Trump’s new version of Oval Office meetings has rattled some foreign leaders

PARIS CNN Foreign leaders visits to the White House used to be occasions for face-to-face diplomacy allied backslapping and polite photo ops But President Donald Trump s citizens pillorying of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in February has upended Oval Office norms sparking panic among a few foreign leaders You re not acting all that thankful Trump scolded Zelensky with Vice President JD Vance piling on in front of the international press As the Ukraine leader pushed for more help in the country s war with Russia Trump at one point threatened to give up on Ukraine entirely the meeting devolving into little more than a shouting match Foreign dignitaries took that visit as well as Trump s unfounded accusations of genocide against South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and tense exchanges with Canada s Prime Minister Mark Carney as a sign that Oval Office visits in Trump s second term called for a different type of preparation Five former senior diplomats who have handled preparations for these types of meetings likened Trump s White House to a boxing ring or a TV set The dignitaries announced leaders should now mentally prepare for diplomatic jiu jitsu trolling or even North Korean style adulation And never ever say Trump is wrong in front of a camera You never contradict Trump publicly because he will lose face and that s something that he can t accept revealed G rard Araud who was France s ambassador to the US during Trump s first presidency There are signs ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s planned White House visit Monday that even he is looking to avoid any chance of a fight despite his close relationship with Trump After Trump commented Tuesday that he planned to be very firm with Netanyahu on the need for a ceasefire in Gaza an Israeli official indicated they accepted the terms of a -day ceasefire proposal about hours later Trump For Lithuania s former foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis Oval Office visits from foreign leaders are chances for Trump to portray himself as this alpha leader you know pushing aside others and belittling others he informed CNN This is a show Trump himself indicated the last point as his meeting with Zelensky ended quipping This is going to be great television Arturo Sarukh n Mexico s former ambassador to Washington described the meetings as diplomatic vandalism and trolling Foreign dignitaries say Trump is at a different level even compared to his first term In he was learning the ropes of administration And I think he was learning the boundaries of his power declared Joe Hockey former Australian ambassador to the US Ex-French envoy Araud explained that Trump in was insecure he didn t know the job He hated to be patronized Trump has also acknowledged that he s much more confident in exercising his powers the second time around and he s made it clear he s less concerned about expected limitations or criticisms The returned president is far more overtly transactional Hockey announced as well as a far more formidable negotiator Since January allies and foes alike have been subjected to unprecedented tariffs and the ignominy of placating Trump for preferable business terms And it s rattled chosen leaders according to Araud European leaders especially are in a sort of denial They are panicking Break from the past Glitzed out in gold details the Oval Office exudes Trump its walls reflecting his particular vision of US history His office is as much showplace as workplace That s not the only way the office has changed Unlike the bureaucratic machine of past presidencies the Trump White House functions more like a royal family or a king s court Araud noted Without personal access to Trump or his close family leaders won t make much progress on requests And even if heads of state do get that one-on-one time it doesn t mean you re going to influence the guy During past administrations there were rules Araud added Meetings at the White House which typically involve months of planning were seen as a unique opportunity for foreign leaders to meet with the US president and be seen doing so You were supposed to respect particular basic decency he declared Such visits were about treating foreign leaders with dignity and respect and frankly making sure that these visits are a win-win for both sides Rufus Gifford who was the US ambassador to Denmark until and chief of diplomatic protocol under former President Joe Biden advised CNN As chief of protocol Gifford was responsible for coordinating meetings between the US president and foreign leaders Our advice very merely was take advantage of the very insufficient moments that you have Gifford added This should be a nice meeting where you get to know each other as human beings Sarukh n one of Mexico s ambassadors to the US during the Bush and Obama presidencies revealed that his organization would provide icebreakers and areas of shared interest to their president ahead of a visit anything to lubricate the wheels of diplomacy Famously Mexican President Vicente Fox visited former President George W Bush s Texas ranch for one of their meetings after Bush came to Fox s ranch in Mexico years earlier Sarukh n described pictures from the visits as visual gold adding they were the product of long discussions between both president s teams And ahead of former President Barack Obama s inauguration Sarukh n recalled the Mexican embassy put on a special exhibition of jewels of Mexican art in DC where the Obamas could meet Mexico s then-President Felipe Cald ron It was an Olympic goal to use a soccer term Sarukh n mentioned Words of advice Think in terms of television is how Landsbergis advised preparing for a meeting with the former reality TV star president He disclosed that world leaders also have their home audience s community perception in mind Pushing back or even fact checking Trump may be risky but it isn t necessarily a losing strategy Landsbergis explained Similarly Sarukh n stated it can be advantageous for leaders to show they can handle a few jiu jitsu with the US president They should not have an expectation that it s going to go smoothly stated Gifford the Biden White House official who also worked on Kamala Harris campaign Donald Trump thrives on keeping these foreign leaders off balance Sometimes that manifests in actual physicality often involving aggressive handshakes That presented a personal challenge for Araud when France s Emmanuel Macron met with Trump for the first time in Beware He is going to be brutal with your hand Be ready to resist Araud warned He now counsels subordination You should first be profusely grateful You should really compliment the president There is a sort of North Korean side in the White House he revealed And you should let Trump really talk and talk A phone call with Trump It s a minimum minutes and you have at least minutes of Trump Gifford warned against trying to insincerely charm Trump That works in the moment It does not work long-term And he will play you Peril vs reward I don t in my mind understand why foreign leaders keep coming to the Oval Office thinking that it s the same as it has been It s just not Gifford informed CNN adding that Trump doesn t value alliances as past US leaders have Despite the threat of an Apprentice-style ambush beamed live to the world Landsbergis reckons the reward of an Oval Office visit outweighs the pitfall of a Trump smackdown It s the only chance for a small country like Lithuania to transmit essential messages or danger assessments for example about Russia s aggression directly to Trump But navigating the minefield of Oval Office barbs and fraught televized moments with Trump requires treating the the greater part powerful man on earth like a whimsical and unpredictable child Araud mentioned Trump s the only one making decisions he added and he s making decisions from the hip The-CNN-Wire Cable News System Inc a Warner Bros Discovery Company All rights reserved Source