US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore. Photo / AP
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore. Photo / AP
Donald Trump likes to describe meetings with world leaders in terms of "deals".
From the historic Singapore summit last month to the recent NATO summit, he phrases things in terms of negotiations, often referring to his own 1987 business advice book The Art Of The Deal.
It's no surprise, then,that world leaders are using his own tactics against him.
From French President Emmanuel Macron to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, here's how they won the US President's respect.
According to Axios, the French President took a leaf out of Mr Trump's book to both gain his respect and a better deal for the European Union.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Brussels earlier this month, Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron discussed the trade war between the United States and Europe.
Mr Trump reportedly suggested Mr Macron tell the EU to renegotiate with the US, after they designed retaliatory tariffs to the US leader's steel and aluminium hit.
"I read The Art Of The Deal," the French leader told him with a smile, according to the Axios report. "I know that we need to retaliate first so we have some leverage in the negotiation."
French President Emmanuel Macron took a leaf out of Mr Trump's book ... literally ... at the NATO summit. Photo / AP
The exchange shows Mr Macron understands the way in much Mr Trump communicates, and that the best way to get a better "deal" out of him is to put on a tough front face, rather than seek a more flattering compromise.
Xi Jingping
It's a similar story with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Last month, the White House announced plans to stick 25 per cent tariffs on 1100 Chinese goods, worth a total of $US34 billion ($A46 billion) per year.
What did Beijing do? They slapped tariffs of the exact same value on the US — 25 per cent tariffs on US products worth $US34 billion per year, including soybeans, seafood and crude oil — and it's only set to escalate further, with no armistice in sight.
Mr Trump has previously heaped praise on the authoritarian leader on Xi Jinping. Photo / AP
Yet Mr Trump has previously heaped praise on the authoritarian leader. Back in March, when the Chinese Communist Party announced the abolition of the two-term limit for its country's leaders, Mr Trump sang his praises.
"He's now president for life, president for life. And he's great," Mr Trump said, according to audio of excerpts of his remarks at a closed-door fundraiser in Florida. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll have to give that a shot some day."
Vladimir Putin
At a joint press conference after his meeting in Helsinki with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump ruled out stating that he saw Mr Putin as a "rival" or "adversary", saying he "actually called him a competitor".
"And a good competitor he is," Mr Trump said. "And I think the word 'competitor' is a compliment."
Trump was singing Putin's praises after the Helsinki summit. Photo / AP
He even praised the authoritarian Russian President over his own intelligence agency, saying: "I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today. And what he did is an incredible offer; he offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators with respect to the 12 people. I think that's an incredible offer."
Kim Jong-Un
Mr Trump was even warm and complimentary towards North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
The Singapore summit on June 12 largely centred around the "deal" Mr Trump wanted to make. When the pair shook hands, Mr Trump said he had been a deal-maker "my whole life" and "it's my thing".
"You can't ensure anything. All I can say is that they want to make a deal," he said. "That's what I do. My whole life has been deals. I've done great at it. That's what I do. And I know when somebody wants to deal and I know when somebody doesn't. A lot of politicians don't."
The "deal", of course, was getting Mr Kim to give up his country's nuclear weapons, although one of the main criticisms to emerge from the summit was that Mr Trump gave much away in exchange for little.
After signing the documents, Mr Trump referred to the dictator in terms of his "negotiation" skills.
Donald Trump called Kim Jong-un "a worthy negotiator" after the Singapore summit. Photo / AP
Mr Trump spoke glowingly of the North Korean dictator, saying he has a "great personality" and is "very smart".
When asked if he was a worthy negotiator, Mr Trump responded: "A worthy negotiator … a very worthy, very smart negotiator. We had a terrific day and we learned a lot about each other and our countries."
When pressed to elaborate on what he learnt from Mr Kim, he said: "I learnt he's a very talented man. I also learnt that he loves his country very much."
The President said he would "absolutely" invite the North Korean leader to the White House in Washington, echoing a similar comment he made last week.
At the heart of it, Mr Trump loves a "strongman" — even if the man in question leads a brutal dictatorship with an abhorrent human rights record.
