--- title: Trump Falls For Europe’s Charm Offensive description: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders were not subtle about shoveling praise and gratitude on Trump, who ate it up. canonical: https://time.com/7310486/trump-zelensky-europe-praise-putin/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-08-18T22:08:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T08:10:12.445Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Falls For Europe’s Charm Offensive og:description: Zelensky and European leaders were not subtle about shoveling praise and gratitude on Trump, who ate it up og:url: https://time.com/7310486/trump-zelensky-europe-praise-putin/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b7639c32958e5c1/6998c90e7323af59452bcc40/GettyImages-2230151368.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: US-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-DIPLOMACY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Falls For Europe’s Charm Offensive twitter:description: Zelensky and European leaders were not subtle about shoveling praise and gratitude on Trump, who ate it up twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b7639c32958e5c1/6998c90e7323af59452bcc40/GettyImages-2230151368.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Falls For Europe's Charm Offensive > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=929c58e0-066a-4be6-aea6-2f2f4ed46c2f&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: European Leaders Join Trump and Zelensky for Critical Talks on Ending War [Watch (HLS stream): European Leaders Join Trump and Zelensky for Critical Talks on Ending War](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NZDEuMmO.m3u8) (4:36)  _Published 2025-08-18. Zelensky’s return to Washington was backed by an extraordinary delegation of European leaders who rearranged schedules at the last minute to get to Washington on Monday to present a united front against Russia to Trump, days after Trump’s summit with Putin ended without any concrete steps toward a peace agreement._  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Aug 18, 2025 10:08 PM UTC Zelensky’s return to Washington was backed by an extraordinary delegation of European leaders who rearranged schedules at the last minute to get to Washington on Monday to present a united front against Russia to Trump, days after Trump’s summit with Putin ended without any concrete steps toward a peace agreement.  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Aug 18, 2025 10:08 PM UTC _This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox._ The Europeans made the pilgrimage to Washington on a moment’s notice. They flattered their host, President Donald Trump, with praise for his ability to convene an impromptu peace summit with their Ukrainian counterpart, who in turn [updated](https://time.com/7310469/zelensky-suit-trump-ukraine/) his fashion choices to fall in line with what White House officials expect from visitors. Above all, they made Trump feel every bit like the most powerful person on the planet. What’s more, Trump took their bait. From the moment a week ago when Trump [announced](https://time.com/7309750/trump-putin-alaska-expectations/) he would meet that Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, European leaders came together with an Avengers-like unity to have the back of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose nation was invaded more than three years ago by Putin’s forces. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland, plus the heads of the European Commission and NATO, took part in a largely harmonious [charm offensive](https://time.com/7310369/zelensky-trump-meeting-white-house-eu-leaders/) meant to guide Trump back to a footing of support for the U.S. ally facing Russian belligerence. They heaped compliments on Trump in what can only be described as a diplomatic plea for a ceasefire that just days ago Trump walked away from. In turn, Trump did not rule out [sending U.S. forces](https://time.com/7310369/zelensky-trump-meeting-white-house-eu-leaders/) to help defend Ukraine. For the Europeans, things seemed to go as well as they could have imagined. In fact, it almost felt like a return to an unfamiliar feeling in Trump’s Washington: normal. Unlike Zelensky’s first trip back to Trump’s White House this term, there was none of the made-for-TV stage fighting. In February, with the world watching, Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance [ambushed](https://time.com/7262883/trump-zelensky-meeting/) Zelensky in the Oval Office and proceeded to kick him and his delegation out. It made for drama but it left the wartime President unsure if Washington would stay in Kyiv’s column of supporters. Since then, Trump has softened slightly toward Zelensky, as Trump has grown frustrated that his charisma alone has not delivered an offramp for a brutal battle that has continued without pause, even amid Trump’s meetings with Putin and Zelensky. Trump is famously fickle and famously susceptible to shameless praise, even when it seems to most outside observers as feigned. Sycophancy is a survival skill in the President’s orbit, and survivors know its currency. Cabinet meetings with Trump are ultimately a tour of department chiefs, each of whom knows to come ready with lavish compliments for their boss. Trump, as expected, responds with a wide grin. Zelensky, having learned his lesson after a disastrous visit in February, returned on Monday with gratitude being shoveled in spades. He also traded in the military wardrobe he’s favored since Russia’s invasion in 2022 for one of an all-black field jacket and buttoned-up dress shirt. It set the stage for a warmer welcome from Trump, who from the start seemed pleased to have forced a wardrobe update based on his whims. To be clear: This is not how the United States—or any rational government, really—should be deciding on strategy. It is obviously in the United States’ security interests to side with European nations standing with ally Ukraine against Russia, which now occupies about one-fifth of its neighbor. Europeans rightly worry an expanding Russia that is indifferent to sovereign borders is a threat to post-Cold War norms. A strong NATO alliance that includes the United States remains crucial for keeping a creeping post-Soviet Russia from metastasizing. But those global currents matter less to Trump than his fragile ego. So the Europeans traded geopolitical arguments over decades of curbing Moscow’s ambitions for cheap praise. For the moment, it seems to have worked as Trump returned to the prospect of a