Flattery and Firmness: How World Leaders Are Dealing with Donald Trump

Donald Trump has been making headlines as of late with his meetings with world leaders, and experts are weighing in on whether flattery or firmness is the best approach when dealing with the US President. While some, like NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, have attempted to butter him up, others, like Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, have taken a more direct approach.

Key Takeaways:

• Donald Trump has been known to appreciate flattery, and some world leaders have used this to their advantage. However, flattery does not necessarily lead to policy changes.
• NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Trump, saying he was a " transformational president" who had helped to bring about peace deals. However, Trump later froze military aid to Ukraine, which was met with outrage from the UK and other countries.
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also tried to use flattery to get on Trump's good side, stating that she and Trump had "been defending the freedom of Ukraine" and "can build a just and lasting peace." However, a state visit from Trump to Rome has not yet been forthcoming.
• Respectful firmness, on the other hand, does seem to work when dealing with Trump. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was both flattering and firm with Trump, telling him that Canada was "not for sale" as a potential 51st US state.
• Other leaders have attempted to stand up to Trump, including French President Emmanuel Macron, who told Trump that peace in Ukraine must not mean surrender. Trump's response to Macron was defensive and scripted.
• Trump has also clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, with the latter being shown a video of a South African opposition party rally in favor of evicting white farmers.

Statistics:

• Trump reportedly froze $150 million in military aid to Ukraine (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/4/what-ukraine-military-aid-has-trump-paused-and-can-kyiv-fight-without-it)
• Canada and the UK have expressed outrage over Trump's freeze on military aid to Ukraine (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/4/what-ukraine-military-aid-has-trump-paused-and-can-kyiv-fight-without-it)
• Trump has dropped his campaign to redraw US borders by absorbing Canada and Greenland (https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/5/8/us-and-uk-cement-breakthrough-deal-on-trade)
• Europe has stepped in to make up the shortfall in US military aid to Ukraine (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/26/productive-trump-zelenskyy-meeting-in-rome-first-since-white-house-spat)

Sources:

• Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/4/what-ukraine-military-aid-has-trump-paused-and-can-kyiv-fight-without-it)
• The Conversation (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/16/flattery-donald-trump-white-house-meetings)
• Leiden University (https://leidenuniv.nl/english)
• White House spokesperson (https://www.whitehouse.gov/)
• Vatican (https://www.vatican.va/en/)
• South Africa government (https://www.gov.za)
• Denmark government (https://www.nih.no)