by WorldTribune Staff, May 7, 2024
Donald Trump once said: "Keep focused on your goal and never give up. Besides, bad times bring great opportunities."
While being confined to a New York City courtroom by the lawfare campaign launched against him by Team Biden, Trump has slotted side meetings with a number of top foreign officials, much to the indignation of NBC News, which reported the meetings were also "annoying" to White House officials.
NBC reported on May 1: "In less than two months, Trump has hosted Polish President Andrzej Duda, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and David Cameron, the former British prime minister who now serves as the U.K.’s foreign secretary. He’s also talked with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and others by phone."
Trump hosting these dignitaries at his homes — Mar-a-Lago for some, Trump Tower for others — "and treating them to some of the trappings of a state visit. That, in particular, has stuck in the craw of some Biden aides," the report said, citing "three people familiar with the frustrations."
Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, said world leaders have the ability to contrast Joe Biden with Trump.
“Foreign leaders and others are paying attention to this election for a number of reasons,” he said. “One is primarily that our president on the world stage has been diminished,” he said of the comparison from Trump’s years in office to Biden’s.
Trump's team is likely thrilled that the former president's meetings with foreign leader irritates Team Biden. The Trump campaign said it only expects the list of foreign officials asking for a meeting with Trump will grow.
Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, downgraded a planned meeting with Cameron in April after the British official met with Trump.
NBC News noted: "Trump has been able to use the sessions with foreign leaders to remind voters that he has cleared the bar for the presidency once — and to suggest that, even as a criminal defendant, he’s seen by some foreign leaders as a key ally."
“These leaders are coming over and the various legal actions against the [former] president have not been a hindrance,” a Trump campaign aide said. “They are unconcerned about public opinion back home. In many cases, they see it as a big positive to be seen with him.”
