It’s three weeks after US Election 2016 and although some are still unready to accept Donald Trump as the next US President, his administration is starting to take shape and world leaders are making their approaches. Key questions surrounding incoming President Trump at present persist.

Is the US ready to accept the election outcome and move on?

Not entirely. Some Americans haven’t given up the battle over whether Donald Trump actually won on Election Day. For the first time in 16 years there will be a vote recount in a presidential race. Already underway in Wisconsin and Michigan, and perhaps soon in Pennsylvania, the recount resulted primarily from concerns expressed by the liberal Green Party about election ballot tampering or hacking. The recount of millions of votes in those states will cost significant time and money. The defeated Green Party presidential candidate is the most visible proponent of the recount effort and has raised millions of dollars for it. Hillary Clinton supports the recount, but said she would not contribute money towards it, while Trump declared the recount efforts a “scam” on Twitter this week. Many political analysts however do not expect it to be as close as the infamous Bush-Gore recount in 2000 due to the wide vote lead Trump has over Clinton in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Who will lead the incoming Trump administration?

Ultra-wealthy individuals and government insiders were among the latest to be selected by Transition Team Trump for key government cabinet posts this week. To head the Health & Human Services Department Donald Trump tapped a veteran congressman who fiercely opposes and vows to repeal Obamacare. To lead the Department of Education, Trump selected a conservative billionaire opposed to the public school system and for the Dept. of Transportation a former government official and current wife of a US senator was picked. At the Dept. of Commerce a 79-yearold billionaire financier who worked for Rothschild Inc. and known as the ‘‘King of Bankruptcy’’ is slated to take the reigns, while a career banker who worked at Goldman Sachs for almost two decades was named as America’s next Secretary of Treasury. With such an experienced and accomplished lineup President Trump will be expected to deliver economic growth and success.

How is the world reacting to incoming US President Trump?

As with any newly elected American president Donald Trump is exchanging messages with world leaders and receiving congratulations and requests for future meetings. International and US media this week though noted a couple of unusually exuberant phone conversations between Donald Trump and foreign heads of state. Trump reportedly lavished praise on Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif calling him a “terrific guy” and declaring that he is ready to play any role to find solutions for problems facing Islamabad. Similarly, a readout of a phone call between Trump and Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev revealed that the US president-elect gushed over the Kazakh “miracle” under the leadership of the strongman who is often criticized for repression of assembly, speech, religion and more. Americans know that those persons or issues who are in Trump’s good graces are described by him as “amazing, fantastic, and wonderful’’, but this incredibly upbeat lexicon could confuse international leaders who may mistakenly believe they have a special rapport with the next president of the United States.

It could be expected that the vote recount will soon conclude and reinforce the election night outcome and Trump’s elite cabinet picks will likely be judged on their performance in office rather than pedigreed backgrounds. Also, foreign leaders will soon become accustomed to the new American president’s generous compliments, which may or may not reflect the actual state of their relations with the US. Until Trump takes office in January 2017 one thing seems quite clear: questions about his leadership will outpace answers to them.