Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Prepares for a Second Term, Harris Concedes Defeat but Expects a Peaceful Transition; Ukraine, Israel React to Donald Trump's Win. World Leaders Congratulate Donald Trump; Wall Street Stocks Soared After Trump's Victory. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired November 07, 2024 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Max Foster. Just ahead.

All set for the transition after his historic comeback. Donald Trump is gearing up to push forward with his agenda on day one of taking office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: A graceful exit. Vice President Kamala Harris concedes to Donald Trump promising a peaceful transition of power.

And how the world is reacting to Donald Trump's win. We'll head to some of the world's major cities for an update.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Max Foster.

FOSTER: Beginning this hour in South Florida where sources tell CNN U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is ready to move on with his second term agenda and could announce staff picks within days. His allies are said to be jockeying for key positions in the administration.

Sources also say Trump has prepared a raft of executive orders and regulation reversals for day one in the White House. Trump also has to make decisions about roles for billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Top cabinet positions could go to Senator Tom Cotton, Congressman Mike Waltz, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has called Trump to offer her congratulations. She told supporters in Washington that while she concedes the election, she does not concede the fight that fueled her campaign.

Harris and President Joe Biden have both promised a peaceful transition of power. Mr. Biden will address the nation from the Rose Garden later today, and he's already invited President-elect Trump to the White House. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on the next steps for Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President-elect Donald Trump's transition is already well underway. Even before the election actually took place, the heads of that transition team were already trying to vet potential candidates for high-level administration posts.

Now, I am told that all day today, Donald Trump was fielding calls from allies, donors, as well as advisors, all people trying to get in his ear, either to pitch themselves for administration posts or to pitch people that they knew. It is now turning into an all-out knife fight between Trump's orbit as they try to prove who has been the most loyal to him and who deserves a spot on his cabinet or within his administration.

Now, one place to look as they fill these administration posts is Project 2025. Obviously, as we know Donald Trump has sought to distance himself from Project 2025 this campaign cycle particularly the policy but even though they want to separate from the policy they also had Project 2025, a smaller lesser known about personnel filing system run by Johnny McEntee who is still a close Trump ally. They essentially vetted thousands of people for these potential administration posts. These were people that they deemed loyal to Donald Trump.

They are expected to provide recommendations to the transition to fill the thousands of posts that are going to be available when Donald Trump takes office. Now, it really is a rush here. There are a lot of big-time positions that people want, and we are told that Donald Trump's team wants to fill those positions as quickly as possible, that he could even name some of these people as early as this week.

Think about positions like chief of staff, attorney general, these are the things that really matter to Donald Trump and really matter in any administration and all of that is currently happening the wheels in motion as we start heading towards that Trump presidency.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: More now on Vice President Kamala Harris' concession speech from CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris delivering a concession speech a day after losing a landslide election to former President Donald Trump. After a day of phone calls, including speaking with Mr. Trump and President Biden, she delivered a speech at Howard University addressing her supporters.

HARRIS: While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people.

[03:05:05]

A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up.

ZELENY: Harris saying it's a fight she will not give up, but the question is how she will proceed. She has 75 more days in the office of vice president, so, of course, that gives her time to really focus on her day job, as well as think about what is next.

For all the recriminations that Democrats will be doing, pouring over these election results, too much focus on abortion rights, perhaps not enough focus on the actual economy. Did President Biden stay in the race too long?

On Thursday, President Biden will address the nation in the Rose Garden, of course, speaking too many of these. But it was Harris who talked to young supporters and others about what they should do going forward.

HARRIS: To the young people who are watching, it is OK to feel sad and disappointed. But please know it's going to be OK. On the campaign, I would often say, when we fight, we win. But here's the thing. Here's the thing. Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn't mean we won't win.

ZELENY: Now Harris did pledge to help President-elect Trump through his transition, saying that she and her supporters will ensure a peaceful transition of power. Of course, that did not happen four years ago. There is no doubt the Democratic Party is in a soul- searching period. The question, what role does Harris have to play in that? Those answers will come in the future weeks.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are offering their congratulations and well wishes to Donald Trump. They issued a statement saying, this is obviously not the outcome we had hoped for given our profound disagreements with the Republican ticket on a whole host of issues. But living in a democracy is about recognizing that our point of view won't always win out and being willing to accept the peaceful transfer of power. Bill and Hillary Clinton praised the Harris campaign and went on to

say they wish President-elect Trump well and hoped he would govern for all Americans. And George W. Bush thanked President Biden and Vice President Harris for their service and congratulated Donald Trump on his election.

