 "Trump’s White House encounters: PM Modi’s deft handling versus dramatic clashes with Zelenskyy, Ramaphosa")
After Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, it was the turn of Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa this week to be lectured or publicly rebuked by US President Donald Trump at the White House.
The contentious encounters were in sharp contrast with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House that saw leaders of both the countries praise each other and being courteous in public engagements.
Similar to Modi’s meetings, British PM Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have also had cordial encounters with Trump.
In how Trump has engaged with his guests at the White House is a story of how he sees their countries, the personal equation with leaders, and how these leaders managed those situations.
How Trump berated Zelenskyy & Ramaphosa — and snubbed Netanyahu
Trump invited Zelenskyy to White House to sign the minerals deal, but kicked him out after he and his deputy, JD Vance, berated Zelenskyy for not being subservient enough. They also berated Zelenskyy for not being grateful enough for US assistance.
Trump shouted at Zelenskyy that he did not hold any cards in the war and should not call Russian leader Vladimir Putin names. Zelenskyy also drew Trump-Vance’s ire over his attire. He was not wearing a formal suit when he turned for the summit talks.
Trump and Vance dragged Zelenskyy into a shouting match who also pushed back vocally. Observers said that as English is not the Ukrainian leader’s first language, his pushback appeared to be overly combative.
Trump berated Ramaphosa for presiding over the purported 'White genocide' in South Africa and falsely accused him of systematically discriminating against White people in his country. He played a compilation of videos as the evidence of purported ‘White genocide’. He also displayed print-outs of articles and said: “I don’t know, all of these are articles over the last few days, death of people, death, death, death, horrible death.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsALSO READ: First Zelenskyy, now Ramaphosa: Is Trump’s ambush of world leaders at Oval Office the new normal?
Trump has not even spared allies like Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in his off-the-cuff remarks. He snubbed Netanyahu by revealing direct talks with Iran bypassing Israel — Iran is Israel’s archenemy. The talks had not been previously disclosed, and the public announcement took Netanyahu by surprise.
Trump further went on to school Netanyahu that he needed to be “reasonable” and make peace with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan — Turkey has been a vehement opponent of Israel in recent years and Erdogan has threatened to invade Israel over the war in Gaza.
Modi-Trump meeting hit all the right notes
Contrary to the meetings with Zelenskyy, Ramaphosa, and Netanyahu, Trump’s White House engagements with Prime Minister Modi hit all the right notes.
Trump and Modi heaped praises on each other , had a cordial body language, and yet stood strong in their positions in bilateral talks. In a significant gesture, Modi took questions from reporters twice beside Trump.
Trump praised Modi as a “much tougher negotiator”.
“He is a much tougher negotiator than me and he is a much better negotiator than me. There is not even a contest,” Trump said about Modi.
On his part, Modi said that Trump held a copyright over the word “deal”.
“As far as any deal is concerned, only one person has a copyright on the word deal in the world and that is Trump,” said Modi.
Even though Trump has often berated India over tariffs, purported trade barriers, and attracted manufacturing from China, he did not go off the script during engagements at the White House and did not raise such contentious issues in public remarks.
The body language was also quite cordial. In a subtle gesture caught on camera and appreciated in India, Trump pulled out the chair for Modi as he sat down to sign a document — he made a similar gesture for Netanyahu though. Such visible rapport between the two leaders goes back to Trump’s first term as well. In another clip that went viral at the time, Modi once playfully slapped Trump’s hand as they shook hands — something not seen with any other leader.
Trump’s meetings with Macron & Starmer
Trump’s meetings with French President Macron and British Prime Minister were also cordial.
Among the leaders in office today, Macron —just like Modi— has known Trump for a long time. He has been known to be cordial with the US president but also keep his remarks in check. A case in point is how
he politely yet firmly fact-checked Trump by putting a hand on his arm when he had started to go on a rambling speech about Europe’s lack to contribution to Europe’s defences.
One can only make a guess as to what would have happened had Zelenskyy or Ramaphosa touched Trump while he shouted at them. The shouting match would have likely turned into a wrestling match and Secret Service would have escorted the two leaders out in cuffs. Pun intended.
Starmer also handled Trump tactfully. In addition to offering decent terms regarding the trade deal, Starmer came to the White House with a letter from British King Charles III inviting Trump on a rare state visit. He also smiled through most of the public engagements and did not take the bait whenever Trump got into casual remarks.
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