Ordinarily I might be a little reticent about offering advice to world leaders on how to conduct international relations. Then again, I never expected someone as high-profile as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s to perform so miserably as he did at his meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office last week.

Perhaps there are some lessons to be learned.

Well start with the easy stuff: Dress appropriately. Yes, it sounds petty. At some levels, given the gravity of everything happening in the world, it probably is. But it counts. Trump appears to be willing to let Elon Musk get away with the jeans-and-t-shirt getup, but maybe the richest man in the world has his own set of rules. Also, maybe their relationship is much stronger than others and Elon doesn't need to make a good impression — or maybe Trump isn’t all good with it and just hasn't had a public blowup yet with Musk.

I remember specifically one occasion, at a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan, when Trump complained about my socks. Which is to say, he pays attention to that sort of thing. There was a reason he greeted Zelensky with the sarcastic line about getting “all dressed up.” He noticed and took it as a slight. Was it intended as such? It doesn’t matter. Often, in politics, perception is reality.

Second, if English isn’t your........

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