“It’s called the number one power in the world,” World Languages and Cultures Teacher Patrick Marinucci said. “Eyes always turn toward America.”

Of the 37 countries Pew Research Center surveyed in a 2017 study, 48% track U.S. news. With the U.S. Presidential Election process set to culminate Nov. 5, people of various nationalities are observing the shift in U.S. politics.

English Teacher Hannah Notowitz said from her British perspective, the election is more than a domestic event, emphasizing its global impact.

“It’s a big deal for the Western world, I would say, but also just for anywhere because whoever is the president of America often has far-reaching international consequences,” Notowitz said.

As a Canadian and French citizen, Marinucci said he is particularly interested in the U.S. Presidential Election, as it offers valuable insights into potential political shifts in other nations.

“I’ve always been quite keen on following any current events, and especially what’s going on in the United States,” Marinucci said. “We can see many times that what’s going on in the U.S. happens five, 10 years later in Europe and in other countries.”

Hana Abdelmohsen Mohamed (’26), who holds British and Czech citizenship, said going to an American school has exposed her to the presidential election process.

“I haven’t been necessarily seeking out information and keeping up with it,” Abdelmohsen Mohamed said. “The only reason I’ve been kind of seeing a little bit of the news and stuff is because I go to ASL.”

While she aspires to follow the election more closely, British citizen Maya Spector (’25) said “it feels very removed because the States are very far away.”

“I want to feel this like urge to keep up to date with everything, but it just feels like it would not affect my daily life directly,” Spector said. “I just can’t relate to it being in England.”

Notowitz said many British people “have a superiority complex about the U.S.,” with the upcoming election feeding into their misconstrued idea of the presidential candidates and U.S. culture.

“A lot of British people are like, ‘oh, Americans are so dumb.’“ Notowitz said. “‘How can they have someone like that as President?.’ We like to think that we’re more measured or somehow more intelligent, and I don’t think that’s at all true. No country like either tends towards dumbness or intelligence.”

Additionally, Notowitz said many people perceive the election superficially, partly due to how it is depicted on social media.

“People like to talk about the American elections as if they’re some kind of reality TV show,” Notowitz said. “Often that’s because what we’re being fed on social media is like the lighter, lighthearted sort of sound bites.”

Spector said she doesn’t feel the need to go beyond social media for election updates.

“I just kind of have an initial reaction to whatever I come across on Instagram,” Spector said. “That’s just as far as my knowledge would go.”

Abdelmohsen Mohamed said she discusses the presidential election with her American friends.

“My friends are definitely talking about it,” Abdelmohsen Mohamed said. “I feel like if it’s important to them, then in some ways it is important to me.”

Similarly, Spector said engaging in the election would help her understand the political climate of those close to her.

“I do have some friends I know who live there, so that would probably be the only reason why I would engage in, like, the politics there,” Spector said. “So I can understand what is going on in my friends’ lives and empathize with that.”

Moreover, Marinucci said he sees the U.S. president as a particularly influential model who largely reflects the values and actions of the American people.

“Being the President of the United States is having a vision of what society should be,” Marinucci said. “Should we be caring more about each other? Should we be making sure that everyone has a chance?”

Abdelmohsen Mohamed said following the election is critical to staying up to date on global affairs.

“They [U.S.] hase a massive influence on a lot of important countries, so I feel like it’s good to know what’s going on there,” Abdelmohsen Mohamed said.

U.S. Presidential Candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have gained global recognition regardless of how informed people are on the election race Marinucci said.

“The presidential nominees are both historic for their own reasons and are, you know, attracting a lot of attention,” Marinucci said. “Even if I weren’t interested in politics, it would have filtered into my life anyway.”

Notowitz said understanding U.S. events like the presidential election should not be prioritized over other international political affairs.

“If you are interested in American politics and you’re not American, then you should also be interested in, like, Russian and Chinese politics,” Notowitz said.

Ultimately, Marinucci said the election may have far-reaching implications, prompting people around the world to pay attention.

“Depending on the results in the U.S., things could have some kind of a domino effect,” Marinucci said. “A lot of us non-Americans are looking at what’s going on very closely.”

This story was originally published on The Standard on October 24, 2024.