The Ambush Office: Trump’s Oval becomes test of nerves for world leaders

WASHINGTON – For world leaders, an invitation to the Oval Office used to be a coveted prize. Under US President Donald Trump, it has become a ticket to a brutal political ambush.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa became the latest victim in a long line that started with

Mr Trump’s notorious row with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky

in February.

Mr Trump has turned what were staid diplomatic “photo sprays” under his predecessor Joe Biden into punishing, hour-long tests of nerves in the heart of the US presidency, played out on live television.

The sight has become all too familiar – a world leader perched nervously on the edge of his gold-upholstered chair in front of the famed fireplace, waiting to see what happens.

Will the 78-year-old Republican lay on the charm? Will he show off the new gold-plated decor he has been proudly installing in the Oval Office? Will he challenge his guest on tariffs or trade or US military assistance?

Or will he simply tear into them?

Nobody knows before they get there. All they know is that when the cameras are allowed into the most exclusive room in the White House, they will be treading the most perilous of political tightropes.

And the hot and confined space of the Oval Office adds to the pressure-cooker environment as the unpredictable billionaire seeks to wrong-foot his guests and gain the upper hand.

Mr Trump set the benchmark when he hosted President Zelensky on Feb 28.

Tensions over Mr Trump’s sudden pivot towards Moscow spilt into the open as a red-faced US President berated Mr Zelensky and accused him of being ungrateful for American military aid against Russia.

Many wondered if it was a deliberate ambush – especially as Vice-President J.D. Vance appeared to step in to trigger the row.

Whether or not it was on purpose, the goal in foreign capitals ever since has been to “avoid a Zelensky”.

But Mr Ramaphosa’s visit to the Oval Office on May 21 was the closest yet to a repeat – and this time it was clearly planned.

Mr Ramaphosa arrived with top South African golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen in tow, hoping to take the edge off the golf-mad Mr Trump’s unfounded claims of a “genocide” against white South African farmers.

But his face was a picture of bemusement when after a question on the issue, Mr Trump suddenly said to aides: “Turn the lights down, and just put this on.”

A video of South African politicians chanting “kill the farmer” began to play on a screen set up at the side of the room.

A stunned Mr Ramaphosa looked at the screen

, then at Mr Trump, and then back at the screen.

But unlike Mr Zelensky, who argued back with an increasingly enraged Mr Trump, the South African President largely stayed calm as he argued his case.

He was also not asked to leave the White House like Mr Zelensky was, which caused the Ukrainian leader to miss lunch.

‘Ratings GOLD!’

Other leaders have also done their homework. Some have emerged mostly unscathed, or even with some credit.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, despite some nervous body language, stood his ground against

Mr Trump’s calls for his country to become the 51st US state

and insisted that Canada was “never for sale”.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won over Mr Trump with a letter from King Charles III, while French President Emmanuel Macron kept up his touchy-feely bromance with the US President.

Mr Trump’s ideological allies have fared even better.

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele had a major Oval Office lovefest after agreeing to take migrants at a mega-prison in the Central American country.

But even some close allies have been wrong-footed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warm welcome as the first foreign guest of Mr Trump’s second term, but it was a different story when he returned in April.

Cameras in the Oval Office caught his stunned face when Mr Trump announced that Washington was starting direct talks with Iran.

For Mr Trump, though, it is all part of a presidency that he increasingly treats like a reality show.

Mr Trump himself quipped after the Zelensky meeting that it was “going to be great television”, and one of his advisers was just as explicit after the Ramaphosa meeting.

“This is literally being watched globally right now,” Mr Jason Miller said on X, along with a picture of the encounter on multiple screens. “Ratings GOLD!” AFP