When U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was making his first visit to the White House under President Donald Trump in February, transatlantic tensions over support for Ukraine and British online safety laws meant a smooth ride was far from a sure thing.
So Starmer brought something to grease the skids: A letter from King Charles III offering an unprecedented second state visit for the American leader.
Six months later, it appears the rest of Europe has learned a valuable lesson following on the prime minister’s example when dealing with Trump: It helps to suck up.
That was on full display this week when the seven world leaders — including Starmer — who accompanied Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House on Monday prevented a repeat of the disaster the Ukrainian president fell into on his previous visit to the Oval Office by applying those same, very publicly learned lessons.
Using a unified playbook, they sought to keep Trump on Zelensky’s side and pull him away from the Russian positions he’d gravitated towards days earlier after meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
In their remarks, each focused on Trump’s desire to bring an end to the fighting — and get credit for doing so — and less on the geopolitical and historical issues that normally accompany discussions of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
“Everybody around this table is in favor of peace,” said French President Emmanuel Macron.
Instead of focusing on his country’s desire to beat back Russia’s invading forces, Zelensky used his turn at the microphone during a multilateral meeting in the East Room to thank Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, for a letter she’d penned to Putin focusing on the plight of abducted Ukrainian children.
“I hope that really, it can be a historic role for the people to bring kids back to the families and be happy,’” he said.
Zelensky also took a page from Starmer’s book during an Oval Office sit-down with Trump earlier that day when he presented the American president with a letter to the first lady from his own wife, Olena Zelenska.
As Trump reached for the letter, Zelensky gentle chastised Trump, warning him: “It’s not to you, it’s to your wife.”
Trump laughed.
Zelensky, who delighted his benefactor by finally appearing in a black suit months after being chastised by a right-wing journalist for coming to the Oval Office in his normal tracksuit-like wartime outfit, had previously served as a cautionary tale for world leaders.
During his previous visit, in February, Zelensksy and his delegation were unceremoniously thrown out of the White House after a shouting match between him and Vice President JD Vance, who unloaded on the Ukrainian leader’s perceived lack of gratitude for the vast amounts of munitions and other aid provided by the U.S.
Other world leaders took note, and in the months since there’s been a steady stream of flattery and gift-giving by high-level officials looking to avoid the fate suffered by Zelensky that day.
In some cases, the gifting has been over the top — and also successful — as in the case of Qatar’s now-infamous donation of a luxurious Boeing 747 to the Defense Department, supposedly for use as a presidential transport and later as a gift to Trump’s presidential library.
During Zelensky’s return visit on Monday, in addition to the letter from his wife he brought Trump a golf club.
Zelensky presented Trump with a new blade-style putter from Junior Sgt. Kostiantyn Kartavtsev, a Ukrainian war veteran who lost a leg in the initial months of the war. He told Trump how golf became part of Kartavtsev’s rehabilitation and helped him regain balance “both physically and mentally.”
The putter is engraved: “Let’s putt peace together!”
“I am one of those soldiers you have spoken about — they’re courageous, they are good soldiers,” Kartavtsev said in a video message shown to Trump by Zelensky. “I lost a leg rescuing my fellow men, and am recovering here with golf.”
Trump later filmed a video to thank the veteran and praised his golf skills.
Another leader who sought to learn from Zelensky’s experience was Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, who came to Washington in May bearing a massive book depicting South Africa’s golf courses.
Ramaphosa, a close ally of the late Nelson Mandela, also tried to defuse tensions with Trump by bringing along two Hall-of-Fame golfers, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen.
But the South African leader’s efforts were for naught, as like Zelensky, he was subjected to verbal abuse and even forced to publicly sit through a video presentation from Trump seeking to shame him for his country’s alleged treatment of white farmers.
His gifts having failed to stave off the verbal assault, Ramaphosa resorted to humor.
As reporters pressed Trump on his acceptance of the Qatari jet, he interrupted.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” he said.
Trump replied: “I wish you did — I would take it.”
