Here is Some Actual Advice Foreign Leaders Have Received re: Meeting Trump

As Donald Trump prepares for his first international world tour, foreign leaders brace themselves for what could easily become a political version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, in which everything Trump says is made up and his talking points don’t matter. Fortunately, there won’t be too much guesswork involved as several ambassadors—and other foreign leaders who have already had the dubious pleasure of meeting with Trump—have noticed a few key themes from their Trump dealings.

According to a recent NYT report, certain rules for best approaching Trump have emerged. Foreign embassies in D.C. have sent several tips back to their heads of state detailing how best to handle such an erratic and volatile figurehead. The rules feel similar to how one might handle an attention-deficit child prone to tantrums, but such is the state of American politics.

The rules essentially boil down to: Don’t expect Trump to know anything about your country, pepper the man with compliments—especially how well he’s doing in comparison to his predecessor—and, above all, keep the presentation short. Also, Trump wants to win, so anyway you can make him think he has is a plus.