Donald Trump's unorthodox approach to international relations has world leaders scrambling to curry favor through informal phone calls and text messages — with aides who have listened in left cringing at the schmooze-fest they become, according to a report.
During his first time in the White House, the president amazed foreign leaders by freely handing out his personal cellphone — a move that's extremely rare in international leadership, Politico reported.
Not many of those leaders are using that direct line for private sessions of flattery and ego-massage in an effort to get into Trump's good graces, the report stated.
"He's talking to a lot of leaders way more than anyone realizes," revealed one person with knowledge of Trump's calls. "A lot of the calls are about specific things, real business, but there's also more informal, personal talk," an insider who has heard some of the calls told the outlet.
The most striking example involves French President Emmanuel Macron, where witnesses described the two leaders engaging in an almost cartoonish greeting ritual. "It was oddly amusing," the listener said.
" Trump would say 'Emmanuellllll' and really draw out the l and then Macron would go, 'Donaldddddd' and draw out the d," recalled someone familiar with their conversations. "And it sort of went back and forth."
The person described it as the two heads of state "bro-ing out."
These personal calls appear to be paying dividends. After last month's NATO summit in The Netherlands, Trump reversed his hostile stance toward the alliance, declaring it was "not a rip off" after meeting what he called "great leaders."
"There's less friction and more alignment in some cases," admitted a European official. "Some of that is the result of a lot of leaders being more hands-on with Trump, and, yes, more solicitous in private."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reportedly used WhatsApp to message Trump and even took a late-night call during a football match "to seal a tariff reduction deal." Trump's golf invitation to Starmer in Scotland this week represents "an opportunity for the PM to build personal rapport," according to a U.K. government adviser.
Perhaps most telling was Trump's decision to screenshot and publicly post "effusive" text messages from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, serving as a stark reminder that private communications with the president could be weaponized at any moment.
"President Trump has great relationships with foreign leaders," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Politico, claiming 23 bilateral meetings in six months.
