‘Everybody wants to be my friend now’, says Donald Trump

In reality, Trump has shown few signs of a personality shift
— but many of those who once criticized him are eager to cozy up to an administration
that values loyalty above all else.

“For now, folks are estimating that it is better to be on
his good side than not — the problem for them is that his good side changes
frequently,” Wendy Schiller, a political science professor at Brown University,
told AFP.

With Trump spending most of his time since the election at
Mar-a-Lago, it has been up to others to make their pilgrimages to its gilded
halls.

The list of those who have done so reads like a who’s who of
the global tech industry.

– Tech titans –

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg came in November as he sought to
mend ties following Facebook’s banning of Trump after the US Capitol attack on
January 6, 2021.

Apple boss Tim Cook and Google’s Sundar Pichai and Sergey
Brin have also visited, while Trump said Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — once a
strong Trump critic — is due later this week.

Meta, Amazon and Open AI chief Sam Altman are all reportedly
donating $1 million to the fund for Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

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Trump meanwhile hosted TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on Monday, as
the social network’s Chinese owner tries to block a looming US ban.

“Honestly, in the first term — I don’t know what it was —
it’s like a complete opposite,” Trump said.

But their visits reflect a wider shift as the man shunned
for his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss now returns to the White
House with a strong mandate for the next four years.

Last week, the New York Stock Exchange welcomed Trump to
ring its opening bell, on the same morning that Time Magazine announced that he
was its “Person of the Year” for a second time.

Republicans in Congress have been largely pliant, with signs
of easing opposition towards controversial cabinet picks such as Pete Hegseth,
Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., his
vaccine-skeptic choice for health secretary.

Trump had appeared to warn on Monday that those who did not
toe the line could face election challenges by Republican loyalists.

– ‘Power of the presidency’ –

Even outgoing President Joe Biden has backed off from his
previous warnings that Trump is a danger to democracy — apparently seeking the
graceful transition that Trump denied him.

Then there have been the world leaders who have beaten a
path to Trump’s door. They range from right-wing allies like Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orban to Canada’s Justin Trudeau, facing Trump’s threats of
huge new tariffs.

The media too have been trying to build bridges with the
president who has repeatedly dubbed them the “enemy of the people.”

The hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show, Joe Scarborough and
Mika Brzezinski, visited Mar-a-Lago in November despite being bitterly critical
of him.

In an opinion piece in The New York Times, columnist
Michelle Goldberg described the mood as “The Great Capitulation.”

The flip side is that those perceived as being against Trump
are in for a tough time.

This week, Trump sued a pollster and a newspaper over survey
results published days before the US election showing him behind in Iowa — a
state he ultimately won by a landslide.

“Trump has indicated that he will make full use of the power
of the presidency to go after anyone who challenges him, and now he appears to
have a deeper understanding of how to do that,” said Schiller.