Politico: Foreign leaders call Trump's personal number to stay in favor

Foreign leaders who want to stay in the good graces of US President Donald Trump regularly call and send text messages to his personal number. This was reported by the newspaper Politico with reference to unnamed interlocutors familiar with the matter.

During his first term, Trump surprised a number of world leaders by offering his cell phone number, urging them to abandon normal diplomatic protocols and simply call him.

Trump's penchant for frequent, sometimes informal conversations is now a well-established feature of his personality. And six months into his second term, world leaders who want to stay in the US president's good graces are regularly calling and texting him – sometimes to discuss issues of global importance, sometimes just to chat.

"He talks to a lot more leaders than anyone realizes. A lot of the calls are about specific things, real business, but there are also more informal, personal conversations," said one of the interlocutors .

According to the three sources, these leaders include French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whom Trump will meet for a round of golf in Scotland on Monday.

In particular, a person familiar with one of the conversations between Trump and his French counterpart recalled how the two leaders "talked" while greeting each other.

"It was weirdly funny – Trump would say 'Emmanuellelll' and actually pull out the letter l, and then Macron would say 'Donalddddddd' and pull out the letter d," the source said.

Foreign officials attribute their ability to adapt to Trump's free-flowing style to improved personal relationships, which they say leads to more favorable outcomes.

The unnamed European official referred to the June NATO leaders' summit in the Netherlands, where Trump announced that he had changed his mind about the alliance after meeting with what he called "great leaders." He has since agreed to increase defense aid to Ukraine if Europe pays for it.

"In some cases, there is less friction and more coherence. This is partly a result of many leaders engaging more with Trump and, yes, being more attentive to him privately," he explained .

The article says that in early March, Starmer used WhatsApp to communicate with Trump in an attempt to restore differences between the American leader and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after their failed meeting in the Oval Office.

Starmer, described by colleagues as reserved at work and pleasant in private, understands the importance of a personal relationship with Trump and has worked hard with aides to show the US president a more relaxed side, two people familiar with the matter said.

Three of the interlocutors said that Trump also often initiates phone calls, including to the Prince of Saudi Arabia, the British Prime Minister and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

• In February, Axios, citing unnamed US and Ukrainian officials, wrote that Trump gave Zelenskiy his personal number and told him he could call him directly.
• The president later confirmed that the US leader gave him his personal phone number.