Behind the Curtain: Influencing Trump

State of play: In Trump's second term, he's more self-confident and more indifferent to the opinions of others. But the savviest internal operators still know how to retrofit logic and strategy so they're speaking fluent Trump — his love language.

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is a master practitioner, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is none too shabby.
• As far as foreign leaders go, Finnish President Alexander Stubb — a transatlantic triathlete straight out of central casting — has impressed Trump with his golf game, vivid history lessons and tough talk on Russia.

For obvious reasons, none of our sources would discuss their Trump tradecraft on the record. But here are 11 top Trump tactics, given the known knowns of operating today. Each component or step was confirmed to us by multiple people who've seen success up close:

1. Put a sock in it. There's nothing but downside to trashing Trump, his policies, or allies. There are simply too many Laura Loomers desperately seeking evidence of disloyalty. It's widely known internally that the boss feeds on evidence that someone is not right "on Trump."
2. Put a sock in the mouths of others. You often pay for the sins of friends, partners or associates who trash Trump. One big job of ambassadors to the U.S. and lobbyists for big companies is to argue for silence among those above, and let things play out privately.
3. Don't overreact. Many make the mistake of responding impulsively to Trump's impulsiveness. No matter what he says or claims to be doing, wait. It often takes days or weeks to realize if Trump will stick to something — or will simply change his mind or move on.
4. Build two spheres of influence. Think of Trump's two ears. One is full of throwback MAGA purists, skeptical of anyone not purebred MAGA. You need to deeply understand this world and find — or hire — MAGA-savvy operators like Arthur Schwartz, Cliff Sims, Andy Surabian, Jeff Miller, Jason Miller, Chris LaCivita, Kellyanne Conway, Brian Ballard or Ches McDowell. The other ear hears the whispers of more conventionally rational actors like Rubio, Bessent or White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. These relationships tend to be peer-to-peer and require cultivation.
5. Everything's negotiable. Trump lives for the transaction and public illumination of "big deals." You see this almost daily now, with Nvidia giving the U.S. a 15% cut of chip sales to China, or Apple's Tim Cook announcing another deal investing in American workers. You need to come to the table with a deal that's glossy and easy to explain, even if the details are flimsy.
6. Remember, it's WWE or reality TV. Trump thinks about optics differently than, um, probably everyone else in business and politics. In his mind, it's all pageantry, posturing and PR — basically make-believe until a deal is done or dead. Shock and awe is a tactic. Outrage is good, or at least fine. In his mind, you only remember "the deal," not how you got there.
7. Kiss ass — but in moderation. The cartoonish interpretation of Trump is to just come, like the three kings, bearing gifts, preferably of gold. There's some truth here. But Trump is better at sniffing out cringey obsequiousness than some think. He loves gifts but also exploits pure weakness. Grandeur in his love language. He loathes betas. The Saudis put on a masterclass with the palatial pomp and opulence during his state visit in May, when he secured $600 billion in investment commitments to the U.S. But pure boot-licking can backfire. The single most successful way to frame an idea for Trump is to show how it'll benefit him.
8. Get face-to-face. Trump will say or write horrible things about people, nations or companies. But rarely in person, one-on-one. He wants to be liked and comes off kinder, more interested, less erratic when face-to-face. Just ask Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan: Trump said in a Truth Social post that he "must resign, immediately," then wrote four days later after meeting with him: "His success and rise is an amazing story." The trick is getting in the room, away from cameras and social media.
9. Never assume the deal is fully done. What makes Trump maddening to deal with is his propensity to change his mind or mood — often on a dime, provoked by a random clip or conversation. A final deal is never truly final. Think of it as a happy moment in time — subject to change.
10. Play the long game. None of these techniques is a one-off. We're not quite one-sixth of the way (213 days) through Trump's second term. The savviest leaders, companies and people tend to all 11 of these steps methodically and consistently over years, in bright times and bad.
11. Pony up. Trump is aggressively fundraising for his MAGA Inc. super PAC and other political committees. Dinners sometimes cost $1 million a plate. The New York Times has extensively documented how contributors have received favorable treatment, including executives from crypto and healthcare companies.

Zoom in: European leaders — bludgeoned by Trump in the early weeks of his presidency, and with more to lose than most — cracked the Trump code at the White House on Monday.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky learned the lessons of February's Oval Office meltdown: He arrived in suit-like attire, thanked Trump a dozen times, played nice with MAGA-aligned journalists, and praised First Lady Melania Trump for speaking out about the war's toll on children.
• The rest of the delegation layered on flourishes tailored to Trump's style, recognizing "Dear Donald" as uniquely suited to assembling world leaders and achieving peace through strength.

The Europeans sweetened the pitch with a glossy, round number: $100 billion in U.S. weapons, purchased by Ukraine and financed by Europe, in exchange for security guarantees.

• Axios' Zachary Basu, Marc Caputo and Dave Lawler contributed.

Go deeper ... "Behind the Curtain: Rising Democratic MAGA movement."