Decoding Trump: High Demand for Experts Helping Foreign Allies Navigate Washington

In diplomacy, predictability is highly valued. However, since January 20th, this has been scarce in Washington, as the Trump administration frequently interferes in the domestic affairs of other countries.

This has complicated the work of many diplomats, who are struggling to balance their country’s approach to Washington with the concerns of their superiors. Trade disputes, tariffs, and retaliatory measures are prevalent as President Donald Trump appears determined to destabilize longstanding alliances and the nation’s once-stable economy.

This situation has created a surge in business for the foreign affairs departments of well-connected K Street lobbying firms. They have a wide selection of new clients and seemingly unlimited budgets as embassies seek top U.S. insiders to interpret the new administration’s signals. Some countries are now spending large sums monthly to have White House allies explain the political landscape, if they can even find lobbying firms willing to take on more clients.

Canada and Denmark offer contrasting strategies for dealing with a newly challenging U.S. While Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is currently taking a firm stance, others, like the Danes, are attempting to accommodate Trump’s policies.

“I recognize these are difficult times, brought about by a country we can no longer have faith in,” Carney stated on Sunday after winning his party’s leadership election in a landslide victory where Trump was a significant factor. Several months prior, the Liberals were preparing for a major defeat among dissatisfied Canadian voters. This changed following Trump’s campaign for Canada, reminding Canadians of the importance of their leaders.

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was even more forthright than Carney in his recent farewell address: “Democracy cannot be taken for granted. Freedom cannot be taken for granted. Even Canada cannot be taken for granted.”

This pessimism is widespread in Washington’s diplomatic circles. It sometimes surfaces as dark humor—or a Freudian slip—as when the Danish Ambassador to Washington recently addressed a reception of business leaders, academics, and investors.

“I would like to propose a toast to the enduring friendship between our two great nations, the United States of Denmark, and the Kingdom,” Jesper Møller Sørensen said, catching himself in a room suddenly filled with nervous laughter, given Trump’s repeated interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark.

“May I try that again?” he asked. “You understand what I mean.”

While Denmark’s leaders are not adopting the combative attitude of Carney and Trudeau, they are experiencing their own Trump-related political shift, which is expected to influence Tuesday’s election in Greenland, where the country’s desire for independence is a significant factor.

More seriously, Denmark’s primary advocate for business, Minister of Industry, Business, and Financial Affairs Morten Bødskov, stated the day after the awkward toast that the kingdom, which funds over half of Greenland’s budget, was striving to maintain stability and historical consistency.

“The connections between Denmark and the U.S. are exceptionally strong, resulting in a relationship of friendship, trust, and straightforward dealings,” the Danish political insider told me, trying to keep his words restrained and avoid causing any negative repercussions from an unpredictable U.S. President.

This caution is now common. Words such as *partnership*, *alliance*, and *friendship* are frequently used along Embassy Row, but it is widely known that Trump has disrupted the diplomatic landscape. As he overturns decades of international norms, his own diplomats at the State Department are preparing for widespread changes, and Hill staff, particularly those on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, are trying to understand the extent of the impending cuts.

Even Trump’s defenders are being candid with their counterparts in other governments.

“President Trump’s approach to diplomacy is very transactional, with economics serving as the foundation and driving force behind international relations,” retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the president’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told a Council on Foreign Relations audience last week.

In simple terms: there will be winners and losers, and Trump intends to be the former.

Foreign diplomats understand this and are trying to adapt as necessary without alienating their most important economic ally. For example, 16% of Denmark’s export market, worth approximately $40 billion, ends up in the United States.

Long-held assumptions about consistent U.S. policy are no longer certain. Since Trump returned to power, he has aligned himself with—or at least excused—Russia in its conflict with Ukraine and advocated permanently removing Palestinians from Gaza. A security guarantee for Taiwan is no longer a given. He has even suggested that the United States needs to reclaim the Panama Canal, possibly by force.

These erratic actions and dramatic reversals have heightened anxiety within the diplomatic corps in Washington, as both allies and adversaries attempt to understand the current situation. Consider Bødskov’s recent trip to the United States. Denmark’s charm-offensive leader visited Texas before stopping in Washington to promote the longstanding ties between Washington and Copenhagen, including hosting a reception for business leaders and investors to demonstrate a stable environment. Like many other global leaders, his message emphasized the benefits for the U.S., noting that Danish companies employ around 200,000 Americans. However, with Trump openly seeking to acquire Greenland, maintaining a friendly demeanor is becoming increasingly challenging.

“There are new positions in Washington, and the rhetoric is new. We must, of course, manage that,” Bødskov says. “The connections between Danish companies and American companies are at the highest level ever.”

But so too are the tensions.