'Everybody wants to be my friend': Trump feels the love

A shock outsider when he was first elected president eight years ago -- and a pariah when he left office -- Donald Trump appears to be the most popular person in America as far as the rich and powerful are concerned.

Tech tycoons, US politicians, foreign leaders and even some in the media have been lining up to kiss the ring of the 78-year-old Republican ahead of his return to the White House in January.

"In the first term, everyone was fighting me. In this term, everybody wants to be my friend," Trump mused to reporters at his luxury Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday.

"I don't know, my personality changed or something."

In reality, Trump has shown few signs of a personality shift -- but many of those who once criticized him are eager to cozy up to an administration that values loyalty above all else.

"For now, folks are estimating that it is better to be on his good side than not -- the problem for them is that his good side changes frequently," Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University, told AFP.

With Trump spending most of his time since the election at Mar-a-Lago, it has been up to others to make their pilgrimages to its gilded halls.

The list of those who have done so reads like a who's who of the global tech industry.

- Tech titans -

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg came in November as he sought to mend ties following Facebook's banning of Trump after the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.

Apple boss Tim Cook and Google's Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin have also visited, while Trump said Amazon founder Jeff Bezos -- once a strong Trump critic -- is due later this week.

Meta, Amazon and Open AI chief Sam Altman are all reportedly donating $1 million to the fund for Trump's inauguration on January 20.

Trump meanwhile hosted TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Monday, as the social network's Chinese owner tries to block a looming US ban.

"Honestly, in the first term -- I don't know what it was -- it's like a complete opposite," Trump said.

But their visits reflect a wider shift as the man shunned for his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss now returns to the White House with a strong mandate for the next four years.

Last week, the New York Stock Exchange welcomed Trump to ring its opening bell, on the same morning that Time Magazine announced that he was its "Person of the Year" for a second time.

Republicans in Congress have been largely pliant, with signs of easing opposition towards controversial cabinet picks such as Pete Hegseth, Trump's nominee to lead the Pentagon, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his vaccine-skeptic choice for health secretary.

Trump had appeared to warn on Monday that those who did not toe the line could face election challenges by Republican loyalists.

- 'Power of the presidency' -

Even outgoing President Joe Biden has backed off from his previous warnings that Trump is a danger to democracy -- apparently seeking the graceful transition that Trump denied him.

Then there have been the world leaders who have beaten a path to Trump's door. They range from right-wing allies like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Canada's Justin Trudeau, facing Trump's threats of huge new tariffs.

The media too have been trying to build bridges with the president who has repeatedly dubbed them the "enemy of the people."

The hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, visited Mar-a-Lago in November despite being bitterly critical of him.

In an opinion piece in The New York Times, columnist Michelle Goldberg described the mood as "The Great Capitulation."

The flip side is that those perceived as being against Trump are in for a tough time.

This week, Trump sued a pollster and a newspaper over survey results published days before the US election showing him behind in Iowa -- a state he ultimately won by a landslide.

"Trump has indicated that he will make full use of the power of the presidency to go after anyone who challenges him, and now he appears to have a deeper understanding of how to do that," said Schiller.