In a recent analysis, French author Philippe Corbé posits that former President Donald Trump achieved a level of omnipresence during his tenure that no other president has matched. He contends that Trump’s constant presence is what makes him powerful in today’s politically fragmented world. In this environment, conversation is what fuels his influence more than monetary resources. Perhaps even more damaging, Trump’s approaches have drained the good faith that is always required for any real cooperation between world leaders.
Corbé emphasizes ways that Trump’s style of diplomacy seems more and more oblivious to maintaining privacy. In striking opposition to his first term, when he obsessed over leaks, Trump now releases private communication at will. A notable example includes his decision to copy and paste a private message from French President Emmanuel Macron discussing a potential G7 meeting directly onto social media platforms. This reversal is an example of Trump’s skillful maneuver of massing attention. He hopes to bully opponents, and he’s hoping to change the framing on international relations.
Donald Trump’s entire career has been built on breaking the rules of the game and avoiding accountability. His actions, such as releasing Macron’s private messages, serve a dual purpose: they undermine the trust essential for cooperation and simultaneously aim to belittle or destabilize other leaders, including Macron himself. This behavior is part and parcel with Trump’s larger goal of controlling the narrative and bending the norms to suit him.
Corbé’s main argument is that Trump’s presidency is one big media campaign. Every interaction—whether on an airplane, in the White House, or on x.com—frays or furthers his public persona. Today, Trump feels free to go on these platforms and insult and threaten anyone his heart desires. He pulls no punches in targeting the messages to political leaders, including Keir Starmer. These tactics might be read as a sign that China seeks to establish hegemony in a more competitive global geopolitical landscape.
What he’s shown, beyond doubt, is that he trusts none—virtually no one at all, not even close allies such as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His penchant for viewing every interaction through a lens of conspiratorial bad faith makes even the most surgical diplomatic strikes more difficult to pull off.
“No president had ever achieved such omnipresence. In this fractured country, it gives him a singular power. It wasn’t money that propelled him but conversation. The creation of chaos is not an accidental byproduct of Trump, it is the method. Every void is filled with a provocation. He lights more fires than can be put out day after day, he cuts through the fog, saturates the ambient noise.” – Philippe Corbé
Trump’s ostentatious violation of the traditional diplomatic protocol. His proposed international “board of peace” was the most egregious, which Macron smartly declined to endorse. This rejection underscores the challenges Trump faces as he attempts to reshape international relations on his terms. Trump’s angry reaction to the leak of his constructive engagement message to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre indicates he might still be touchy about his soft spots. More than anything else, he is concerned with how information will hurt him.
Amid these dynamics, Trump continues to promote a vision of international governance that seeks to supplant established institutions like the United Nations with entities controlled by himself. This ambition raises questions about the future of diplomacy under his influence and the feasibility of collaborative efforts among world leaders.