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A playbook for meeting Trump

Published: 21 Aug. 2025, 00:06

Park Hyun-young

The author is a senior economic reporter at the JoongAng Ilbo.

President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to the United States is just three days away. At the invitation of President Donald Trump, Lee will pay an “official working visit” from Aug. 24 to 26. These days, the White House is busier than ever. World leaders stream through Washington — seeking to respond to Trump’s tariff battles, and to discuss possible solutions to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, where Trump has cast himself as a negotiator-in-chief.

According to records, at least 29 heads of state and government have visited the United States since Trump took office in January. With Lee’s arrival, that number will exceed 30 — more than the 27 who came during the same period of Trump’s first term. The figure surpasses Barack Obama’s first-term total of 22, his second-term 24, and far outpaces Joe Biden’s nine. The crowded gates of the White House reflect both Trump’s expanding leverage in bilateral diplomacy and the urgency of issues other leaders feel compelled to resolve with him.

For Lee, the summit is both an opportunity and a daunting challenge. Foreign negotiations are not his home turf, and his counterpart is Trump, a self-styled master dealmaker, who has a home advantage. Trump thrives on breaking norms. He is known to disregard protocol, act on impulse and seize any chance to stage a scene that resonates with his political base. His reaction to an assassination attempt at a rally — pushing aside his security detail to raise a clenched fist, blood streaming down his face — was emblematic of his instinct for theater.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky departs the White House after a contentious meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in Washington, DC, on Feb. 28. Zelensky left after being criticized by Trump and Vice President JD Vance for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in its war against Russia. [UPI/YONHAP]

To succeed, Lee must prepare not only for the policy agenda but also for Trump himself. The summit will cover tariffs, industrial cooperation, defense cost-sharing and the modernization of the Korea-U.S. alliance — the reasons for Lee’s invitation. But it would be a mistake to forget that Trump uses meetings with foreign leaders as much for domestic political theater as for diplomacy.

One moment to watch will be the Oval Office appearance. When foreign leaders arrive at the White House, they sit beside Trump in his office, deliver opening remarks and take questions from reporters in a session broadcast live for 20 to 30 minutes. There is no script: No one knows what topic Trump will raise, which journalist will ask what or when the event will end. Many leaders have found themselves wrong-footed or sweating under pressure. For Trump, however, these unscripted encounters are the highlight. The camera is his stage, and speaking directly to his supporters is often his top priority of the day.

There are precedents. In February, Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, canceled their lunch and sent him away — a move widely read as political theater aimed at Americans weary of costly aid for Kyiv. In May, when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited, Trump played a video falsely depicting “white massacres” in South Africa. The footage was quickly debunked, but Trump had already signaled solidarity with far-right media narratives circulating in his base.

President Donald Trump,right, meets South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, on May 21 in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

Ramaphosa’s response offers lessons. He stayed calm, replied briefly that Trump’s claim was “not true,” and saved his detailed rebuttal for a later press conference. He avoided expending energy countering Trump in the moment, recognizing the performance was intended for U.S. domestic consumption. Jordan’s King Abdullah II did something similar in February. When Trump proposed forcibly resettling Palestinians in Jordan, the king sidestepped confrontation, instead flattering Trump that his achievements would outshine his predecessors. Only afterward did he make clear on social media that he opposed the U.S. plan and rejected resettlement.

In the United States, the president is often described as the “chief diplomat.” The Constitution vests the office with the authority to negotiate treaties and appoint ambassadors, making it the nation’s highest diplomatic position. When Korea’s top diplomat meets the United States', even if faced with a political ambush, the best response will be steadiness and composure.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.