Little matters more to Donald Trump, the living brand-turned-American president, than pomp and imagery. Trump staffed his government (at least his foreign policy team) out of central casting with grey-haired, ramrod-straight bemedaled George S. Patton types (all of whom would look great standing in front of giant stars and stripes banners), and he has taken pains to be photographed extensively surrounded by a family filled with so many good looking people that one could be forgiven for thinking that they’d accidentally tuned into a re-run of the 90’s television drama, ‘Dynasty.’
While in Washington, Trump is mostly exposed to others only when he chooses under highly stage- managed occasions: looming behind a lectern in the Rose Garden; saluting crisply as he, deep in studied thought, strides across the South Lawn and boards Marine One; behind the imposing Resolute Desk of the Oval Office signing executive orders sized like the leather bound menus at expensive steakhouses; pushing a discretely located button to summon a butler with Diet Coke or flashing a thumbs up at a televised publicity event.
This past week it was time for him to take his own star turn on the biggest stage of all as Leader of the Free World. Unlike most other newly-minted presidents who made “safe” trips to neighbouring allies like Canada or Mexico, he boldly struck out for parts unknown, electing to visit the Middle East (Barack Obama never made it to Israel in his first term) and continental Europe.
This recent a nine-day, marathon foreign trip which concluded in Sicily with the G7 conference has offered the first extended -- often unfiltered, thanks to the steady stream of raw camera footage provided by his host countries -- look at how the 45th president performed on the world stage, especially in comparison to media darlings like Justin Trudeau and highly experienced veterans in the Angela Merkel vein.
By the very nature of his office and America’s place in the world, a President of the United States is often the centre of attention at such events. Add to that the global curiosity about this president in particular (plus the curious carnival-like celebrity he brings to the role) and one can understand the similar approaches taken by the G7, NATO and the Arabians. They played to his vanity.
For example, during the campaign, as Trump assessed Obama’s foreign policy, he fixated on an image from China that he thought symbolized America’s declining power: Obama disembarking Air Force One in Hangzhou, where he was attending a Group of 20 summit, on a plain metal ladder extending from the plane’s belly when other leaders disembarked on staircases lined with what Trump called “beautiful red carpet”. He then indicated that, should he be elected, and any country not afford him a properly majestically regal device to descend on, he would order Air Force One to close its doors and take off for home.
Fortunately for both Trump and the honor of the United States, no such gesture was required on this trip. At each stop, there were better than satisfactory staircases from which he could walk down (though a Gulf State leader outdid everyone by taking a motorized staircase which precluded him having to take more than one step out of the aircraft). At the Riyadh airport, trumpets blared, soldiers stood at attention, fighter jets thundered overhead, and a spotless red carpet stretched across the tarmac. The aging King Salman, arriving in a golf cart, and aided by a cane, warmly greeted the president at the foot of the staircase.
“It was very spectacular,” Trump later told European leaders, using his characteristic hyperbole to describe his welcome in Saudi. “I don’t think there was ever anything like that. That was beyond anything anyone’s seen.” That his fellow leaders may have been accorded the same welcome did not seem to have occurred to him.
On arrival in Tel Aviv, another band, another red carpet and another head of state stood waiting. Even in Rome and Brussels, which are hardly Trump-friendly locales, the president received grand welcomes. Trump seemed most at ease playing the undisputed leading man, such as in Riyadh, where the Saudi royal family treated him like one of their own, or in Jerusalem, where Netanyahu lifted him up every opportunity.
This highlights an unsettling element of Trump’s personality: even more so than Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, both men whose personalities seem predisposed to believing that everyone they met was honest, Trump is highly impressionable. His standard for how well a visit went is how well he was treated, and it could be downright jarring to see other leaders striving to outdo each other in lavishing attention on his ego as a means by which they sought to influence US policy.
Regarding his own performance, the verdict, was mixed.
He was both alternately charming and boorish. He appeared openly gracious to the ailing king of Saudi Arabia (awed by the imperial splendour of the grand settings in which he was received) and Pope Francis (whose moral force is backed by two thousand years of Vatican history), yet aggressively rude to his European colleagues, brushing aside (some would say shoving) a Balkan prime minister to get to his place lining up for a NATO photo shoot. The French newspaper Le Monde admonished Trump for “verbal and physical brutality” toward NATO allies and said he “lectured them like children.”
Unlike the more outwardly poised and graceful Obama, Trump strode around hulkingly, occasionally looming over others like an awkward butler unsure of when he should interrupt to offer a beverage. He nervously buttoned and unbuttoned his suit jacket. He sometimes seemed unsure whether to smile his toothy grin or glare, as he does when posing for portraits, so he alternated back and forth (even managing both for certain occasions). At formal events, Trump did not always know where to go or what to do. When seated one-one-one with other leaders for pre-meeting photo ops he opted for his default pose, leaning forward, legs apart hands clasped in front of him like a man about to undergo an ordeal (which quite honestly, some of these conversations must be).
