What happens when world leaders drop everything and fly across the Atlantic in less than 48 hours?
You get a scene straight out of history books — but with a distinctly Trump-era twist.
On Monday, seven European heavyweights — Macron, Meloni, Starmer, Stubb, Merz, Rutte, and von der Leyen — lined up at the White House.
They stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
What’s The Message?
The message is unity, urgency. A clear signal after Trump’s eyebrow-raising three-hour chat with Vladimir Putin just days earlier.
Inside the Oval Office, the optics were unmistakable.
Trump sat behind the hulking Resolute desk — a gift from Queen Victoria — while Zelenskyy and the delegation faced him down.
“Everyone realized this was a crisis moment,” said Marc Selverstone of the University of Virginia.
The speed was striking: Friday, Trump talks to Putin. Monday, the Europeans are in D.C.
Of course, this wasn’t without the Trump flair.
He cracked jokes about third terms, guided guests to a so-called “Monica Lewinsky room” filled with red campaign hats.
He shared carefully staged photos — one showing him looming as Zelenskyy stood before a map of Ukraine.
For Zelenskyy, though, it was a reset. Dressed in a suit instead of fatigues, he showered thanks on Trump and allies alike.
His message? Gratitude. Trump’s? “We love them.”
History may remember the diplomacy. The memes? Definitely the hats.
