Reproductive health was a key issue throughout the election campaign, with Kamala Harris fiercely defending reproductive rights in her campaign.
Dr Rishita Nandagiri, Lecturer in Global Health and Social Medicine, reflected on the global impact of Trump’s victory and outlined how we are seeing a rise in ‘anti-gender’ and right-wing political movements globally such as in Poland, Chile, Germany.
"Having Trump as US president increases concerns that it will supercharge these movements globally not just through the fortification of international coalitions like the so-called Geneva Consensus, but also through increased funding for anti-abortion and ‘anti-gender’ efforts globally, whilst simultaneously restricting access to global health funding and aid through reinstating and expanding the Global Gag Rule."
"This could have a catastrophic impact on pregnant people’s health – not only abortion seekers – and all reproduction-related healthcare in countries around the world."
On the economy, Professor Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy, reflected on the potential impact of Trump’s proposed tariff increases.
"If Trump does indeed implement very large across-the-board tariff increases, this will be a severe shock to the global economy, including the UK. Moreover, the US current fiscal trajectory is unsustainable over the medium term. While a major crisis is unlikely in the short-term, Trump's tax cuts would certainly raise the risk of higher long-term interest rates -which would further damage both the UK economy and our fiscal position."
The impact of Trump’s victory on international relations and global security were also key areas of focus.
In his victory speech, Trump claimed that he’s going to ‘stop wars’ and there have been ongoing concerns around continued support for Ukraine under a Trump presidency.
However, Professor Sam Greene, Professor of Russian Politics, said: “Ukraine is unlikely to be the most important thing on Trump’s agenda, and he will quickly find himself embroiled in the push and pull of politics in Washington.
"An abject American capitulation to Russia’s ambitions in Ukraine would, of course, be disastrous to American national security and its broader interests. Whether Trump actually cares about that is a different story. But it is also unlikely to win him any political capital in DC, and in fact it is likely to cost him quite a bit, and that’s something he does care about, or at least something he has cared about in the past."
Dr Russell Foster, Senior Lecturer in British and International Politics, commented on the implications for NATO, and warned: “The future of Western defence is now looking very bleak.”
He pointed out that Trump has publicly voiced his open contempt for NATO repeatedly and even invited invasions of countries who don't meet their spending requirements on defence. He also pointed out that the spending commitments on domestic policies suggest huge funds will have to be diverted from elsewhere, including from defence budgets.
“Trump's victory is very alarming for the future of the alliance. Trump can't withdraw from NATO unilaterally, he needs the approval of Congress (and the House remains in Democrat hands), but Trump doesn't have to withdraw in order to hamstring NATO. Trump isn't necessarily a friend of Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and Pyongyang; but equally he isn't necessarily a friend of America's western allies.”
Trump has said he will give Robert F. Kennedy Jr a major health role during his second term as president.
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat and the development of new antibiotics, vaccines, and diagnostics needs urgent attention and support from the new government, Dr Lindsey Edwards, a Principal Investigator at the Centre Host Microbiome Interactions said.
She added: "The United States is both one of the world's largest producers and consumers of meat and antibiotics, a combination that significantly contributes to antimicrobial resistance. American agriculture is highly reliant on antibiotics, particularly in livestock production, where they are often used to promote growth and prevent disease in densely populated animal environments. This practice, however, plays a role in accelerating the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as frequent and widespread antibiotic use creates an environment in which only the strongest, most resistant bacteria survive and multiply.
"It is imperative that the incoming Trump government recognises the seriousness of AMR and continues to support initiatives aimed at combating this threat."
Dr Rhys Bidder, Deputy Director of the Qatar Centre for Global Banking and Finance at King’s Business School, said as the results came in the prices of cryptocurrency assets picked up because of an expectation that a Trump administration will be dramatically more positive for crypto than it had been under Biden or would be under Harris.
Trump's election will likely give a broader boost to crypto in a key market - probably the key market - that many people around the world have been waiting to come alive.
Read further reaction from King's academics on the US election result.