President Donald Trump has held roughly 50% more meetings with foreign leaders than President Barack Obama did over the same amount of time in their respective first terms in office.
A review of both presidencies reveals that Obama met with about 20 foreign leaders through July 6, 2009, not including international summits or the United Nations and other institutions. Trump has met with about 30 leaders through June 6, 2017 — not including summits, the UN, or the Palestinian Authority.
Below is a chronological list of the two presidents’ meetings with foreign leaders, with repeat meetings excluded. The list does not include meetings around the G-8 or G-20, where both would have met leaders from the same countries. The list does not include telephone calls or meetings with officials such as foreign ministers. (It also excludes Obama’s June 2009 meeting with Zimbabwe’s then-Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, since President Robert Mugabe held real power, and the position of prime minister was later abolished.)
- Feb. 19 – Canada
- Feb. 24 – Japan
- Mar. 3 – United Kingdom
- Mar. 14 – Brazil
- Mar. 17 – Ireland
- Mar. 25 – Australia
- Apr. 5 – Czech Republic
- Apr. 6 – Turkey
- Apr. 7 – Iraq
- Apr. 16 – Mexico
- Apr. 21 – Jordan
- May 5 – Israel
- May 6 – Afghanistan
- May 6 – Pakistan
- June 4 – Egypt
- June 5 – Germany
- June 15 – Italy
- June 28 – Colombia
- July 6 – Russia
Trump, 2017 (28 meetings):
- Jan. 27 – UK
- Feb. 10 – Japan
- Feb. 13 – Canada
- Feb. 15 – Israel
- Feb. 24 – Peru
- Mar. 16 – Ireland
- Mar. 17 – Germany
- Mar. 30 – Denmark
- Apr. 3 – Egypt
- Apr. 5 – Jordan
- Apr. 6 – China
- Apr. 20 – Italy
- Apr. 27 – Argentina
- May 4 – Australia
- May 15 – United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi)
- May 16 – Turkey
- May 18 – Colombia
- May 21 – Saudi Arabia
- May 23 – Vatican
- May 24 – Belgium
- May 31 – Vietnam
- June 9 – Romania
- June 19 – Panama
- June 20 – Ukraine
- June 26 – India
- June 29 – South Korea
- July 6 – Poland
- July 6 – Croatia
Trump’s ambitious foreign policy schedule contradicts critics’ attempts to portray his foreign policy as “isolationist,” or to suggest the 45th president is not interested in foreign affairs. On the contrary, Trump has led an active foreign policy — one that puts “America first,” yet still reaches out to other nations to improve relations and work together on common issues. Obama’s foreign policy was described as “internationalist,” but stressed “leading from behind.”
