© The White House

Far from the pageantry of before, meetings of heads of state or government now leave monotonous pictures where incumbents pose amid insipid decor and there is no lack of national flags, handshakes, and often a table on whose sides the parties sit to convey the bureaucratic efficiency of the negotiation and the bilateral balance of the gathering. But Donald Trump has annulled all the molds associated with his position and, worried about his image as only a supreme narcissist can be, he has taken pains to orchestrate scenes that have the effect of reinforcing his authority over everyone, and the impact of going viral. One of the most recent of such events took place on 18 August, when European leaders accompanied Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House after the Russian-American summit of three days before; a maneuver meant to shield the Ukrainian from a repeat of the bullying he had been subjected to in February. In this they succeeded, with good humor reigning in the session, yet there is no indication that their presence in Washington then is having any influence in stopping the Ukraine war, which Trump seems bent on discussing only with Putin, leaving the European Union on the sidelines. No matter the shower of praises on POTUS, and even their courtesy when he showed them his display case of MAGA merchandise during a pause, the Europeans had to let themselves be photographed like naughty schoolkids summoned to the office of the principal, of whom only an imperative fist is visible on the famous Resolute desk: a gift from Queen Victoria to President Hayes, the symbol perhaps of a tactful diplomacy now made conspicuous by its absence.