After President Trump called President Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukraine last week, the White House wanted to make one clear: the Ukrainian leader was grateful to the American president. Very grateful.
The statement In the narrative of the call it was mentioned four times that Mr. Zelensky thanked the President for his efforts to negotiate the provisions of an armistice with Russia. Afterwards Mr. Zelensky noticed “grateful” for Mr. Trump’s leadership.
The description showed a pattern in the design of its foreign policy agenda by the Trump administration: when it comes to diplomacy, Mr. Trump wants an implicit or explicit presentation of personal gratitude of American allies.
Michael Froman, the President of the Council for Foreign Relations, said that Mr. Trump’s transaction approach to diplomacy indicates that he will help the support of US allies as a favor as a cornerstone of foreign policy, will pay the dividends on the street.
“This signals a fundamentally different order of order than in the past 80 years. While our allies, while we have to do more for their own defense, are, but our support is also in our interest,” said Froman. “I think President Trump questioned this.”
The most strong example of Trump’s insistence on a thank you came during A meeting last month in the Oval Office This included Mr. Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Mr. Zelensky.
“You should thank the president for trying to put an end to this conflict,” Vance switched the Ukrainian guide. The last words that Mr. Trump said to Mr. Zelensky said when he finished the meeting were: “They don’t act gratefully at all. And that’s not a nice thing.”
Telephone call from last week It was the first time that the two have spoken since then.
Mr. Trump seems to have chosen a softer approach with Russia. In a description of a telephone call between Mr. Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin last week, no thanks were found.
Mr. Trump’s thank -you request is a shift in US diplomatic relationships. It is not unusual that President would like recognition for contributions to military and humanitarian support. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had his own frustrations with Mr. Zelensky for relentlessly push For more.
However, every friction between the leaders of the world usually takes place behind closed doors, with a reserved public description of a “complete and open discussion”.
Officials from the White House defended Mr. Trump’s approach.
“It means respect,” said Harrison Fields, a spokesman for the White House.
“Every US president should demand this from both allies and opponents, especially if he is asked to contribute billions of taxpayers in his defense,” said Fields.
Kori Schake, the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, who also worked as a national security assistant for President George W. Bush, said Mr. Trump “our allies and subjects, how they act like them”.
“What signals this is that you can get what you want in a strictly transactional global order when you humble yourself in front of the American president,” she added.
The parade of foreign visitors to the White House seems to have received the hint.
Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, has his comments on Mr. Trump in early this month with “Thank you” with “Thank you”. He continued to Credit Mr. Trump, who has thrown against the organization for a long time, For the reinforced military spending of the Allianz and rejected Greenland, the area of
While A visit to the White House in the same weekMicheál Martin, the Prime Minister of Ireland, expressly said the words “thank you”. Instead, he referred to Mr. Trump’s personal investment instead of reacting to the president’s complaint that Ireland used a retail weight to take advantage of the United States.
“You have the distinction to be the only president who physically invested in Ireland through Doonbeg,” said Martin about Mr. Trump and referred to one of his real estate. “It’s just stunning,” he added.
Mr. Trump was beaten. “I love this guy,” he replied.
Even some of Mr. Trump’s cabinet members have started to thank you as a thank you.
Foreign Minister Marco Rubio rose on social media between Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Elon Musk via Starlink, the satellite internet service, which Mr. Musk’s Rocket Company SpaceX made available to Ukraine.
When Mr. Sikorski claimed that the service was partially paid for by the Polish Ministry of Digitization and warned Mr. Musk of threats To raise it, Mr. Rubio accused him of “Only invent things.”
In a contribution on social media, Mr. Rubio said: “And say thank you, because without the Starlink -Ukraine would have lost this war a long time ago and the Russians would be on the border with Poland.”
Witold Zembaczynski, another The Polish minister wrote the words that Mr. Rubio asked, but to support Mr. Sikorski.
“Thank you. It is not so easy #Standhukraine with the war criminal #tutin.”
Matt Duss, the Executive Vice President at the Center for International Policy, said that Mr. Trump had set up a “dominance exhibition” throughout his career as a businessman and as a politician.
“He approaches foreign policy, the order led by the United States as a protective thug,” said Duss. “If you want protection, you have to show the boss respect and have to pay at the top.”
