“Love at first sight.”
“The greatest president of all the time — in any country, in any world, in any time.”
They came from people as varied as a White House official, a reality TV star, a world leader, and a mixed martial arts manager, and they flowed in a single direction — to the accolade-attuned ears of President Trump.
There was nothing remarkable about the events of the first week in May that spurred the outpouring of superlatives. It was simply another seven-day stretch of Trump’s second term.
Since returning to office, Trump hasn’t just solidified his grip on Republican politics and asserted his executive authority deep into the federal government. He has inspired, encouraged, and, at times, outright demanded to be showered with homage.
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At events grand and mundane, from his deputies and average Americans alike, boosting Trump’s ego has become as casual as breathing.
President Donald Trump greeted mascots of the Washington Nationals baseball team near the south lawn of the White House, on May 5.Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
In a series of articles, the Globe is documenting how far politics has deviated from any semblance of normalcy. The increasingly singular focus of government on the president is just one sign of the larger shift in America’s relationship with its elected leaders.
It was all on display in a single week book-ended by one of the greatest honors of all in Trump’s view: major golf tournaments held at clubs he owns. Shows of fealty (and punishments of insufficient fealty) took place at the White House and beyond.
But so, too, on display were the warning signs of the pitfalls of Trump gilding not just his physical surroundings, but the entire atmosphere around him. The steady praise has encased Trump in a self-reinforcing bubble, muffling the realities of a war in the Middle East, higher consumer prices, and declining approval ratings.
The week began with homage to Trump from one of his favorite groups of people: golfers.
The PGA Tour returned to Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami for the first time since 2016 after ditching the course when it had trouble securing sponsors during Trump’s first run for president. And there was no doubt who the honored host was.
President Trump speaks during a Mother’s Day luncheon in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 8.JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
Attendees at this year’s Cadillac Championship could order a TRUMP fusion cocktail at the Trump Vodka Bar or admire a 15-foot-tall gold-leafed statue of Trump in the “fight, fight, fight” pose evoking his gesture after surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., in 2024. (The statue was funded by cryptocurrency investors who subsequently used it to promote a meme coin, according to The New York Times, and received a dedication from a Trump-supporting pastor.)
At the Doral tournament on Sunday, Trump raised his right hand in imitation of that famous fist pump as he was greeted by cheering fans, some of whom returned the gesture.
That same day, Trump, his company, and the county of Palm Beach inked a deal to name Palm Beach International Airport after the president. The unusual trademark and licensing agreement reported by the Miami Herald includes selling Trump-branded merchandise and gives the president final say over what biographical details are presented to the public.
His return to the White House didn’t hamper the vibes.
On Monday, Trump kicked off National Small Business Week by hosting award-winning small business owners and other guests from around the country.
They included Las Vegas pawn shop owner and “Pawn Stars” reality TV star Rick Harrison, who told the crowd gathered in the East Room he hadn’t had time to prepare many remarks but called Trump “amazing.”
“Literally, he’s going to go down as maybe the best president ever,” Harrison said. “I love this guy.”
President Trump Participates in a Small Business Summit
President Donald Trump listens as Rick Harrison, star of the reality tv series “Pawn Stars,” speaks during an event for “Small Business Week.”
Among those in the audience was Thomas Hartley, owner of Hartley Transportation in Pembroke, N.H., there as the state’s small business person of the year. Ever the businessman looking to make a powerful connection, he had thrown in a couple extra items in his luggage: a red “Make America Great Again” hat and a book he hoped to get signed by Trump.
Hartley secured a seat in the second row to the podium’s right — the direction that he’s observed Trump prefers to look during speeches — and put on his MAGA cap, he told the Globe afterward, “just for fun, just so he would notice … because you just never know when he’s gonna say, ‘Hey you, come on up here.’”
As Hartley predicted, Trump did pull an eager fan from the audience. But in this case, it was Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who called out from the front row during an aside from Trump about oil production in the country
“The people of Venezuela are very thankful for your proud and bold leadership,” Wright said.
And before he could finish, Trump gestured for him to come onstage, summoning him with a simple “come here” and ceding the podium so Wright could repeat the praise into the microphone.
A few minutes later, Trump called up another Cabinet official, Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler. In the span of 30 seconds, she lauded Trump as “the most pro-growth, pro small business president in American history,” as “the greatest commander in chief ever,” and “one of America’s greatest businessmen.”