Joining me now is Leslie Vinjamuri, head of the U.S. and Americas programme at Chatham House. We are still getting results in. It's not, you know, the official result we've got now, but it's pretty clear what's going to happen here.

What is interesting is the amount of power that Donald Trump will have because of his mandate. The fact he's got the Senate now as well. And you know, what's going to happen with the House? Could that be that final element that makes him a very powerful new president?

LESLIE VINJAMURI, HEAD OF U.S. AND AMERICAS PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: That's exactly right. And it's really in the light of, you know, just a few days ago, many were expecting this not only to be a very closely fought election, but potentially to be a contested one through the courts. We were concerned, some people, about violence. And we thought it would go on for weeks. Instead, we've seen really, you know, a very decisive, very quick victory for Donald Trump and his party.

And he will be a very powerful president, partly for the reasons you just said, partly because the executive power of the president has continued to increase, for over two decades now. It's just a very powerful office. And then partly because of the personality and style of Donald Trump, he's always been willing to push the edges of the boundaries of presidential power. So this is going to be a very independent president.

He has a very clear agenda. We know he's unpredictable, but he is unpredictable within the bounds of some very strong beliefs about America's partners and allies and the need for them to stand up, especially here in Europe, to spend more, to do more.

His very strong view of how people should follow him and be loyal and a real disagreement with many people about the contours of the international order, the ways in which the Ukraine war should end, prospects for peace in the Middle East.

I mean, you go down the list of the major international issues, and we are looking at a very, very significant change from what we've seen over the past four years and you know Americans did not vote. We know this from calling they did not vote on the basis of foreign policy. But for the rest of the world this has been an election that is very much about America's role in the world.

[03:10:01]

FOSTER: Yeah, a lot of anxiety about that isn't there. I mean, you're speaking from Europe as am I and we've seen some gushing notes of congratulation to President Trump because they know a lot of his foreign policy in the past has been based on personal relationships. VINJAMURI: Well, yes, and I think it's quite normal to congratulate

and recognize a newly-elected U.S. president. So in that sense, it's not out of keeping with what we would expect. And clearly of America's allies. I mean, we're sitting in the United Kingdom, we have a new government here. This new government has been very highly attuned to the fact that Donald Trump could have become and now will become the next U.S. president.

We've seen meetings before the election across with members of Congress, with the president, a real concern, as you say, that not only that he might be president, but that he will wish to see people reaching out and demonstrating their willingness to work with the president and to a degree their loyalty, I think we're also seeing a very real pragmatism.

And I might just frame it that way more than fealty, which is that there is a knowledge that the issues that Europe faces simply cannot be addressed or contended with absent working around the United States in the short term. There are many people who would like to Trump-proof Europe, to urge Europeans to work more together, to invest more in their collective security and defense, to make their economies stronger. Those are all extremely important, now necessary and valuable goals, but they're medium-term goals. You can't get there fast enough for the needs of Europe.

And so there's a high level of pragmatism knowing that working with this U.S. president to keep America in Europe at a time of great need is really important. We've seen this also across Asia, where the concern amongst America's allies, Japan, South Korea in particular, is very real, and the desire to work with this president effectively couldn't be more felt. And they do feel like they've got a basis of knowledge for this. This is not a first-term Trump presidency.

And as much as we expect Donald Trump to be different in the second term, we're not going to see a world leaders still feel like they have a knowledge, a history, an experience of working with an admittedly extremely unpredictable president, but one with some very clear views on his expectations for America's allies in particular.

FOSTER: Leslie, as ever, thank you so much for speaking to us on this momentous day.

Trump's election will have a huge impact on Ukraine, as Leslie was saying, though it's not yet clear what that impact will be. Ukraine's president is hoping to stay on the president-elect's good side with swift congratulations and praise. Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that he appreciates Trump's, quote, "commitment to the peace through strength and that's his approach on global affairs."

Clare Sebastian joins us now. I remember interviewing Donald Trump years ago when Crimea was invaded by Russia and his view was very clear, it's Europe's problem. And I don't think that perspective has really changed. He wants Europe to lead on the Ukraine issue. He's not necessarily saying America's not going to be involved anymore, but they're not going to lead on it. CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think that is something

that certainly will be on the minds of European leaders who will be meeting in Budapest this week, collectively together. They have already said that this is sort of baked in. I spoke to some of them at a similar meeting in July, and I remember the Belgian Prime Minister said to me that we know that whoever wins in November, it's going to be more America first.

