the most important," Yu Bun Dol, 80, told AFP news agency in Seoul. The new leader will face the challenge of rallying a society scarred by the attempt at military rule and an export-heavy economy hit by tariffs by the US, a major trading partner and a security ally. Lee Jae Myung of the liberal Democratic Party is favoured to win the election. A Gallup survey shows almost 49 per cent of South Koreans viewing him as the potential new leader. Both Mr Lee and his conservative rival Kim Moon Soo propose to make major changes, arguing that the political system and economic model set up during its rise as a budding democracy and industrial power are no longer fit for purpose. Though their proposals for investing in innovation and technology often overlap, Mr Lee advocates for more equity and help for mid-to-low-income families compared to Mr Kim's campaign for more freedom from regulations and labour strife. Mr Lee has called the snap election "judgment day" against Mr Kim and his People Power Party, accusing them of having condoned Mr Yoon's martial law attempt. The Democratic Party candidate has urged voters to rally behind his campaign theme of 'overcoming insurrection". In his final campaign speech, Mr Lee called Yeouido in Seoul a 'historic site where the darkness of insurrection was driven out by the light of democracy". 'We will complete the revolution of light that began here in Yeouido," he was quoted as saying by The Chosun Daily. Mr Kim has denounced his rival a "dictator" and his Democratic Party a "monster", warning that if the former human rights lawyer became president, he and his party would be left unconstrained to amend any laws they simply did not like. The conservative nominee claimed he would 'never deceive the people or mislead them with lies'. He pledged to revive the economy and create 'a great Republic of Korea where integrity prevails, corruption is eradicated, and hardworking citizens are respected". The snap election was called after South Korea's Constitutional Court ousted Mr Yeol as president earlier this year for imposing martial law. Mr Yoon had been impeached by the National Assembly and the court upheld the parliamentary decision.
NBC News
8 hours ago
- NBC News
The first task facing South Korea's next leader: Handling Trump
When South Koreans elect a new president Tuesday, it will end months of domestic political turmoil — but their choice could bring big changes to the country's relationship with the United States. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, had a clear lead in polls going into the election, which is being held six months to the day after then-President Yoon Suk Yeol plunged the East Asian democracy of more than 50 million people into turmoil by abruptly declaring martial law. Since lawmakers impeached Yoon in December over the short-lived martial law order, South Korea has been stuck in a leadership vacuum, churning through a series of acting presidents. The uncertainty has also constrained the U.S. ally in Washington even as President Donald Trump slapped it with a 25% 'reciprocal' tariff, among other levies. The presidential by-election, which was triggered in April when Yoon's impeachment was upheld by South Korea's Constitutional Court, promises a return to stability, and South Koreans have turned out in record numbers for early voting. 'A lot of people just want to move on, because it's been a long six months,' said Jennifer Lee, a principal at the Asia Group corporate consultancy in Washington, who recently returned from a trip to South Korea. Lee Jae-myung, 61, who narrowly lost to Yoon in 2022, has been seen as the most likely next president since Yoon was impeached. But public support for Lee has been driven more by anger at Yoon's conservative People Power Party, which has declined to condemn his actions, than by agreement with Lee's policy positions, said Rob York, director for regional affairs at Pacific Forum, a foreign policy research institute in Honolulu. 'I don't think enthusiasm for him is especially strong,' York said. 'He's not an especially inspiring figure for a number of reasons, but the conservative party is simply so tainted right now.' Further boosting Lee's chances is the fact that conservative votes are being split between Kim Moon Soo, the People Power Party candidate, and Lee Jun-seok, a young lawmaker from the upstart Reform Party who has been generating controversy with his antifeminist remarks. Though Lee has moved toward the center during the campaign, he is generally seen as more open to China and North Korea than his predecessor and less friendly toward Japan, which is part of a trilateral security partnership with the U.S. and South Korea. Because Yoon was 'so pro-U.S. and hardcore U.S.,' it seems unlikely that the U.S.-South Korea relationship will remain as strong, the Asia Group's Jennifer Lee said. 'I think that there will be some more balancing act between the United States and China,' she said, and if the Trump administration 'comes out hard' on issues such as tariffs or cost-sharing for the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, 'I think there may be a lot more frictions ahead.' Still, Lee the candidate has expressed support for the U.S.-South Korea alliance and already begun reaching out to the Trump administration. In an interview last week with Time magazine, Lee said Trump 'has outstanding skills in terms of negotiation' and that both he and Trump are simply looking out for the interests of their people. Though he doesn't align with Trump's conservative views, Lee has in the past been nicknamed 'Korea's Trump' by supporters enamored with his populist, outspoken style. Like Trump, Lee also survived an attempt on his life last year, having been stabbed in the neck during a visit to the city of Busan. 