Last week, The New York Times reported on Pakistan’s very effective efforts to curry favor with the White House: It invested heavily in lobbying contracts with Donald Trump’s former business partners and confidants and lavished the American president “with the kind of public accolades and big-ticket business deals he relishes.”
It worked. The Republican rewarded Pakistan with a low tariff rate and the White House’s relationship with Islamabad “blossomed.”
One day later, Axios reported how officials in Switzerland also managed to benefit from reduced trade tariffs: The Swiss deployed a delegation of industry tycoons to the White House bearing gifts, including “a special Rolex desktop clock, a 1-kilogram personalized gold bar, and loads of flattery.”
The report added, “Trump loves such pampering, and the word’s out among nations and companies seeking his favor. Tributes fit for a king — especially gold — catch his eyes and his heart.” (The Swiss gold bar, which sounds a bit like the gift that helped land former Sen. Bob Menendez in prison, was stamped with “45” and “47” in homage to Trump’s presidential terms.)
The charm offensive also worked: Late last week, as part of a larger agreement, the Republican administration reduced the tariff rate on Swiss goods from 39% to 15%.
And one day after the Axios report ran, The New York Times published a related report about the American president’s relationship with yet another foreign country:
The Trump Organization is in talks that could bring a Trump-branded property to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest government-owned real estate developments, according to the chief executive of the Saudi company leading the development. The negotiations are the latest example of President Trump blending governance and family business, particularly in Persian Gulf countries. … Mr. Trump is set to host Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, in Washington next week.
A related Washington Post report noted that the Saudi crown prince is poised to be rewarded with a black-tie dinner in the White House’s East Room on Nov. 18. The gathering “will have all the trappings of a state visit and wrap a packed day of programming at the White House surrounding Mohammed’s trip, including a meeting with Trump. Members of Congress, administration officials and U.S. business leaders have been invited.”
And while tariffs aren’t the principal concern in Riyadh, the Saudi crown prince is reportedly planning to negotiate the terms of a mutual defense agreement with the White House and potentially advance a deal to transfer American nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. The Times’ report concluded, “That sets up a scenario in which Mr. Trump discusses matters of national security with a foreign leader who is also a key figure in a potential business deal with the president’s family.” The broader dynamic isn’t altogether new. Qatar, for example, rewarded Trump with a luxury jet and soon after reaped the rewards. Just last month, the American president was caught on a hot mic having an interesting chat with the president of Indonesia, where the Trump organization is building a golf resort. The point, however, isn’t that the problem is new; the point is the problem seems to be getting worse. Foreign governments are learning how to receive favorable treatment from the Republican White House, through flattery, gifts, lobbying, private business deals or some combination thereof.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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