Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn’t going to risk being accused of being ungrateful this time.
With peace talks on the table and a chance to rebound from his disastrous White House scolding six months ago, Zelenskyy made sure to show his gratitude to U.S. President Donald Trump during Monday’s meeting in the Oval Office.
In fact, he said thanks nine times to Trump and others in the first minute of their brief public meeting that preceded a short news conference.
“Thanks so much, Mr. President,” he said. “First of all, thank you for the invitation and thank you very much for your efforts, personal efforts to stop killings and stop this war. Thank you.”
In February, Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump quickly spiraled into a public relations disaster when Vice President JD Vance berated him for not being sufficiently thankful.
“You should be thanking the President for trying to bring an end to this conflict,” Vance said in a moment that caught Zelenskyy off guard. “Have you said thank you once? In this entire meeting? No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you?”
Zelenskyy tried to defend himself, saying he had always expressed his appreciation to the U.S. for the military and financial support it provided after Russia invaded it in 2022. But the damage was done.
World leaders took their cue and learned that flattery is the way to winning over the unpredictable Trump, a strategy on full display in a larger meeting later in the day that included other European leaders and the head of NATO.
Zelenskyy was advised by his peers on how to approach the meeting, said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had a much smoother Oval Office debut in June.
“He asked for that,” Merz said. “He saw that my meeting with Donald Trump went very differently from his meeting.”
With a chance to make a better second impression in the Oval Office, gratitude diplomacy was front and center for Zelenskyy.
In addition to thanking the president six times, Zelenskyy extended gratitude to Melania Trump for personally writing to Russian President Vladimir Putin to think about the Ukrainian children and urge peace.
And he twice thanked his European allies who had arrived as reinforcements in Washington to present a unified front to push for a ceasefire and security guarantees if there is a peace deal with Russia.
In a subsequent meeting with top leaders from Europe, Zelenskyy expressed his thanks at least seven times, including two mentions for a map Trump had presented him.
“Thank you for the map, by the way,” he said.
He was not alone.
Trump himself used the T-word about a dozen times in the later meeting and heaped praise on his fellow leaders from Europe.
He called Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni a great leader with a long career ahead, said he liked French President Emmanuel Macron even more since he’s gotten to know him — something he noted was unusual for him — and he complimented Merz’s tan.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has worked hard to forge a close relationship with Trump, thanked the president four times, noting that after three years of fighting, nobody else had been able to bring the conflict as close to a possible end.
“So I thank you for that,” Starmer said.
Ben Hodges, former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe, said the “whole lot of deference and homage” paid to Trump was “nauseating but necessary” to keep Trump in support of NATO.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who addressed Trump as “dear Donald” during the meeting, later called the president “amazing.”
