After briefly and partially acknowledging, Sunday, November 15, the victory of Joe Biden because the elections were, according to him, "
rigged
", Donald Trump finally went back on his words and claimed his re-election on Twitter.
The outgoing president does not intend to facilitate the task of his successor by increasing the number of legal remedies to challenge the legality of the elections.
In office until January 20, Donald Trump also seems inclined to complete his policy, even if it means making binding decisions for his successor.
Read also: The Trump camp advances new accusations, denied by the authorities
Threat of a strike in Iran
Donald Trump would have, according to the
New York Times
, asked Thursday, November 12 to several of his collaborators including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chief of Staff Mark Milley, "
if he had options to act against
"the site of Natanz, in Iran,"
in the coming weeks
".
The question would follow a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which indicates that Tehran continued to accumulate uranium, according to the American daily.
Senior officials, yet close to the billionaire would have
"dissuaded him from going ahead with a military strike
" because the risk of the conflict degenerating would be too great.
To read also: Renaud Girard: "The Americans are going to 'deal' with Iran"
Since the start of his mandate, Donald Trump has continued to have Iran in his sights.
In 2018, he ended the international agreement, signed three years earlier to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, deeming it insufficient.
In the process, the head of state launched a campaign of "
maximum pressure
" with sanctions that plunged the Persian country into a violent recession.
Tehran, for its part, retaliated by freeing itself from the nuclear agreement on several occasions since May 2019.
A defeat for the other signatory countries, like France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia, who have worked for years on such a commitment.
The Trump administration has vowed to further strengthen punitive measures against Iran.
A strategy seen by some observers as the desire to build such a “
wall of sanctions
” that it would be difficult for Joe Biden to go back.
Read also: American elections: hopes of appeasement with Iran
Withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
With the dismissal of Defense Minister Mark Esper, and his replacement by a former Special Forces lieutenant, Christopher Miller, and the replacement of James Anderson, Pentagon number 3, by Anthony Tata, Fox News commentator, Donald Trump wanted to mark its territory for the sixty days remaining to it before giving way.
And Afghanistan is at the heart of its concerns.
Read also: Results, recourse, transition ... Where are we a week after the announcement of Biden's victory?
On October 7, he said he wanted to reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 in early 2021 and even mentioned a total withdrawal for Christmas.
According to American media, the Pentagon has received instructions to prepare for the withdrawal of 2,000 troops from Afghanistan and 500 from Iraq before the handover in January 2021. Information for the moment not confirmed by the Pentagon and which does not make not unanimity in the Trump camp.
Last Monday, Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, yet a regular ally of the incumbent president, said that "the
consequences of an early departure from the United States could prove to be even worse than Obama's withdrawal in Iraq in 2011, which fueled the rise of the Islamic State
”.
Read also: Afghanistan: towards a return of the Taliban to power
Acceleration of drilling in the Arctic
The Trump administration is also heading for the Arctic and its 6,500 square kilometer protected coastal area.
In accordance with his commitments made in 2017, the outgoing president launched the procedure for the sale of oil and gas concessions in this national refuge where polar bears and caribou live.
Read also: Alaska: with the sentinels of the Arctic, at the forefront of global warming
A document authorizing interested companies to come forward should be published Tuesday, November 17 in the official journal.
The sale of the plots could take place before January 20, the date of inauguration of Joe Biden, who has promised to protect this coastal region of northeast Alaska.
Latest spikes launched against China
Between the trade war and the scathing little phrases launched by the two presidents, Sino-American relations have not been happy during Donald Trump's four years in office.
Beijing even threatened a "
new Cold War
" between the world's two leading military powers if the tension did not ease.
According to the US Bloomberg news agency, Donald Trump is planning several radical new measures against China in the remaining weeks of his mandate.
Read also: America mobilizes an anti-Beijing front in Asia
After the conflict between the American government and the Chinese video application TikTok, Donald Trump intends to protect his national technological market, even if it means harming potential competitors.
Another area would be targeted by the outgoing president: the sector of "illegal" fishing in the Western Pacific.
To read also: Rivalry China / United States: "America is losing the scepter of the world"
Massive vaccination campaign
The Pfizer & BioNTech and Moderna laboratories promise vaccines that are more than 90% effective against Covid-19.
The two products could be authorized by the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) in the first half of December, according to Moncef Slaoui, scientific manager of Operation Warp Speed, set up by President Donald Trump to vaccinate the American population.
Twenty million Americans could thus be vaccinated against the virus which has already killed more than 200,000 in the country.
As several cities like Chicago asked residents to avoid going out, except for essential travel, including work and school, not to receive any guests and to cancel the traditional Thanksgiving holidays, Moncef Slaoui has said 25 million vaccines would be available each month starting in January.
Read also: Vaccines against Covid-19: rush on super-freezers
For his part, Joe Biden is preparing his future electoral team in a tense atmosphere as Donald Trump refuses to initiate the presidential transition.
A tension that worries the next American president.
According to him, without consultation between the two teams, “
it may be that more people die
”, especially in the face of the Covid-19 emergency which continues to develop massively in the country.