The last speaker was the national small business owner of the year, who credited Trump with “restarting and rebooting our economy.” Mark Lamoncha, owner of an 3D printing firm in Ohio, said the gains his business has experienced under Trump will allow him to have enough machines to “print the ‘fight, fight, fight’ Trump statue.”
President Trump presented Mark Lamoncha, CEO of Humtown Products, with the small business person of the year award on May 4. Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press
While attendees were packed in the reception room, construction crews outside continued work on Trump’s gigantic White House ballroom, where the East Wing once stood. Trump insisted the controversial and unpopular project would be privately financed, but Monday night his allies in the Senate revealed they were including $1 billion in taxpayer dollars in a new Republican-backed funding bill for security enhancements for the project, after Trump shifted his messaging around the project as a necessity for safety.
On Tuesday, Trump showed how much he craves the praise.
At an event in which Trump celebrated ordering the return of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, the president sat at his desk in the Oval Office surrounded by professional athletes, school children, and Cabinet secretaries, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy recounted how his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, wanted a volunteer from his Cabinet to hike 50 miles to show the American people that government officials were in good shape. (Kennedy Jr.’s father, then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, took on the challenge.)
“We have a bunch of thoroughbreds in this Cabinet,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said of his colleagues before rattling off names, including Education Secretary Linda McMahon to his left. “There’s a lot of people who could probably do a 50-mile hike.”
“What about me?” Trump interrupted. “You didn’t mention my name.”
Trump coaxes praise from RFK Jr. during fitness event
Trump coaxes praise from RFK Jr. during fitness event
Kennedy was quick to assuage the president.
“This guy walks nine miles a day on a golf course every weekend,” Kennedy said. “So he could do it in a breeze.”
Appeased, Trump added a post-script comment behind a hand raised to his mouth: “When I’m not using a cart.”
After wide-ranging comments that included talk of war in Iran and rising gas prices, the group then moved outside to the South Lawn, where loudspeakers blared Trump’s rally playlist as kids putted, did pushups, and played ball. “YMCA” by the Village People began blaring and Trump showed a group of teens how to do his now-signature fist-pumping dance. He didn’t need to show the mascots of the Washington Nationals baseball team; according to the reporters on hand, the giant-headed racing presidents launched into it unprompted.
The accolades are particularly common among people who want something from Trump, whether Republican politicians courting his endorsement or Cabinet officials looking to keep their jobs.
But they also come from business executives eager for favorable treatment and world leaders hoping to shape US foreign policy — and can extend beyond words to include gifts and donations. Those efforts can be fruitful.
Tuesday night, under clear skies in 80 degree weather, Trump held a dinner featuring salad and steak on the remodeled Rose Garden stone patio for what he has named “The Rose Garden Club,” typically a private gathering of political or corporate allies. The White House declined to release the guest list, but an attorney from Florida who spent more than $11 million on pro-Trump ads in the 2024 campaign posted his attendance to social media, and Trump later referenced hosting oil company executives and Ultimate Fighting Championship chief executive Dana White.
UFC was on the agenda in the White House on Wednesday as Trump sat at the Resolute Desk with several mixed martial arts fighters and their managers arrayed around him. They were in the Oval Office for a surprise appearance to tout the UFC event that Trump is staging at the White House on his birthday (which is also Flag Day) in June. Trump proudly showed off renderings of the UFC octagon fighting cage to be built on the South Lawn. Tickets are free but are in high demand, and UFC is reportedly selling million-dollar sponsorships with ringside access.
And as frequently happens, an event meant to promote one thing ended up also promoting Trump.
Justin Gaethje, a fighter on the June 14 card, thanked Trump for his longtime support of the sport. His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, predicted the upcoming event would be “the most watched sports event on planet Earth.”
Then he took his praise through the stratosphere.
“This is the greatest president of all the time, in any country, in any world, in any time, and I thank you, President Trump,” he said.
“Wow, I tell you, I like him,” Trump responded. “I made a good move by asking him to say that.”
The cage match of compliments wasn’t the only reason Trump had to smile on Wednesday.
