After rolling out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, President Donald Trump did not directly greet European leaders arriving at the White House on Monday.
Seven European leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte, have all flown to Washington to show a united front as Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
A gathering of so many European leaders at the White House at one time with such little notice is unprecedented in recent times.
European leaders were greeted by the Chief of Protocol and former Fox News personality Monica Crowley rather than the president as they started arriving at the White House.
While Trump did not step out to meet European leaders who hastily flew to town in a showing of support, he did acknowledge that their visit for the summit is a big deal.
“We have never had so many European Leaders here at one time. A great honor for America,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The European leaders’ last-minute travel to D.C. came as the president met with Zelensky following his summit with Putin last week.
Trump did greet Zelensky outside the White House with a warm handshake and smiles when he arrived on the north side of the White House soon after the European leaders.
Since meeting with the Russian leader on Friday, Trump has largely shifted his stance to side with Putin. He has said Ukraine could end the war by giving up territory to Russia and ending aspirations to join NATO.
The president has also backed off demands for Russia to agree to a ceasefire and his threat of severe consequences if Putin did not agree to a deal after their meeting in Anchorage.
Before European leaders joined the high-stakes gathering at the White House, essentially by entering through the back door, they met directly with Zelensky at the Ukrainian Embassy not too far from the White House.
The Ukrainian president posted a video on X of him warmly greeting and sitting down with the seven European leaders in Washington ahead of his visit to the White House.
“We must stop the killings, and I thank our partners who are working toward this and ultimately toward a reliable and dignified peace,” he wrote.
“Ukraine is ready for a real truce and for establishing a new security architecture. We need peace,” he added.
It is not the first time the president has not greeted the leader of a European ally arriving at the White House. Trump also left Macron to make his way inside alone during the French president’s visit in February.
However, Trump has also previously met individually with most of the European leaders who flew to Washington for Monday’s meeting and greeted them personally outside the White House when they’ve arrived in the past.
