×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Friday
16
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 15°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

Trump: “The world wants to be my friend now, when in my first term they fought me”

The US president is proud of his sudden popularity with businessmen, foreign leaders and journalists

Newsroom December 18 12:00

Big bosses, media and technology representatives, foreign leaders… After his surprise victory in 2016, many had snubbed Donald Trump, but this time, personalities from the world of business and media are vying to get close to the president-elect.

“During my first term, the whole world was fighting me. In this term, the whole world wants to be my friend,” the man in question observed the day before yesterday, Monday, during a press conference from his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.

“Right now, people think it’s better to have his favor, but the problem for them is that that favor often varies,” Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University, is already warning.

Since his election on November 5, and with the exception of a few brief trips, for example to reopen Notre Dame, Donald Trump has welcomed visitors to this sprawling beachfront, palm-fringed complex with its heavy interior design.

It is a private club, the annual admission fee to which, according to the press, rose sharply last summer and now reaches $1 million a year.

There, Donald Trump invited his future cabinet ministers for an audience, between a reception and a round of golf.

It was also in Florida that the president-elect, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, hosted a dinner for Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Meta, the parent company of Facebook, a social network that had banned him after his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

On Monday, the 78-year-old billionaire completed the list, saying he also saw Google boss Sadar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook.

“And we’ll also have Jeff Bezos, of Amazon, coming in this week (…). We’ve got a lot of big bosses, the biggest bosses, the biggest bankers, the whole world is calling,” the Republican assured, reiterating that it’s “the exact opposite” of what he experienced before his first stint in the White House, from 2017 to 2021.

That first term had left an impression of constant improvisation. If high-profile visitors are succeeding one another in Florida, it’s because they expect, rightly or wrongly, a Trump 2.0 presidency more structured and decisive, especially to attack the targets the Republicans will set out, whether they be businessmen, journalists or political opponents.

Donald Trump “has made it known that he will use all the powers of the presidency to take on anyone who would defy him, and now he seems to understand better how to do it, and he also has Supreme Court immunity that protects him” while in the White House, Wendy Schiller explains.

The head of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, Albert Burla, visited Mar-a-Lago and, when Donald Trump was recently invited to ring the bell that marks the start of stock trading on Wall Street, other big names in the business world were present.

Foreign dignitaries also succeeded each other at the Florida residence, the true epicenter of the new power.

Some are Republican sympathizers, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or Argentine President Javier Millay.

But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and new NATO chief Mark Rutte were also seen passing by, who each have their own reasons to be concerned about the president-elect’s future decisions.

One of the most commented upon visits was that of two anchors from the MSNBC television network, who were nonetheless fierce critics of Donald Trump.

Their trip to Florida reveals the fear of the American media world of an elected president who at his rallies has his audience disapprove of journalists, whom he calls “enemies of the people.”

The Republican filed a lawsuit the day before yesterday, Monday, against a prestigious Iowa newspaper for publishing a pre-election poll that had him losing that state, which he ultimately won.

For its part, the US television network ABC agreed to pay $15 million to end a defamation lawsuit brought against the Republican billionaire.

>Related articles

Trump for Reza Pahlavi: “Very likable, but I don’t know if the Iranians will accept him”

Oil prices fall 3% after Trump’s statements on Iran

Trump signals possible fast strike on Iran as U.S. military moves intensify

Donald Trump also has his sights set on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” which he accuses of manipulating in favor of Camala Harris an answer his Democratic opponent had given in the election.

 

 

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#first term#foreign relations#political rivals#presidential comments#Trump#world leaders
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Latsis Group: This is the new project of Aura Residential’s 219 apartments in Elliniko

January 16, 2026

Marinakis: Anestidis has no place in a meeting with Mitsotakis; The video with insults crosses the line of decency

January 16, 2026

Mercosur agreement sparks concern over olive export tariffs: Greek and European producers face 12.6% duty

January 16, 2026

Industry: Energy deadlock after Commission’s “no” to Italian pricing model

January 16, 2026

Gerapetritis: ‘Extension of territorial waters will come, as marine parks and spatial planning’

January 16, 2026

When Triodion 2026 begins – Carnival, Lent, and Easter in Greece

January 16, 2026

Roads open all over the country – Farmers remain on blockades

January 16, 2026

“Denmark escalates military tensions in the Arctic”, Russia says of troop deployment in Greenland

January 16, 2026
All News

> World

“Denmark escalates military tensions in the Arctic”, Russia says of troop deployment in Greenland

Russia "is not drawing up plans to attack its neighbours in the Arctic, does not threaten them with military action and does not want to occupy their territories", Russia's ambassador to Denmark said

January 16, 2026

Archaeologists opened a cave in Gibraltar that had been sealed for 40,000 years and made a major discovery

January 16, 2026

“You think you are descendants of Plato and Aristotle, but you’re not” – Rama’s tirade against Greek journalist, watch video

January 15, 2026

Ballistic missile strike hits pier in Ukraine

January 15, 2026

The ordeal of a 28-year-old Greek man in Australia: He went on holiday to visit relatives, was injured at a beach, and is at risk of quadriplegia

January 15, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα