By Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan
Despite, President Trump claims that the elections were rigged and he got a victory, he has been approaching courts and struggling to remain in office for another tenure, finally, he has agreed that a formal US transition should initiate President-elect Joe Biden to proceed to the office.
President Trump asked the federal agency overseeing the handover must “do what needs to be done,” even as he vowed yet to keep challenging his election defeat. The General Services Administration (GSA) of the US announced that it was acknowledging Mr. Biden as the “apparent winner.” In fact, Mr. Biden’s victory in Michigan was formally certified, a significant blow to President Trump.
With the GSA’s official declaration, the president-elect now has access to all top security briefings, office space, funds, and government officials. He prepares to proceed to the office on 20 January 2021. His transition website has now shifted to a US government domain officially. He began finalizing the people he wants in the top jobs in his cabinet.
Although he is a well mature politician and has enough experience serving in various capacities in the US administration with the highest portfolio as Vice-President under the Obama Administration, President-Elect Joe Biden is a well mature politician. Yet, he needs an extraordinary team to support him.
The US faces some of the worst crises, like pandemic, which President Trump has never taken seriously. Instead of taking appropriate measures, he blamed China, bashing China, and trying to fix China’s responsibility. Mr.Trump was not using Masks in a public appearance and not asking his followers to use masks strictly. He may not have realized the seriousness of the challenge or ignored the expert advice from professionals, but put the whole country under threat. Today, the US is the worst-hit country globally, with 12,780,938 confirmed cases and a death toll up to 263,799 (it may increase over time). During the election campaign, it was noticed that President Trump and his followers were not using Masks in rallies. In contrast, President-Elect Joe Biden and his voters were using masks appropriately during the public rallies. It is expected, President-Elect Joe Biden will pay due attention and take appropriate measures to over-come the Pandemic.
Although President Trump was claiming “America First” and use to project economic indicators positive, yet the ordinary people in America were suffering, jobs were the biggest challenge, price hike and bread and butter of the common man was hard to earn. It is expected that President-elect Joe Biden will focus on the Economy. The US was the largest Economy in the world and possessed colossal potential. It requires only the right policy at the right time to restore the Economy.
The US faced the worst humiliation under President Trump in the UN on several occasions, like on the resolution of imposing an arms embargo on Iran, shifting of capital of Israel from Telavive to Jerusalem, etc. The US was hit by worst criticism for the assassination of Iranian General Qasmi, breach of Nuclear Deal with Iran, Launching Trade war against China, undermining UN and its subordinate organizations, even quitting WHO at a critical moment when WHO was crucial to play its role to bring COVID-19 under control. President-Elect Joe Buden might need to strengthen his foreign policy extraordinarily.
Domestic unrest might be the biggest challenge for Joe Biden, the President-Elect, in the days to come. President Trump’s seed of hate, discrimination, and division might not be an easy task to be handled by his successors. It might take a few decades to restore harmony and unity in American society. President Trump has offended his friends and enemies equally by his harsh attitude and casual behavior.
President-Elect Joe Biden is well mature and sensible personality. Still, due to his age factor, he may not be strong enough physically to accept the challenges he will inherit from his predecessor. It all depends on his team, how strong and robust they are to restore the lost traditions of the US and the lost reputation of America and be a global leader which it has stepped down already.
It is expected that President Joe Biden might opt for reconciliation instead of confrontation. He might bring peace, stability, and harmony to the whole world. We all welcome him to restore a lost legacy and a better world.
Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Sinologist (ex-Diplomat), Editor, Analyst, Non-Resident Fellow of CCG (Center for China and Globalization), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan.
(The views expressed in this article belong only to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy or views of World Geostrategic Insights).