鈥楾hank you, thank you, thank you鈥�: A diplomat鈥檚 guide to dealing with Trump
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Ned Temko Columnist
| London
"Thank you, Mr. President. 鈥� Thank you. 鈥� Thank you, dear Donald!鈥�
The gushing gratitude that leaders of Ukraine, NATO allies, and the European Commission聽showed at the White House this week was not a mere nervous tic. It was a core feature of their high-stakes mission to safeguard Kyiv from a potential U.S.-backed peace deal on Russia鈥檚 terms.
And it was the latest, most dramatic sign of a sea change in the way many leaders around the world are now approaching relations with the United States.
Why We Wrote This
In their dealings with the U.S. president, foreign leaders are finding that he responds better to a personal approach than to geopolitical arguments or the details of diplomacy.
With each passing week since President Donald Trump鈥檚 inauguration, their focus has shifted more from traditional diplomacy to psychology 鈥� with the overriding aim of staying on the right side of the man in the Oval Office.
Partly, that鈥檚 because of Mr. Trump鈥檚 outsize personality, as well as his undisguised thirst for praise and for accolades such as the Nobel Peace Prize.
But the main concern has been the real-world effects 鈥� the result of his unprecedented, almost uncontested, control of the levers of power and his penchant for policy swerves and U-turns.
That has been true of his pronouncements on the Middle East, on tariffs, and above all 鈥� as the major players were all keenly aware this week 鈥� on Russia鈥檚 war against neighboring Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been engaging in sustained Trump-wooing of his own. He continued that campaign at last week's summit in Alaska 鈥� a meeting at which he not only stood firm on his main Ukraine demands, but apparently convinced Mr. Trump to go along with them.
Earlier, in Moscow, he had presented U.S. envoy 鈥� and Trump friend 鈥� Steve Witkoff with a portrait of the U.S. president by one of Russia鈥檚 leading painters. Mr. Putin also let it be known that when candidate Trump escaped an assassin鈥檚 bullet, he had gone to church to pray for his safekeeping.
In Alaska, Mr. Putin seconded Mr. Trump鈥檚 frequent claim that if he, rather than Joe Biden, had been president at the time, Russia would not have invaded Ukraine. For good measure, he also echoed Mr. Trump鈥檚 insistence that his 2020 election loss was 鈥渞igged.鈥�
Ukraine and its European allies initially reacted to the Alaska summit with alarm.
They believed that, in a pre-summit call, they had secured Mr. Trump鈥檚 agreement to press for a ceasefire, leave territorial arrangements to direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations, and ensure credible security guarantees for Kyiv as part of any eventual deal.
When that proved to not be the case, it took only hours for Western Europe鈥檚 main political and security leaders to decide to join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his own White House summit on Monday.
Yet, while their travel plans had to be hastily arranged, their highly personal, psychologically informed approach to this week鈥檚 talks had been months in the making.
It began to take shape this past February, when Mr. Zelenskyy suffered a humiliating public dressing-down at the White House from Vice President JD Vance. Mr. Vance berated the Ukrainian leader for not saying 鈥渢hank you鈥� to President Trump for U.S. military and financial support.
Mr. Zelenskyy was then unceremoniously ushered out of the White House, and officials announced a suspension of U.S. aid.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer 鈥� who one day earlier had deftly begun his White House talks by handing Mr. Trump a coveted royal invitation for a state visit 鈥� led Europe鈥檚 damage-control efforts, joining fellow leaders in reiterating their support for Kyiv.
But Mr. Starmer did more than that.
He felt that he and others had failed by not having coached the Ukrainian leader on the key importance of engaging personally with Mr. Trump at the talks. He sent aides to Kyiv to help repair Mr. Zelenskyy鈥檚 ties with the U.S. president and avoid a repeat of the diplomatic debacle.
This week鈥檚 meeting had a hard-nosed political aim: to draw Mr. Trump back from his apparent embrace of the Russian president鈥檚 Ukraine agenda.
But the apparent success of the mission 鈥� at least for now 鈥� owed much to a psychological approach European leaders had been honing for months.
It was not just the thank yous, which ran to several dozen in all.
Mr. Zelenskyy dressed more formally. He made a point of presenting a letter addressed to Mr. Trump鈥檚 wife, Melania, who has highlighted the plight of Ukrainian child victims of the war.
As a key figure in efforts to persuade Mr. Trump to involve the U.S. in Ukraine鈥檚 postwar security, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte drew on months of outreach. That included an alliance summit in June that he choreographed as a personal tribute to Mr. Trump鈥檚 role in Europe鈥檚 rearmament.
It was Mr. Rutte, this week, who offered gratitude to 鈥渄ear Donald.鈥�
The scale of the shift away from old-style diplomacy when dealing with the U.S. president was captured in recent remarks by Britain鈥檚 ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson.
鈥淚鈥檝e never been in a town or a political system that is so dominated by one individual,鈥� he said, describing Mr. Trump鈥檚 Washington. 鈥淯sually, you鈥檙e entering an ecosystem rather than the world of one personality.
鈥淏ut he is a phenomenon. A unique politician.鈥�
