After President Trump spoke on the phone last week with Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky, the White House wanted to clarify one thing: Ukrainian leaders were grateful to the US president. I’m very grateful.
Speaking on the call, the statement said four times that Zelensky thanked the president for his efforts to negotiate the terms of the ceasefire with Russia. Zelensky then noted that he was “thank” Trump’s leadership.
This explanation unveiled patterns in shaping the Trump administration’s foreign policy agenda. When it comes to diplomacy, Trump wants to see an implicit or explicit presentation of personal appreciation from American allies.
Foreign Relations Council Chairman Michael Fromman said Trump’s approach to diplomacy suggests that he will support us not as a basis for foreign policy, but pay future dividends.
“It’s like showing a fundamentally different concept of order over the last 80 years. So, our allies need to do more to defend themselves, but their support for their defense is also dependent on our interests,” Fromman said. “I think President Trump is questioning that.”
The most harsh example of Trump’s claims about gratitude came at a meeting in the Oval Office last month, which includes Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and Zelensky.
“We should thank the president for trying to end this conflict,” Vance scolded the Ukrainian leader. Trump’s final words when he concluded the meeting with Zelensky were: “You’re not grateful at all. That’s not a good thing.”
Last week’s call was the first time they’ve spoken since then.
Trump appears to have taken a softer approach to Russia. Last week, a phone call between Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin did not grant any appreciation.
Trump’s desire for gratitude is like a change in US diplomatic relations. It is not uncommon for a president to want recognition of his contributions to military and humanitarian assistance. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was frustrated with Zelensky for more.
However, friction between world leaders usually takes place in closed rooms, with more restrained public explanations of “complete and straightforward debate.”
White House officials defended Trump’s approach.
“It’s called respect,” said White House spokesman Harrison Fields.
“All US presidents should ask both their allies and enemies to donate billions of taxpayer dollars, especially if they are asked to donate billions of taxpayer dollars to their defense,” Fields said.
Koli Sheikh, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute who served as President George W. Bush’s national security aide, said Trump is treating him as “not acting like his peers like subjects like our allies.”
“This signal means that if you’re humbled in front of the US president, you’ll get what you want,” she added.
The parade of foreign visitors to the White House appears to have taken some hints.
NATO Secretary General Mark Latte top-brewed his remarks with Trump earlier this month with “thank you.” He praised Trump, who has long opposed the organization due to the increased military spending of the Alliance, and refused to protect Greenland, one of its members’ territory, from the threat of hostile takeover.
When I visited the White House the same week, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin did not explicitly say the word “thank you.” Instead, he addressed Trump’s personal investment in the country, rather than responding to the president’s complaints that Ireland is using trade imbalances to use the United States.
“I think there’s a distinction between being the only president who has physically invested in Ireland through Doonbeg,” Martin said of Trump, referring to one of his fortunes. “It’s just stunning,” he added.
Trump was slashed. “I love this guy,” he replied.
Even some of Trump’s cabinet members have begun recruiting for gratitude.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has jumped into a social media exchange between Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Elon Musk for Starlink, the satellite internet service provided to Ukraine by Musk’s rocket company SpaceX.
When Sikorski argued that some of the services had been paid by Poland’s Ministry of Digitalization and warned Musk that he was threatening to yank it, Rubio accused him of “just making things.”
In a social media post, Rubio said:
Another Polish pastor, Witold Zembaczynski, wrote the words Rubio had requested, but supported Sikorski.
“Thank you. It’s very simple
Matt Duss, executive vice president of the Center for International Policy, said Trump has performed “dominant exhibits” throughout his career as a businessman and politician.
“As a protective racket, he approaches foreign policy, a US-led order,” Duss said. “If you need protection, you have to pay your boss respect and pay upstairs.”