So certainly the view in Europe has been that they are going to have to step up their own security, they're going to have to produce more weapons, they're going to have to try and pick up some of the slack for the U.S., but I think your previous guest made a good point when she said that they are hoping not to have to go it alone completely.

So I think there is obviously a level of nervousness around comments. It was only less than a year ago that Trump said that he would encourage Russia to attack countries in NATO that didn't pay their way. His running mate, J.D. Vance has made his own view on this extremely clear saying that he believes the American security blanket has caused European security to atrophy. So that is very clear.

I think, in general though, the Trump policy when it comes to Ukraine is not 100 percent clear and I think that's one of the reasons why, for example, in Moscow we haven't seen the same sort of jubilation that we saw eight years ago. It's been much more muted, studiously trying to look like they don't really care, they're rising above this, that's the Kremlin view on this and that's funny because despite the Trump rhetoric that we heard the first time round He did slap multiple rounds of sanctions on Russia.

[03:15:00]

His administration was the first provide lethal aid to Ukraine and it's not a hundred percent clear that he would immediately cut off the purse strings and that of course is a critical issue for Moscow so I think there's a there's still a bit of watching and waiting to see exactly how he would handle the sort of practical policy when it comes to Ukraine.

FOSTER: One thing he has been clear on is that he will end the war very quickly as you say no clarity on how he would do that but what are the sort of scenarios that European leaders are looking at?

SEBASTIAN: So certainly the view and based on the comments that we've heard from the Trump camp during the campaign is that they would work towards negotiations. That's the plan that was put forward by J.D. Vance who sounded very much like the Kremlin plan when he talked about sort of freezing the front line in place and Russia being able to keep territory that it already has. Obviously, that creates a huge degree of nervousness. Essentially, it would look like rewarding Russia--

FOSTER: Because of the principle of it.

SEBASTIAN: Right. Rewarding Russia for invasion. So I think that is something that we've closely watched. Zelenskyy, of course, has his own victory plan, part of which looks like it's sort of tailored to Trump. It offers a dividend, a profit share when it comes to Ukrainian natural resources.

FOSTER: Yes, a transaction.

SEBASTIAN: Right. It offers, you know, Ukrainian troops could take over from American troops in Europe. So there's an element of tailoring there, but again, a lot of uncertainty about what would happen.

FOSTER: Clare, thank you.

In Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu is calling Trump's win a huge victory. According to the Prime Minister's office, he was amongst the first to call and congratulate Trump. The office released a statement saying the two agreed to work together for Israel's security. Netanyahu posted on social media that Trump's return to the White House offers, quote, "A new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to their alliance." But elsewhere in the Middle East, Trump's victory sparked concern and some dread.

Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks, who is following the story from Abu Dhabi and a similar view presumably is the one from here in Europe that we don't know quite what's going to happen and what's unsettling about Donald Trump for much of the world is that he's unpredictable.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Max. I mean, we know that there is one leader in this region that is delighted with this result. It is the result that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted. He said in his statement that it is history's greatest comeback.

Now, the reason for that is the first Trump term was beneficial to Israel and to Netanyahu himself. There was the decision, for example, in 2017. The U.S. decided to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, something which had been expected to be negotiated between the Israelis and the Palestinians in a final peace deal. He also recognized the sovereignty of Israel over the occupied Golan Heights. This is territory which Israel took from Syria during the 1967 war.

So certainly from an Israeli point of view, there will be hope that there could be more pro-Israel policies in the next U.S. presidency. It also shows potentially that there will be very little happening until Donald Trump takes control, which could mean that the war in Gaza, the war in Lebanon, could continue. Now, we haven't had clarity from Donald Trump as to what he would do when it comes to the war in Gaza.

He did mention back in April that Israel needs to finish what they started, get it over with fast and that they are losing the P.R. war. But there is certainly concern among Palestinians when you consider the first Trump term and how it benefited the Israelis. So we are hearing that being vocalized among Palestinian lawmakers.

Now elsewhere in the region, we also heard that King Salman in Saudi Arabia congratulated Trump, the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman phoned him, and they spoke of the importance of U.S.-Saudi relations. Remember, when Trump first took power as president, he decided to go to Saudi Arabia as his first foreign trip. So certainly, there is expected to be a strong relationship there as well. Max?

