The world has discovered the secret to working with Donald Trump.

Do not fight his reality. Rent space in it.

Diplomats, allies, even adversaries have learned that the only way to get something done is to speak fluent Trump.

Forget facts, forget policy, forget history. If you want NATO to hold together or Ukraine to survive, you wrap it in a ribbon that reads: This is your victory, Mr. President.

Zelenskyy has turned this into an art form. He doesn’t show up with spreadsheets, he shows up with theater, Churchillian speeches for the cameras, deferential tones in private and every request framed as a chance for Trump to look like the wartime genius he imagines in the mirror.

Europe, too, has adjusted its pitch. Defense spending isn’t about security, it’s about letting Trump strut as the man who whipped freeloaders into line.

But let’s not kid ourselves. This is not management. It is manipulation dressed up in diplomatic tailoring. The real leaders are not the ones holding summits. They are the ones who have figured out how to slip necessities through the tollbooth of Trump’s ego.

That is the currency now…flattery in exchange for survival.

The risk is obvious. Play this game long enough and the alternate reality becomes the only reality. The fantasy takes root, because everyone keeps watering it just to keep the peace. When the fantasy world dictates the real one, truth itself is no longer a player on the field. It is just another prop.

So readers, manage or manipulate?

Let’s be honest. The world is doing both. And the real tragedy is that while we are all busy keeping him happy, the world is most definitely, on fire.

In the end, managing Trump is not a show of leadership. It is babysitting a bonfire with a spray bottle.