Last Thursday, Joe Biden He promised a “peaceful and orderly” transition of power in the United States, given that the last time was violent and chaotic. The still president of the country, at the gates of the White House, with very vivid memories of 2020, called for respecting the electoral result of the previous Tuesday – the Republican Donald Trump He decisively defeated the vice president and Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris— and teach a lesson to his old adversary, whom he defeated four years ago without the vanquished accepting it.
Trump then launched a furious campaign to discredit democracy, theorized without evidence about rigging the system, pressured his officials to revolt, and incited the most radicalized bases until they attacked on the 6th. January 2021, the Capitol. Trump even blocked his team from working with Biden’s people to share information compromising national security.
The upheaval society has undergone since then has worried Democrats and moderate Republicans, and Trump’s victory does nothing to calm nerves. “Both parties are broken,” veteran journalist David Remnick wrote in his latest column for The New Yorkerthe magazine he directs. “Republicans, having indulged in quasi-sectarian obedience to an authoritarian, are morally broken. The Democrats, having failed to convincingly address the economic problems of the working class, are politically broken.”
Biden, in his desire to calm the waters and find a certain institutional normality, and as he has already done Barack Obama In 2016, he invited Trump to eat this Wednesday at the White House, so that he would grant the image of a peaceful and orderly transition that the Republican refused him in 2020. The cabinets of the two did not give in to this occasion, according to the CNN network, without any problem “putting their agendas in order”.
The Democratic candidate, during the final weeks of his first and only term, emphasized to Americans that, in a democracy, “the will of the people always prevails.” That “you cannot love your country only when you win”. That “we can only love our neighbor when we agree with them”. “I will fulfill my duty as president,” he concluded. “I will fulfill my oath and honor the Constitution. On January 20, we will have a transfer of power to the United States.”
What seems less clear is that Trump is willing to wait that long. Several newspapers report the impatience of the tycoon, who would assume the functions of president before taking the oath. Yesterday, Barack Ravid, journalist from Axios with good access to officials in Washington and Tel Aviv, reported on the minister’s meetings with Trump Ron Dermerconfidant of the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahuin Florida. “One of the things the Israelis wanted to resolve,” explains a source, “is which problems Trump wants to see resolved before January 20 and which ones can wait. »
A day later, Dermer arrived in Washington to meet with Biden and other senior officials in his administration. What is therefore striking is the order of priorities.
Another contentious issue in the two months leading up to the handover is Ukraine. Biden wants to advance the sending of the remaining $6 billion of the $61,000 package closed months ago. The Democrats’ fear is that Trump will now not only turn off the tap, but will also fail to deliver on the commitments made by the current administration. The rumors that Marco Rubio will be the next Secretary of State, and Mike Waltz the next national security advisor, don’t ease that fear.
Nor the telephone conversation which, according to Washington PostTrump and Putin said last week, and it fits with the Republican promise to sign “a quick peace” with Russia, which thwarts Ukraine’s efforts to achieve “a just peace.” This is why January 20 is an important date in the Kremlin’s agenda. The Russians, with the collaboration of the Iranians and North Koreans, want to regain control of Kursk and do as much damage as possible before sitting down at a negotiating table where the Ukrainians would start at a disadvantage.