FOSTER: I guess the big test for Donald Trump won't necessarily be what he plans for the region, but if he has to react to something that happens in the region out of his control, he's made very clear he doesn't want more war, he doesn't want to go to war with Iran, but Iran might be thinking, what if we carry out some sort of attack and he will be tested on his response there.

HANCOCKS: Precisely, and it comes at a time when Iran and Israel are at the tensest point that they have been at. They are firing upon each other's territories, something which simply hasn't happened before.

[03:20:00]

Now Tehran is saying that they are taking this in their stride, or at least they're trying to give that impression, a statement saying that there's no significant difference. The general policies of the U.S. and Iran are unchanged, but undoubtedly.

If there is a U.S. president which strongly supports Israel, a country that Iran is engaged in these tit-for-tat attacks at this point, then that is going to be a concern within Iran itself. And remember, the former president, Donald Trump, was the one who went after the top military man, Qasem Soleimani, in Iran several years ago during his first term.

That was something that was unthinkable in Tehran. So this is going to be raising concerns. There is no doubt within Iran itself, or at least within the regime.

FOSTER: Paula, in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much.

Donald Trump has a long history of disparaging people who've come to the U.S. from Central and South America. But that didn't stop a record number of Latinos from voting for him. More next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: On the campaign trail, Donald Trump regularly claimed that migrants were flooding across the U.S. border and promised a wave of deportations if he won the election. Brian Lanza, a senior adviser for the Trump campaign, spoke earlier with our Anderson Cooper, who asked about the status of Trump's deportation plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN LANZA, SR. ADVISER, TRUMP 2024 CAMPAIGN: Well, let's be clear when we talk about this mass deportation, it has to do with illegal aliens. We're not doing anything with legal residents or people who are here legally. It's people who are here illegally is going to be the approach with mass deportation. Now we've always said it, the president has said it before, there's going to be a staged process. There's going to be a phase in.

[03:25:07] The easiest people to target are the criminals, the people who here have committed violent crimes illegally that are still here. You know, that's going to be step one. And once we sort of understand what step, once we understand how step one moves forward. We'll understand. We'll move to the next layered, but let's be clear to the American people, we are going to deport illegal aliens who have broken our laws and who have been violent to our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well despite his anti-migrant rhetoric and despite people in his campaign making racist and bigoted jabs against the Hispanic people, Donald Trump won support from a record number of Latino voters. Two people from battleground states had mixed reactions to Trump's win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN MANUEL LONDONO (through translator): It affects me because I'm Latino. You know how the relationship between Trump and Latinos is. That's him against. The pro is that he's already been president. He already knows how to run a country. It's fine. I agree. I'm not entirely against it.

NIWTON TERRERO, NON-VOTER: We have to see how this man is going to come. What he promises, which was the first thing he said in the early morning, the first thing he's going to do is fulfill his promises of government. As a Latino you feel a certain disdain of what his colleagues in Puerto Rico said and how he contemptuously speaks of Latinos. The last minute he wanted to look for them, this has surprised me a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Stefano Pozzebon tells us how Latin American leaders are reacting to Donald Trump's re-election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: Donald Trump's victory holds enormous consequences for Latin America. Conservative leaders such as Argentina's president Javier Millei, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and El Salvador's Naib Bukele were the first to congratulate him and will feel emboldened by his victory.

On the other hand, progressives like Colombia's Gustavo Petro and Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum are bracing for a bumpy relationship with the new White House. Mexico, the U.S.' largest trading partner, will see enormous consequences both because of the new import tariffs that the new administration will draw in and because of hard-line policies that Trump said he will impose, including the prospect of mass deportation.

No matter who sits in the White House, however, it will remain a formidable challenge to stem the historic migration flows at the U.S. southern border in the years ahead. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Steep tariffs and a multi-billion dollar invoice, just some of what Donald Trump's been threatening parts of East Asia how key players in the region are reacting to his re-election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Vice President Kamala Harris says she's committed to a peaceful transfer of power after conceding the U.S. presidential election to Donald Trump on Wednesday. In a speech at her alma mater, Howard University, Harris did something her opponent refused to do after the 2020 election which was accept the results.