'Personality-wise I think the two of them, if they're in a room together, would probably get along,' York said. 'Both of them are people who view themselves as dealmakers, and I think they're more concerned with crafting a deal that makes both of them look good.' One of Lee's top priorities will be reaching a deal on tariffs, which have hit South Korea hard. In addition to the 25% tariff, South Korea — the world's 10th-largest economy — is vulnerable to steep duties on some of its biggest exports, such as steel and automobiles. Lee is also facing a more assertive North Korea, whose leader, Kim Jong Un, has been advancing his ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs. Like Trump, Lee favors greater engagement with the North, pledging last week to restore a military hotline between the two rivals, who technically remain at war. Though Trump has said he'd like to revive his in-person diplomacy with Kim, North Korea appears far less interested in negotiating than it was when the two leaders met in 2018 and 2019. Kim is now receiving crucial economic and military support through a security partnership with Russia, and he said last year that North Korea is no longer pursuing reconciliation with the South. The heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula come amid reports that Trump is considering withdrawing thousands of U.S. troops from the South, an idea he also floated during his first term. Though Seoul says there have been no such discussions, Pentagon officials say a troop reduction has not been ruled out. Neither South Korea nor U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) were barely mentioned in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 's speech in Singapore last weekend laying out the U.S. approach to the Indo-Pacific, adding to concerns about where the country stands with Washington. 'The U.S. can unilaterally decide and act on reducing USFK troops. It's their military, after all,' said Bong Young Sik, a North Korea specialist at the Yonsei Institute for North Korean Studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, referring to U.S. Forces Korea. But 'they need to consider and accommodate the situations their security partners are under and facing,' he said. 'If they go with 'What is good for the U.S. is good for the world,' I am not sure how long that approach could work,' Bong said.
NBC News
8 hours ago
- NBC News
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul gets a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado
New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado launched a Democratic primary challenge against Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday, saying in a video announcing his campaign that the state needs 'bold, decisive, transformational leadership.' "Let's not drop the ball on figuring out what it is we're fighting for. We believe in facts, truth, liberty, the rule of law and justice for all," Delgado said. "Listen, the powerful and well-connected have their champions. I'm running for governor to be yours." Delgado did not mention Hochul by name in the video, but he told The New York Times, 'People are hurting and New York deserves better leadership.' Hochul selected Delgado to be lieutenant governor and her running mate in May 2022, after then-New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was arrested on charges related to campaign finance fraud. Delgado fueled speculation he could challenge Hochul when he announced in February that he would not serve as Hochul's running mate as she seeks another term next year. Delgado and Hochul have had some high-profile disagreements, including when Delgado called on then-President Joe Biden to end his 2024 re-election bid and said embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams should resign. Delgado was first elected to the House in 2018, winning a crowded primary that year and going on to defeat GOP Rep. John Faso in a competitive district in the Hudson Valley. Democratic Governors Association executive director Meghan Meehan-Draper responded to Delgado's announcement by saying the DGA is "is 100 percent behind Governor Hochul as she continues to deliver for New York, take on Donald Trump, and build the operation it will take to beat Republicans up and down the ballot in 2026." "For years, Governor Hochul has been underestimated — and each time proved her critics wrong," Meehan-Draper said. Republicans are eyeing New York as a possible pickup opportunity next year, despite its Democratic lean. New York saw the largest swing towards President Donald Trump of any state in the country last year, as Trump made gains in other blue states. But the state is still an uphill climb for Republicans, as Trump lost New York by 13 points last year. GOP Reps. Mike Lawler and Elise Stefanik have been considering running for governor. Stefanik responded to Delgado's announcement Monday by saying in a statement that Hochul's "own Lieutenant Governor that she hand picked is now primarying her which shows she has lost support not just from Republicans and Independents, but Democrat New Yorkers as well." "It is time for new leadership to save New York from the decades of catastrophic failed policies of single-party Democrat rule," Stefanik added. Lawler also responded to Delgado's announcement in a post on X, writing in part that Hochul "must be defeated in 2026 and replaced with a Republican Governor who can restore balance and common sense to Albany."