trilateral summit with Ukraine and Russia, and himself as the arbiter. “Everyone around this table wants peace,” French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump. Like others, Macron said Trump has a unique ability to convene a session where that peace may be scored—the latest example of Macron’s unique ability among European leaders to be their [Trump whisperer](https://time.com/7261261/macron-trump-ukraine/). The Europeans clearly had coordinated their approach and were speaking with one message if in eight different voices. “The next steps ahead are the more complicated ones,’’ German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, being upfront with his host. “I can’t imagine the next meeting will take place without a ceasefire,” he told Trump. But Trump has said a ceasefire was not necessary. “If we can get a cease-fire, great,” Trump responded. He also said that it would be up to Zelensky and Putin to negotiate any such pause to the fighting. “As of this moment it’s not happening.” Thus, it returns to a sequencing order: which comes first, a ceasefire or a trilateral meeting? That’s the question that seemed to persist even as the meetings unfolded across the White House’s campus. But one thing was clear: he who gives Trump the biggest ego boost is likely to come out ahead. “I think he wants to make a deal with me—you understand that?—as crazy as it sounds,” Trump was heard on a hot mic making small talk ahead of that one-way praise fest. It remains a matter of debate, though, if Trump is correct or just projecting there. Given the opportunity to press their luck, the Europeans instead decided to push laudatory comments that would not draw any backlash. Ultimately, that strategy may preserve Ukraine and settle the borders of Europe’s map. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite)_._ ## Transcript Isn't that a good day? I really want to thank you. Uh, president of the United States. Dear Donald, for the fact that you, as I said before, broke the deadlock basically with President Putin by starting that dialogue. And I think it was in February that you had the first phone call. And from there, we are now where we are today. And that is I think if we play this well, we could end this. And we have to end this. We have to stop the killing. We have to stop the destruction of Ukraine's infrastructure. It is a terrible war. So I'm really excited. And let's make the best out of today. And the fact that you have said I'm willing to participate in the security guarantees is, is a is a big step. It's really a breakthrough and it makes all the difference. So also thank you for that. I think this is extremely helpful that we are meeting and hearing that the two of you are, uh, having such a good meeting today here in Washington. The next steps ahead are the more complicated ones. Now the path is open. You opened it last Friday, but now the way is open for complicated negotiations. And to be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire. The latest from the next meeting on. I can't imagine that the next meeting would take place without a ceasefire. So let's work on that. And let's try to put pressure on Russia, because the credibility of this efforts, these efforts we are undertaking today are depending on at least a ceasefire from the beginning of the serious negotiations from next step on. So I would like to emphasize this aspect and would like to see a ceasefire from the next meeting, which should be a trilateral meeting wherever it takes place. Well, we're going to let the president go over and talk to the president, and we'll see how that works out. And if we can do that, I will say, and again, I say it in the six wars that I've settled, I haven't had a cease fire. We just got into negotiations and they are one of the wars was, as you know, in the Congo was 30 years, 31 years long. Another one that we settled last week with two great countries was 35 years going on, and we had no ceasefire. So if we can do the ceasefire, great. And if we don't do a ceasefire, because many other points were given to us, many, many points were given to us. Great points. I just have to say here, everybody around this table is in favour of peace and and we work very hard and we've worked very hard during the past few years to have a peace which is a robust and long standing peace. This is why the idea of a trilateral meeting is very important, because this is the only way to fix it. And by the way, I think as a follow up, we would need probably a quadrilateral meeting because when we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent. And this is why we are all united here with Ukraine on this, on this matter, in order to organise such a trilateral meeting, your idea to ask for a truce or a ceasefire, at least to stop the killings, as we discussed, is a necessity. and we all support this idea. And when we talk about security, we're talking about the security, not just of Ukraine. We're talking about the security of Europe and the United Kingdom as well, which is why this is such an important issue. I think this is such an important meeting as a group. I think we've had a discussion on the phone a number of times, Mr. President, but be able now to be around the table to take it forward. And I really feel that we can. I think with the right approach this afternoon make real progress, particularly on the security guarantees and your indication of security guarantees of some sort of article five guarantees fits with what we've been doing with the coalition of the willing, which we started some months ago, bringing countries together and showing that we were prepared to step up to the plate when it came to security. With you coming alongside the US, alongside what we've already developed, I think we could take a really important step forward today. A historic step actually could come out of this meeting in terms of security for Ukraine and security in Europe. I also feel that, um, we can make real progress towards a just and lasting outcome. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7310486/trump-zelensky-europe-praise-putin/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7310486/trump-zelensky-europe-praise-putin/"},"headline":"Trump Falls For Europe's Charm Offensive","datePublished":"2025-08-18T22:08:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T08:10:12.445Z","description":"Zelensky and European leaders were not subtle, as they shoveled praise on Trump","url":"https://time.com/7310486/trump-zelensky-europe-praise-putin/","keywords":["The D.C. 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