As the election results trickle in, the Taiwanese are among the foreign audiences with the most at stake. Under a Kamala Harris presidency, U.S. support for Taiwan is expected to remain consistent. However, if Trump takes the Oval Office, he might shake up the relationship.
In recent months, Trump has suggested that he thinks Taiwan isn’t giving the United States enough in exchange for U.S. defense support. What a better deal might look like according to Trump isn’t clear, but experts previously told Foreign Policy that it might entail pushing Taiwan to increase the percentage of GDP it spends on its military—the same demand Trump has made of numerous U.S. allies. Another concern for Taiwan: Elon Musk, one of Trump’s top supporters this cycle, has suggested that Taiwan should be made into a special administrative zone of China, like Hong Kong.
A recent poll shows that Taiwanese people support Harris over Trump by a wide margin. Jason Hsu, a former Taiwanese legislator at-large and current fellow at the Hudson Institute, told FP tonight, “I don’t think we are nervous about a Trump second term, but we must ensure we handle it with practicality and clear-mindedness. We must understand Trump is transactional, and if he does a favor for us, he may ask for something bigger in return.”
This post is part of FP’s live coverage with global updates and analysis throughout the U.S. election. Follow along here.