President Donald Trump hosted a group of European heads of state in the Oval Office on 18 August, keeping them for a discussion that stretched for more than five hours—well past the session’s planned end time—before the motorcades finally departed the White House. Neither the list of participants nor the agenda was immediately disclosed, but Trump afterwards told reporters that the leaders’ willingness to convene in Washington underscored that “they have respect for our country again,” asserting that a year earlier they “wouldn’t have even thought about” making the trip. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt amplified the point on 19 August, saying “Russia—and all countries around the world—actually respect the United States again,” and that the administration is using “the might of American strength to demand that respect” from allies and adversaries alike.