Like a contestant in his own Miss Universe pageant he was overheard awkwardly asking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu what to do when they met at Tel Aviv, only to be told that Netanyahu didn’t have a clue either, and that they were to stand where their aides told them to stand.
First lady Melania Trump was omnipresent, though largely silent and emotionless, looking like a piece of pretty and expensive artwork. She and her husband were rarely seen exchanging words, and he sometimes walked ahead of her, almost as if she were relegated to a deferential position. The press made much of his occasional, awkward attempts at reaching for her hand, only to be rebuffed with curt gestures.
Yet the first lady demonstrably came to life at her solo events, handing out Dr. Seuss books and coloring with children. She was especially moved by her visit to Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome, where she read a book to and held hands with a boy who was awaiting a heart transplant. These were humanizing moments for an enigmatic woman the public would like to see (and hear) more of.
While many critics at home had predicted that major gaffes could ensue, the president, clearly trying hard to stick to the script, made none. He participated in and contributed to substantive meetings on issues ranging from counterterrorism and trade to climate change and migration, which regardless of whether or not one supports his views, revealed that the President has at least a competent high-level understanding, if nowhere near a comfort level, of these topics. There were no subsequent leaks from foreign governments that their leaders had been appalled by his naivete.
In Saudi Arabia, Trump’s call for cooperation in the fight against the Islamic State was direct, pushed the issue forward, with renewed emphasis on stopping terror financing and blocking militant messaging and recruitment. Beyond any substantive accomplishment, which these kinds of junkets are not really designed for, Trump offered a measure of reassurance to Arab leaders, particularly in the Persian Gulf, who felt they had been disrespected and ignored by President Obama. Additionally, and especially welcome to the Saudis, Trump underlined that the US has shed its pretences of neutrality over the simmering pot of veiled Iranian aggression, and would be watching for any sign of hypocrisy from a state ostensibly moving further into a “reformist” phase.
In Israel and on the West Bank, Trump reiterated his pledge to bring Israelis and Palestinians together in an “ultimate” peace deal, although no progress was made on jumpstarting what has become a moribund, even ossified process. Perhaps as much to avoid controversy as to allow himself time to put together a clear approach on just how such a deal could be negotiated, Trump avoided mentioning either a two-state solution as a goal, or float his original thoughts on gaining greater involvement from the region’s Arab countries.
In Europe, Trump’s blunt remarks on defense spending -- during a NATO ceremony memorializing the joint alliance response to the September 2001 terrorist attacks -- doubtlessly left a bad taste, especially compared to Obama’s more refined, and elliptical rhetoric. He exacerbated the rawness by not using the moment to reaffirm U.S. commitment to the alliance’s joint defense pact, Article 5, although national security adviser H.R. McMaster said that “of course” Trump supports it. Despite such assurances, world leaders have adopted a largely “wait and see” attitude in the event the President changes his mind again.
While Trump’s behavior, might be interpreted either as pouring cold water on the alliance or giving it a good slap in the face to snap penny-pinching allies into paying their dues, it is entirely in keeping with his previously articulated disdain for European constructs which seem more like settings for bureaucratic posturing, endless debate and politicking than actually taking meaningful actions.
Trump’s swagger was less apparent at the Vatican, where he visibly played the supplicant to Pope Francis, sitting across a wooden desk as if he were interviewing for a job, or worried that he’d be fired in the same haughty manner he used to put paid to unfortunate contestants on ‘the Apprentice.’
As the trip progressed, Trump seemed to be having less of a good time, perhaps in part because the scandals were brewing in Washington awaiting him began drawing in more and more people, not the least of whom is Jared Kushner, daughter Ivanka’s husband and a power player in his own right.
In Brussels, where he attended a series of events celebrating NATO, Trump looked downright bored (or tired). As the king of Belgium and other leaders took turns at the lectern, Trump got fidgety, shifting in his seat, looking up to the sky and down to his feet, and crossing his arms over his chest as if stuck having to watch a boring movie he couldn’t walk out of.
The president -- whom aides say has (surprise!) little patience for listening to other people speak-- then appeared to endure a dinner session in which the leaders of all 28 NATO nations gave remarks.
Finally, in sunny Taormina, at the Group of Seven summit on Sicily, Trump struggled to look interested during long meetings with allies in a room decorated with the flags of other countries. As the other G-7 leaders strolled the streets of this ancient fortress town, Trump followed along in a golf cart. Unsurprisingly, for a man aged just past seventy, who neither exercises nor eats conventionally (i.e. steaks, burgers and nachos), long hours, relentless travel, the pressures of governance, all added up.
One could almost feel his relief as the junket came to its end, the need for to be remotely diplomatic was over, and the President could speak to Americans again at post summit staged rallies.
His campaign music blared. A vast American flag served as the backdrop. Buoyed, he declared that "We will have so much peace."
Trump was back to being Trump.