Harris said she had spoken with Trump and congratulated him on his victory. She also acknowledged the pain of her loss, whilst offering supporters a positive message encouraging them to fight in a much different way than a defeated presidential candidate did four years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But hear me when I say, hear me when I say, the light of America's promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: European leaders know how tricky it'll be to have a special relationship with the United States with Donald Trump at the helm. As they congratulated Trump, they've been emphasizing the existing bonds between the U.S. and their countries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says, quote, "the E.U. and the U.S. are more than just allies. We are bound by a true partnership between our peoples." She's urging them to continue to work together.

More European reaction now from CNN's Saskya Vandoorne in Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SR. PRODUCER: A much needed victory for the world was how Hungary's far right Prime Minister Viktor Orban described President Donald Trump's victory.

Meanwhile, here in France, faced with a U.S. president focused on an America first foreign policy, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to work for a stronger, more united Europe. A nod perhaps to one of Europe's greatest concerns right now, collective security.

DONALD TRUMP, THEN-U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, if they're not going to pay, we're not going to protect, okay?

VANDOORNE: Trump has been critical of European defense spending and of NATO, even once threatening to leave the alliance. He said that he will bring the war to Ukraine to an end in 24 hours if elected, but many fear that will mean withdrawing support for Ukraine and looking to settle the conflict on Russia's terms.

Also in line with his America First policy, Trump has threatened tariffs across the board. That could be very damaging to European trade, particularly for the likes of car manufacturers.

Climate change, a topic close to people's hearts here in Paris, is another concern. Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreement during his last term in office and could now roll back environment protection measures, making it hard to sustain a long-term international effort.

But there are some European leaders who believe that being sidelined by the U.S. might not be such a bad thing, with the hope that Europe may learn to be stronger and more autonomous as it's forced to fend for itself.

While some welcome Trump's populist approach, there are fears that he could invigorate far-right political movements like those of Viktor Orban.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke with legendary journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about the current state of U.S. politics and what a second Trump term may look like. Here's part of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I know recently you said that the foreign president is far worse than Richard Nixon. Obviously, a majority of voters were not concerned. I'm wondering what you thought last night as you watched results come in. What do you think of where we're at right now?

BOB WOODWARD, JOURNALIST: Well, it's the functioning of democracy. So he's president-elect. There are lots of things to watch in what will be the new Trump administration. I just want to cite one of them, and that is the relationship Trump has with Putin, the Russian leader.

[03:35:04]

I talked a couple of months ago to Dan Coats, the former director of national intelligence under Trump and I said, what's going on in this relationship between Trump and Putin?

And Dan Coats said, it's almost, it's so close it seems like it might be blackmail. CIA Director Bill Burns said Putin manipulates, he's professionally

trained to do that. Putin's got a plan just to be, just to do this exactly when Trump, and it's what he did when Trump was in office previously, and he's planning it again at playing Trump. So there is much to watch, particularly in that relationship.

COOPER: Carl, obviously, whatever problems the transition had the first time around in the new Trump administration, it seems like they've thought those out, they've learned from mistakes, and this will be far more, perhaps at least, it seems like it may be more efficient in the transition with no, if they have the Senate, if they have the House, obviously the Supreme Court, what do you make of what this administration might be like?

CARL BERNSTEIN, JOURNALIST: Well, you've correctly pointed out that he has, Trump now has institutional memory and knows how to use the levers of the presidency fairly effectively. But the real question is a philosophical, moral, constitutional, and legal one, and that is how is he going to use the immense powers of the President of the United States.

He is someone whose life has been spent in retribution, seeking grievances to get attention to himself, to get his position favored through these grievances, going after his enemies. This was a campaign for president that was about enemies. He has threatened that he wants to bring to heel and into courtrooms what he calls the enemies from within, including the press, including members of the military who were his chiefs of staff, et cetera.

The question is, he has this tremendous mandate to do good. He has been elected by this incredible margin. And let's hope that there are two Donald Trumps, that he will use these enormous powers in a constitutional way. I don't have any illusions about what it is he seeks to do in terms of his policies, but there are ways to do it legally.

And in his first term, he went the other way. And so I think the hope has to be that somehow, maybe in his early days here, he'll read the Constitution of the United States and use it to help attain his goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, now for a look at how Trump's big win is being covered by some prominent publications, Britain's "Guardian" newspaper with a very succinct headline. American dread. "The New Statesman" put Trump's face on the Statue of Liberty and reads "Trump takes America, a special issue on a crushing victory and a new political era." And the magazine "Vanity Fair" tells the story with numbers. 34 felony counts, one conviction, two cases pending, two impeachments, six bankruptcies and four more years. The 47th President.

