一堂关于如何取悦特朗普的外交大师课
At White House Summit, a Master Class of Diplomacy. In Courting Trump.

Over the course of the last seven months, the leaders of the Western world have been enrolled in an intensive course of Trumpology. One by one, presidents and prime ministers of European countries have traveled to Washington, learning all sorts of lessons about how best to handle the tricky man who sits behind the big desk in the gold-wrapped room shaped like an Oval.
过去七个月里，西方世界的领导人一直在接受“特朗普学”的强化课程。欧洲国家的总统和总理们一个接一个地前往华盛顿，学习各种经验教训，以便更好地跟坐在金碧辉煌的椭圆形办公室大办公桌后面那位难缠的人物打交道。

On Monday, the whole class showed up at the White House. The time had come to put their education to use. And it was the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, who seemed to have learned the most since his last visit, when he was mocked for not wearing a suit, deemed insufficiently deferential and ultimately kicked out.
本周一，全班学员齐聚白宫。是时候将他们的所学付诸实践了。其中乌克兰总统泽连斯基进步最为显著——上次他因未穿正装而遭嘲讽，被批有失恭敬，最终被赶了出去。

This time he showed up to his Oval Office meeting with a more formal look, a game sense of humor and a letter for the first lady.
此番现身椭圆形办公室时，他换上了更正式的行头，表现得风趣机智，并为第一夫人带来了一封信。

“I cannot believe it,” Mr. Trump said as he looked Mr. Zelensky up and down, taking measure of his new black-on-black get-up. “I love it. Look at you.”
“我简直不敢相信我的眼睛，”特朗普上下打量着泽连斯基一身全新的黑色装束。“我喜欢这身打扮。你看看你！”

In the Oval Office, Mr. Zelensky again encountered Brian Glenn, the right-wing reporter-instigator who had criticized Mr. Zelensky for his clothing the last time he was in the Oval. Mr. Glenn told Mr. Zelensky that he “looked fabulous” now. Mr. Zelensky played along: “You are in the same suit. You see, I changed, you have not.” Everybody laughed.
在椭圆形办公室里，泽连斯基再次遇到了右翼记者、煽动者布莱恩·格伦，他上次在椭圆形办公室时曾批评泽连斯基的着装。格伦对泽连斯基说，他现在“看起来棒极了”。泽连斯基也配合着说：“你还是那一套衣服。你看，我变了，而你没有。”大家都笑了。

The Ukrainian president produced a letter from his wife addressed to Melania Trump. Mr. Trump seemed thrilled by this. “It’s not to you, it’s to your wife,” Mr. Zelensky said as Mr. Trump took the letter in hand. This caused Mr. Trump to laugh and smile wide. “I want it!” he said.
乌克兰总统呈上妻子写给梅拉尼娅·特朗普的信。特朗普对此似乎非常高兴。“这不是给您的，是给您夫人的，”泽连斯基在特朗普接过信时说道。这让特朗普乐得合不拢嘴，满脸的笑意。“我想要！”他说。

Later in the afternoon, Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky joined the leaders of Britain, Germany, Italy, France and Finland in the State Dining Room. The NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, were there as well. Both had at various times earlier in the year found their own methods for dealing with Mr. Trump. Now they sat together and tried to work him as one.
当日下午，特朗普与泽连斯基同英德意法芬五国领导人共赴国宴厅。北约秘书长吕特与欧盟主席冯德莱恩亦在席间——这两位年初各自摸索过与特朗普的相处之道。现在，他们并肩而坐，试着联手应对。

Around the table they went, thanking him for all that he had done while ever so gently slipping in their specific pleas for a lasting security guarantee in Ukraine and an immediate cease-fire.
大家围坐在桌旁，感谢他所做的一切，同时又小心翼翼地提出了他们对乌克兰持久安全保障和立即停火的具体请求。

This delicate dance seemed momentarily at risk when the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, insisted a bit more forcefully than the others that a cease-fire was of paramount importance. Mr. Trump had gone to Alaska days earlier with the stated aim of achieving a cease-fire, but after he failed to get one, he changed his tune. His public position now is that a cease-fire is not necessary to continue with negotiations. When Mr. Merz insisted that the opposite was the case, the smile left Mr. Trump’s face.
当德国总理默茨比其他人稍微更强硬地坚持停火至关重要时，这场微妙的互动险些前功尽弃。特朗普此前赴阿拉斯加，公开宣称目标是实现停火，失败后又立即改口。当默茨坚称必须停火时，特朗普瞬间收起了笑容。

Nails on a chalkboard. Someone had upset the president. He got defensive for a moment, but then the meeting started to hum along at a pleasant pitch once more.
如同指甲刮黑板般刺耳。有人触怒了总统。他一度进入一种防备的状态，幸而会议很快重回和悦基调。

The European leaders in the State Dining Room were there to manage a global crisis. Which meant they also had to manage the mood of one famously mercurial man. The subject of this high-level diplomatic summit was diplomacy mixed with psychology.
欧洲领袖们齐聚国宴厅是为了应对一场全球危机，这意味着他们还得管理好这位以喜怒无常闻名的人物的情绪。这场高级别外交峰会本质是外交术与心理学的结合。

Adding to the surreal nature of the thing was the way that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia hovered over it all, just out of sight, like a character offstage. Mr. Trump kept bringing up Mr. Putin’s perspective. “Vladimir Putin wants it to end,” he claimed. He repeatedly mentioned that he needed to call Mr. Putin to update him on how the meetings were shaping up.
更添荒诞色彩的是，俄罗斯总统普京如幽灵般悬浮全场——虽未现身却无处不在。特朗普屡屡提及普京的观点：“弗拉基米尔·普京希望战争结束。”他反复强调需致电普京，向他通报会议进展。

The Europeans looked stoic at every mention of Mr. Putin, as though they hardly needed to be reminded of the Russian leader’s viewpoint.
每当提到普京时，欧洲人都露出隐忍的神情，那位俄罗斯领导人的立场哪里还需他人提醒。

Who has better mastered the technique of appealing to Mr. Trump’s sensibilities, Mr. Putin or the Europeans? After the Russian leader got his face time with Mr. Trump at their summit in Anchorage on Friday, the American president came away having adopted much of Mr. Putin’s approach on Ukraine.
普京与欧洲领导人，谁更懂取悦特朗普？上周五安克雷奇峰会后，特朗普几乎全盘接受了普京的乌克兰方案。

But by Monday’s end it did seem as though the Europeans had learned a thing or two.
但到周一结束时，欧洲人似乎终究学到了一点东西。

“I had a very good meeting with distinguished guests,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media after it was all over.
“我与尊贵的客人们进行了一次非常好的会晤，”会谈结束后，特朗普在社交媒体上写道。