Why flattering Trump is now the go-to diplomatic move : NPR
President Trump receives a letter from King Charles III, by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Oval Office of the White House on February 27
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There is a model in many interactions from President Trump with other world leaders. You could call it “the art of praise” – and they serve quantities of flattery.
When Prime Minister Kier Starmer of the United Kingdom visited the White House in February, he brought a letter nestled in the pocket of his jacket. It was an official invitation from King Charles III for a rare second Visit of the State, presented to Trump with rhetorical development in the oval office.
“It’s really special. It has never happened before,” said Starmer. “It’s unprecedented, and I think it simply symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us. It is a very special letter.”
Then, in July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brought another letter to Trump, the one he said he had sent to the Nobel Committee.
“This notes you for the peace prize, which is well deserved and you should get it,” Netanyahu told Trump. Trump has long coveted the Nobel Peace Prize and responded with a “wow”.
Two days later during another White House event, the leaders of several African nations agreed when they were invited by a friendly journalist. Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, the leaders said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a letter he sent to the Nobel Peace Prize committee to appoint President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize on July 7 in Washington, DC Trump had welcomed Netanyahu to discuss a potential cease-fire agreement to end the fights in Gaza.
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The president was receptive to the two honors, thanking Starmer and Netanyahu. But there is a strategy in flattery, and it seems very different from the first term of Trump’s white house. During his first mandate, the world leaders were skeptical and far from the authority of Trump. Now, during his second, they are more obsequious.
He is back, and he is powerful, “said Kurt Volker, a career diplomat that served during the first term Trump and is now, among other post-government roles, serving as a scholarship holder at the Center for European Policy Analysis, a non-partisan public policy establishment.
And Trump has not only praise, he obtained results, said Volker. He underlines the promises of the members of the NATO alliance to spend 5% of their GDP in defense by 2035, which Trump helped to obtain at the NATO summit in The Hague in June.
“And some of them are Europeans who intensify to do what they should have done already,” said Volker.
The White House indicates the number of leaders who came to Washington to meet Trump, including repeated visits. The total is up to now 23 so far, many of which coming to the White House in the hope of concluding a favorable trade agreement with lower rates. It is much more than visited by the presidents Biden and Obama during their first six months.
“The results speak for themselves: the president’s trade transactions level the rules of the game for our farmers and our workers, billions of dollars in investment in our country, and wars of several decades end-making the whole world safer and more prosperous,” said Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, in an NPR declaration. “Foreign leaders are looking forward to a positive relationship with President Trump and participate in the booming economy of Trump.”
President Trump has a letter from King Charles III who gave him Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a meeting at the White House on February 27.
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There is another explanation. These leaders “took the measure of man,” said Ivo Daalder. He is the main member of the Harvard Belfer Center and was an American NATO ambassador during the Obama administration.
He says Trump clearly wants to be considered a winner, as a singularly important figure that achieves things that others cannot.
“So Flattery and say that he is the best, that he is the only person who could have achieved this result at this summit, is supposed to keep it above all on the side,” explains Daalder.
Last weekend, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, made sure to complete Trump before chopping the last details of a trade agreement, calling it “difficult negotiator and disagreement”. She then removed a page from Trump’s game book.
“If we succeed, I think it would be the biggest deal that each of us has ever concluded,” said Von Der Leyen. Later, when they announced that an agreement had, in fact, concluded, proudly echoes the language of Von der Leyen on the fact that it was the “biggest agreement ever concluded”.
As with many trade agreements announced by Trump, many details with the EU-US agreement remain quite troubled. But for Trump, they are all victories, and he, as chief manufacturer, is the central protagonist.
This is another change compared to the first mandate, when Daalder says that many leaders have tried to work with the Secretaries of State or the National Security Councilors of Trump. They were considered “daycare” or aid that could prevail over Trump to obtain some results. But Daalder says it didn’t work. Trump was and is the decision -maker, and foreign leaders and diplomats have now understood.
“He alone decides. And that means you have to face Trump to get an agreement,” said Daalder. “And the only way to get a good deal is to flatter it.”
In the case of NATO, flattery was fruitful. Trump has long doubted the mutual defense alliance. Before their last summit, NATO chief Mark Rutte sent a shaping text to Trump, which the president then published on his social media site, Truth Social.
“You fly in another great success in The Hague this evening,” wrote Rutte. “You will realize something that no American president for decades could be done.”
Bringing the members of the NATO alliance to agree to spend 5% of their GDP in defense was a major victory for Trump and the Alliance, which Rutte reiterated when the two were face to face.
“It’s absolutely true,” said Rutte. “I mean here, without President Trump, it wouldn’t have happened.”
It was the same appearance where Rutte seemed to refer to Trump as “dad”, with whom the president and his goods machine ran.
“I think he loves me if he doesn’t do it, I will let you know,” said Trump about Rutte, when a journalist asked the papa’s reference. “He did it very affectionately.” Dad, you’re my dad. “”
This episode has also proven that “drowsiness is really a superpower,” said Justin Logan, director of defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. He considers Trump’s leadership style as very personal and personalized, sometimes even “primal”.
“Nothing is forever. You can leave [Trump’s] Nice list to the naughty and return list with a certain eagerness, “said Logan.” It’s really annoying. So I think that the lesson here will be, continue to rent us, even if it does not feel so well. “”
For some of these leaders, there have been political consequences at home. In many countries, Trump remains an unpopular figure and the leaders have gained heat for their excessive praise, working to win it.