Now the presidents of China and South Korea both called Donald Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him even though his return to power could be very painful for their economy. CNN's Mike Valerio is standing by in Seoul, but we begin with our Beijing bureau chief, Steven Jiang. Steven, it's difficult to know who the Chinese government would prefer

as a leader, because you would have had stability, wouldn't you, from Kamala Harris in theory? You might have a more positive view from Donald Trump on some issues, but certainly not in terms of trade.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Max, you know, throughout the campaign, the official messaging and propaganda, if you will, had always been there, equally bad. But unlike four years ago, Xi Jinping didn't wait more than two weeks to congratulate the winner of this U.S. race, though.

He really picked up the phone rather quickly to offer Trump not only his congratulations, but also the usual platitudes from Beijing when it comes to the importance of the mutual respect aspect, the win-win cooperation of U.S.-China relations as he wants to work with Trump to chart a new course for the two countries to get along.

[03:40:07]

Now the timing of this call though, perhaps a reflection of what the Chinese have learned from Trump's first term in office when it comes to how he operates and what matters to him because of course Trump and his advisors have been reportedly tracking very closely when and how world leaders reach out to him after this resounding election victory.

But for a lot of Chinese officials, according to our sources, they are really still haunted by the wild swings in Trump's China policy during his first term in office and the resulting nightmares these interlocutors had to live through. So understandably, many of them are really driving the prospect of having to deal with this all over again.

Now, as of now, Trump going back to the White House seems to be the only certainty in this picture full of uncertainties in this critically important relationship between the two superpowers, between the world's two biggest economies, topping the mind of many officials and the Chinese public alike, of course, as you mentioned, this potential trade war.

And because of Trump's campaign rhetoric of slapping new, even bigger 60 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports. Now, we have no way of knowing if he's going to follow through, but the Chinese are taking him seriously given his The worry here though, according to some analysts, is there is this sentiment in Beijing this time around that they're not going to take this line down.

And even with a sluggish economy at home, they feel they have enough tools in their toolbox to fight back. And so the prospect of that new trade war, of course, could be devastating for not only their economies, but the world at large.

But the other side of the coin, as you can imagine, is the perceived transactional nature of Trump and his going it alone America First approach in foreign policy is still seen as beneficial to Beijing compared to what the Biden and Harris administration's strategy of forming a united front with allies and partners against China on multiple fronts. Max.

FOSTER: Steven, thank you. Mike, in terms of South Korea, obviously the focus on the threat from North Korea when it comes to the U.S. and what support they will give South Korea.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. You know, South Korea has a lot on the line when we're talking about that tributary of the diplomatic equation right here.

So far, we've heard warm messages of congratulations coming from Seoul with an undercurrent of nervousness, but we haven't heard anything from the northern side of the DMZ, from Kim Jong-un, as of yet. But when we're talking about specifically South Korea and security, you know, we want to talk about the prospect that Trump could demand more from South Korea in terms of payment to have U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula and also the prospects of another summit between Kim Jong-un and Trump.

So when we're talking about these troop levels, Max, right now there are 28,500 U.S. service members who are scattered throughout South Korea and South Korea right now pays about a billion dollars annually, its share of stationing those troops throughout the country.

A couple days ago, Max, in Chicago, Trump said he wants a 900-percent increase up to ten billion dollars South Korea paying the United States to house those troops throughout South Korea paying in Trump's word South Korea's fair share of this relationship.

There was an agreement reached on Monday between Seoul and Washington D.C. for a much smaller increase not 900 percent by any stretch of the imagination, more like 8 percent. But Trump could conceivably tear up that agreement when he returns to power.

Now in terms of another nuclear summit between Kim Jong-un and President Trump, officials I've been speaking with who could end up in the Trump cabinet say they want to finish that part of history. There is certainly a willingness to get some sort of nuclear deal done.

In September, I had the opportunity to speak with Robert O'Brien, who could be the next secretary of state, and he signaled certainly an openness and willingness from his negotiations with North Korean diplomats in the autumn of 2019. Here's what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT O'BRIEN, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: They took a very hard line publicly after the meetings. But we thought that September meeting, it was September, October, I believe of 2019. We thought that meeting would lead to something, maybe another summit in the spring. But then unfortunately COVID hit and the whole world changed, especially North Korea with the total, you know, unbelievable lockdown in North Korea. And so we lost that opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So they thought another summit could happen. That is their mission, potentially right now. But Max, the final question, would North Korea even come back to the negotiating table now that they have the backing of Russia and they're in a much stronger position now than they were when Trump left office, Max.

