Analysis: For Trump, low drama on trip, signs of acceptance
WASHINGTON — If there has been a constant to President Donald Trump’s tumultuous first two years in office, it has been that his foreign trips have tended to be drama-filled affairs — the president barrelling through international gatherings like a norm-smashing bull, disrupting alliances and upending long-standing U.S. policies. But at this year’s Group of 20 summit, Trump appeared to settle in among his global peers.
A brisk two days in Argentina saw Trump reach a trade ceasefire with China and sign a three-way trade deal with Mexico and Canada. With little public spectacle, he joined the leaders of the other member nations on the traditional group statement. He buddied up with traditional allies and largely avoided controversial strongmen. Faced with Russia’s spiking aggression in Ukraine, he cancelled his sit-down with Vladimir Putin. And when former President George H.W. Bush died, Trump gave respectful remarks and cancelled what would likely have been a raucous press conference.
All told, for the often-undisciplined leader, the whirlwind trip was an unusual moment of Zen.
Trump’s election forced the world to reckon with sweeping populist movements and the impact of globalization. In the first two years of his presidency, he has brusquely rejected international engagement for what he views as a single-minded focus on U.S. national interests.