Over the course of the last seven months, the leaders of the Western world have been enrolled in an intensive course of Trumpology. One by one, presidents and prime ministers of European countries have traveled to Washington, learning all sorts of lessons about how best to handle the tricky man who sits behind the big desk in the gold-wrapped room shaped like an Oval.
On Monday, the whole class showed up at the White House. The time had come to put their education to use. And it was the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, who seemed to have learned the most since his last visit, when he was mocked for not wearing a suit, deemed insufficiently deferential and ultimately kicked out.
This time he showed up to his Oval Office meeting with a more formal look, a game sense of humor and a letter for the first lady.
“I cannot believe it,” Mr. Trump said as he looked Mr. Zelensky up and down, taking measure of his new black-on-black get-up. “I love it. Look at you.”
In the Oval Office, Mr. Zelensky again encountered Brian Glenn, the right-wing reporter-instigator who had criticized Mr. Zelensky for his clothing the last time he was in the Oval. Mr. Glenn told Mr. Zelensky that he “looked fabulous” now. Mr. Zelensky played along: “You are in the same suit. You see, I changed, you have not.” Everybody laughed.
The Ukrainian president produced a letter from his wife addressed to Melania Trump. Mr. Trump seemed thrilled by this. “It’s not to you, it’s to your wife,” Mr. Zelensky said as Mr. Trump took the letter in hand. This caused Mr. Trump to laugh and smile wide. “I want it!” he said.
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The post At White House Summit, a Master Class of Diplomacy. In Courting Trump. appeared first on New York Times.
