Pomp and flattery: Asia rolls out the red carpets for Trump

Looking forward to a full day of meetings with President Xi and our delegations tomorrow. THANK YOU for the beautiful welcome China! First Lady Melania Trump and I will never forget it! (Photo: Donald J. Trump/Facebook)

BEIJING — Honour guards marching in unison. Elaborate dinners. Endless flattery.

The first half of President Donald Trump’s whirlwind tour of Asia has been an exercise in the art of flattery, as world leaders try to woo the man the South Korean National Assembly introduced as the “leader of the world.”

Japan was first to roll out the red carpet, welcoming Trump with an elaborate palace ceremony and a round of golf with one of its champion players.

The wooing continued in South Korea, where President Moon Jae-in (jah-yihn) repeatedly stroked Trump’s ego by invoking Trump’s campaign slogan and saying he was “making America great again.”

China was next and treated Trump to a welcome ceremony he says he will never forget.