FOSTER: OK, Mike, also Steven, thank you both very much indeed.

[03:45:02]

Wall Street celebrating a quick and decisive outcome in the US election with investors sending stock markets to new record highs. A look at the economics of a second Trump era, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: U.S. stocks soared to record highs on Wednesday following Donald Trump's victory. Markets were mostly boosted by the fact that the election was decided relatively quickly. As investor's desire certainty of the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all reached new highs. The Dow surged more than 1,500 points or more than 3.5 percent, the S&P climbed by 2.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed nearly 3 percent higher.

The record day on Wall Street comes despite economist warnings that many of Trump's policies could increase inflation and America's budget deficit. Trump himself grew richer in Wednesday's surge in stock shares of his social media company, Truth Social, jumped 35 percent at the opening bell before settling.

Trump briefly gained more than a billion dollars in value for his stake in the company. Of course, those are only paper gains. In practice, it would be difficult for Trump to cash in and sell many of his shares without tanking the price. The president-elect is the dominant shareholder in the company, which makes very little revenue and is actually losing money.

Trump has said he will impose a tariff on all goods coming into the U.S., as well as higher tariffs on imports from China and Mexico. He claims that tariffs will boost American manufacturing and bring in billions of dollars to help pay for tax cuts and other policy initiatives. But it's unlikely the revenue from new tariffs would fully cover his proposals and tariffs would likely raise prices for the average American.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Imagine, everything you buy that comes outside the U.S. like wine, cheese, and laptops get more expensive. Well that's what economists say would happen under former president Trump's tariff proposal.

[03:50:02]

A tariff is basically a tax on products and Trump wants to put them on everything that comes into the U.S. That's $3 trillion worth of goods a year. In order to cover the higher tariffs, companies will have to raise prices, and that cost ultimately gets passed down to you, the consumer.

So here's his plan. A 60 percent tariff on Chinese imports, and up to 20 percent on imports from other countries. Trump says it will protect working-class jobs and punish countries making goods with cheap labor in unsafe conditions, the self-proclaimed tariff man is hoping the tariffs will incentivize Americans to buy more made-in-America products, and the tariffs could, in theory, raise trillions of dollars to help fund tax cuts.

But economists at Goldman Sachs warn the tariffs could backfire, instead raising prices on American families, killing jobs, and setting off another trade war. Countries could then retaliate, putting their own tariffs on U.S. goods that they buy. The cost to the average American family by one estimate? More than $2,600 per year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: An artist tribute to Donald Trump all the way from the shores of India, coming up for you. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: For the first time in U.S. history, a convicted felon has been elected president. It's a tricky situation for the country and for Donald Trump, who is awaiting sentencing in his New York hush money case and facing trial in other state and federal cases. CNN's Paula Reid has details on what exactly happens next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: I've learned that Trump's legal team is going to try to get his upcoming sentencing in New York canceled. Historically they've just tried to delay proceedings, but now they want this entire thing to be next.

[03:55:03]

They are going to argue to the judge that Trump, as president-elect, is entitled to the same protections as a sitting president and that he should be protected from any action by a state prosecutor.

The judge in that case is given himself until November 12th to decide if the Supreme Court's immunity ruling from this summer. Should mean that this entire conviction is tossed if he decides that it should be tossed obviously the sentencing wouldn't happen. But Trump's lawyers again, they want to get that sentencing canceled.

There's also good news for Trump's legal team on the federal front, the two federal cases their client is facing. We have learned that Jack Smith the special counsel who brought both of those cases is talking to leaders at the Justice Department Including the Attorney General about how to wind down those cases and they're looking at internal Justice Department guidance about how sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted or indicted, trying to figure out how does that apply to a president-elect.

It is expected these conversations will go on for several days, but at this point it does not appear that the president would need to fire Jack Smith or have his Justice Department fire Jack Smith. These cases will likely be resolved before he returns to the White House.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: One artist is showing his support for Donald Trump from the other side of the world. Indian artist Asudar Shan Patnaik dedicated his sand sculpture on the shores of the Bay of Bengal to the U.S. President-elect in honor of his election win. The artist says he wanted to congratulate Trump for being elected a second time.

Thanks for watching CNN. I'm Max Foster. "CNN Newsroom" with Erica is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)