Donald Trump Photo:VCG

As the US election year race kicks off in Iowa on Monday, experts suggest that the world should prepare for the possibility of Donald Trump being re-elected as President of the US and a United States that is more divided.

According to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll published on Sunday, a day ahead of the Iowa caucuses, as the 2024 race to the White House speeds up, Trump is ahead of his Republican opponents on key measures of popularity, while US President Joe Biden's job approval rating has hit a new low.

The survey showed that former President Trump leads with a huge advantage against the other Republican candidates - Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson - on three fronts.

At least 68 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents say Trump is the candidate with the "best chance" of getting elected in November.

Overall, more than 70 percent of Republican adults would be satisfied with Trump as a nominee.

According to the survey, Biden's job approval rating has dropped to a record low for any US president in the past 15 years.

Chinese experts believe that judging from the current situation, Trump is unchallenged within his party, and once the general election phase begins, Biden may not be a strong opponent for Trump. This means the world may need to prepare for the possibility of Trump returning to power and a more divided US with fighting between the political parties getting worse.

With just one day to go until Iowa's presidential caucuses, candidates are urging their supporters to brave bone-chilling cold and blustery wind to help carry them through the Republicans' leadoff voting contest.

The main problem for Trump lies in legal battles, Liu Weidong, a research fellow at the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Science told the Global Times on Monday. Some cases have already had hearings, while others are awaiting ruling. For Trump, the main concern is whether these lawsuits will have a significant impact, especially if new evidence emerges that could further harm him, Liu said.

Trump, who faces 91 felony charges in four different cases, is also facing attempts to keep him from appearing on state ballots for having inspired the violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Multiple states in the US have filed lawsuits in an attempt to cancel Trump's eligibility to run for president in these states. Similar lawsuits have previously been dismissed by courts in Michigan, Florida, and New Hampshire. The Supreme Court of Minnesota has also rejected a case seeking to cancel his candidacy.

With the presidential caucuses already underway, the Democratic Party has been trying hard to bring down Trump through the judiciary means, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times. The Republican Party's strategy is to focus on investigations into Biden's son, while the Democratic Party aims to target Trump through lawsuits in certain states. However, these lawsuits may not necessarily have an impact on Trump, Lü noted. "The polling data in the US is quite transparent, and Trump's approval ratings indicate that he is still a very competitive candidate. The world should be prepared for this," he said.

The 2024 race has attracted global attention as the US has been involved in two protracted wars, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestine-Israel war, as well as the escalating tension in the Asia-Pacific region. Experts are also concerned that the US election campaign will bring more uncertainties to the already tumultuous world situation.