“For European allies of the United States, President Trump’s White House is structured like a court: the gilded Oval Office a place for advisers, pals and courtiers, all awaiting the decrees of the president,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump is the ultimate decision maker, and far from a predictable one.
So in the first three months of this Trump presidency, getting through to the president himself is the Europeans’ goal. Some have succeeded, including Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, who is expected to meet him at the White House on Thursday.”“What is most confusing, European officials say, is that the most efficient interlocutors are not traditional diplomats working through institutions, but special envoys and advisers like Elon Musk. And it is never quite clear whether the messages get through to Mr. Trump, even if he is more likely to trust an old friend like Steve Witkoff, whom he has installed as a foreign policy negotiator, over the civil servants he disdains.”