Trump’s new version of Oval Office meetings has rattled some foreign leaders

Foreign leaders’ visits to the White House used to be occasions for face-to-face diplomacy, allied backslapping and polite photo ops.

But President Donald Trump’s public pillorying of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in February has upended Oval Office norms, sparking panic among some foreign leaders.

“You’re not acting all that thankful,” Trump scolded Zelensky, with Vice President JD Vance piling on in front of the international press.

As the Ukraine leader pushed for more help in the country’s war with Russia, Trump at one point threatened to give up on Ukraine entirely, the meeting devolving into little more than a shouting match.

Foreign dignitaries took that visit – as well as Trump’s unfounded accusations of genocide against South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and tense exchanges with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney – as a sign that Oval Office visits in Trump’s second term called for a different type of preparation.