President Trump shook hands with UFC fighter Ilia Topuria during an event in the Oval Office.Anna Moneymaker/Getty
After a scorched-earth campaign against Republicans in the Indiana State House who didn’t support his desired redistricting plan to give Republicans more seats, five of the seven incumbents lost to challengers backed by Trump in the primary on May 5, with a sixth race too close to call. Trump’s former campaign manager gleefully posted on X a warning to the House Republican who most often votes against Trump’s preferences: “You’re next.”
That same Wednesday, lawmakers in Tennessee unveiled a new redistricting map to net more seats for Republicans. Walking into the state house chamber to vote for the proposal, one Republican representative, Todd Warner, draped himself in a Trump 2024 campaign flag.
That night, Trump reportedly hosted a reception for the group managing his ballroom and other projects around the city, including their high-dollar sponsors.
On the international diplomacy front, where symbolic gifts are customary, such gestures have taken on a distinctly Trump flair.
World leaders have tailored their visits to Trump’s tastes, bestowing him with golf-themed presents or bringing famous golfers and businessmen in their delegations to the White House. FIFA, the international soccer organization putting on the World Cup tournament the US is co-hosting this summer, bestowed on Trump its inaugural “Peace Prize” after an effort by his allies to secure the Nobel Peace Prize for him failed. Last year, Qatar gifted Trump a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 to use as Air Force One and then keep at his presidential library after he leaves office.
During an official visit in April, King Charles had a surprise personal gift for Trump he unveiled at a White House State Dinner: a large, shiny bell from a British World War II submarine named the HMS Trump.
On Thursday, May 7, Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was the latest world leader to travel to Washington to meet with Trump. After their three-hour closed-door meeting, Lula had glowing words to describe the relationship between the two countries and two men: “Love at first sight,” he later told reporters.
But Lula also brought something unusual with him to Washington: criticism.
He and Trump have had a tense relationship for years, and despite the unexpected praise of Trump, Lula also had a frank assessment of the war with Iran.
“I think the invasion of Iran will cause more harm than he imagines,” the Brazilian leader told reporters afterward. “He thinks the war is already over — that’s not reality, but he thinks so.” Trump has publicly declared the war is going great, despite lasting longer than he initially estimated and causing fuel prices to skyrocket.
Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, reportedly is concerned Trump is getting too rosy a view of the war and being told only what he wants to hear. Citing two White House sources, Time magazine said she had urged her colleagues to be “more forthright with the boss” about the war’s economic and political ramifications.
There was no evidence of that shift in sight during the first week of May. Administration officials echoed Trump’s upbeat assessment of the war amid a fragile cease-fire and stalled efforts to strike a peace deal.
By Thursday night, Trump was standing inside the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, which has been drained for repairs in his latest Washington passion project. Clad in a tuxedo for an imminent event, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum lauded Trump for his self-directed initiatives such as having the concrete bottom of the pool painted blue. As White House border czar Tom Homan, who also was in attendance, listened nearby, Trump put him on the spot.
President Trump visited the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press
“So Tom, how good a president is Trump?” he asked as a group of construction workers looked on.
“Greatest president in my lifetime,” Homan said, repeating a compliment he’s delivered many times. Then he turned to the workers, who had all indicated they voted for Trump.
“I’ve got a question,” Homan said. “Are you all legal?”
The joke drew laughs and appeared to please his boss. Then the jovial mood was briefly interrupted by an injection of reality.
“Mr. President, you are here against the backdrop of the war in Iran,” a reporter said. “Why focus on all these projects right now when gasoline prices are soaring?”
“You know why? Because I want to keep our country beautiful and safe,” an irritated Trump responded before calling it “such a stupid question.”
As the first week of May ended, Trump’s bubble of worship showed no signs of popping.
Chauffeured around in a golf cart at his Virginia club on Saturday for a tournament on the Saudi-funded LIV Golf tour, Trump was met with cheers. At one point, he came across South African golfer Dean Burmester and stopped the cart to exchange pleasantries and shake hands.
Driving off, Trump called out, “Great going, Dean, I want to play like you.”
In a video of the exchange, the camera operator asks Burmester what he thought of the praise.
“Yeah, well,” Burmester replied, “I want to play like him as old as he is.”
Marcela Rodrigues of the Globe staff contributed translations to this story.
Tal Kopan can be reached at tal.kopan@globe.com. Follow her @talkopan. Jim Puzzanghera can be reached at jim.puzzanghera@globe.com. Follow him @JimPuzzanghera.