President Donald Trump has received huge public exposure in his first year through blanket TV coverage, speeches and tweets. But what is he like in person?
While some of the president’s most provocative private comments have made headlines—his demands for loyalty from top officials and his vulgar reference to African nations, for instance—The Wall Street Journal gathered others shared by more than 50 people who met with the president to discuss a range of issues in the Oval Office, on Air Force One and at Mar-a-Lago in the past year. Here are their insights:
Be prepared for a change of topic...
In an early session on his infrastructure plan, Mr. Trump detoured into a riff about part of the road network that has long bugged him: guardrails. “It’s put together with these screws, right?” he told cabinet members and business executives, who nodded solemnly. “I always think if I ever went into that sucker I’d be afraid that it opens and you get speared.” He continued: “I want to hire whoever their salesman is. He’s the greatest salesman in the world. That is the worst crap.”
...especially if it involves old enemies and old friends...
In an April meeting focused on bolstering business, Mr. Trump repeatedly interrupted his speech to jab at the news media or to call out executives in the audience, many of whom are his longtime buddies. “Trump reads his audience and responds to that,” said Kathy Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, an association of executives that organized the White House event.
...and expect him to be blunt...
Meeting last spring with representatives of veterans’ groups and Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, Mr. Trump criticized the slow pace of terminating federal employees, particularly at the VA. “You just need to start firing people,” he told Mr. Shulkin. “Let them sue us. I don’t care if they sue us.”
...to the point of abruptness.
Mr. Trump abruptly stood up before a March meeting had finished with five chairmen of congressional committees and Vice President Mike Pence. “I have to go do some work in the Oval Office,” he told them, according to one of the chairmen. “But if you need me, I’ll be in there.”
He can be persuaded to change his mind...
Mr. Trump was annoyed with Congress last summer for passing legislation imposing new Russian sanctions. He told aides he was inclined to veto the bill because he wanted better relations with Russia. Aides told him Congress would override the veto, making him look weak. Mr. Trump yielded, signing the bill in August. A White House official said the president never gave serious consideration to not signing the bill, but was frustrated at Congress for inserting itself into a foreign-policy matter.
...especially if it is tactfully done…
Around the same time, Mr. Trump had an idea about how to counter the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, which he got after speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin : If the U.S. stopped joint military exercises with the South Koreans, it could help moderate Kim Jong Un’s behavior. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis used an approach that aides say can work: “He says, ‘Your instincts are absolutely correct,’ and then gets him [the president] to do the exact opposite of what his instincts say,” said one person close to the White House. Mr. Trump dropped the idea, although he has ordered aides to give the exercises a low profile, eliminating press releases and briefings about them.
...and he can take frankness.
Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings from Baltimore took Mr. Trump to task for his depiction of African-American neighborhoods as destitute and crime-ridden. “Most black people are doing pretty good. We have people struggling to make ends meet, but that’s insulting,” Mr. Cummings told him. “Probably nobody has ever told you that.” “You’re right,” Mr. Trump responded, “nobody has ever told me that.” Mr. Cummings later, however, wound up disillusioned, saying, “I don’t think it made any difference.”
Sometimes delaying works best...
To convince Mr. Trump to change course, White House aides sometimes stall, hoping he’ll forget what he wanted done and move on to something else. Trying to dissuade him from taking tough trade actions against other countries, aides caution that such moves could reverse the stock-market gains he touts. Or they might tell him that an action he wants to take on steel or aluminum must wait a month or so until the Commerce Department weighs in.
... but he can also get exasperated...
People who overheard a phone conversation between the president and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recall Mr. Trump saying, “Rex, Rex, Rex, how many times do I have to tell you…”
...and arguments are rarely final.
During the campaign, Mr. Trump talked about how the U.S. should have seized Iraqi oil as recompense for the 2003 invasion. In office, Mr. Trump returned to the idea and advisers told him it wasn’t feasible. They thought the matter was put to rest. Mr. Trump has since asked about it again. One White House official characterized his question as: “Why do we go into these wars if we don’t get anything for it?” Said another U.S. official: “No case is ever settled.”
He is happy to play tour guide...
In the middle of meetings with executives and lawmakers, the president sometimes invites them to walk over and take pictures in the Oval Office if they haven’t visited before. “I mean, who does that?” said Scott Heitkamp, the CEO of ValueBank, who attended one such meeting in March.
...even if the seating arrangement is tricky.
Unlike past presidents, who often sat on couches with Oval Office visitors, Mr. Trump sits behind his desk, raising the question for guests: Can they put their papers on the Resolute Desk? “At one point, I set my papers on the table, and then I thought, maybe that’s not the best form,” said former Rep. Jason Chaffetz. “So I picked them back up again and set them back on my lap.”
He can be courteous with Republicans...
When Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.) visited the Oval Office after his return in September from a near-fatal shooting, Mr. Trump made sure he sat in the chair normally reserved for visiting heads of state. “That’s an honor,” Mr. Scalise said.
...and Democrats...
Mr. Trump spent months courting Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va), at one point introducing the senator to an assistant and instructing her: “When Joe calls, you make sure to give me the message.”
...and isn’t beyond using chocolate to win someone over.
Mr. Trump invited Rep. James Comer (R., Ky.) to fly with him after a rally in Louisville as he sought support for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. On board, the president asked him whether he had any children. Three, Mr. Comer said. Mr. Trump handed him three Air Force One-branded boxes of M&Ms: “Give them to your kids and tell them they’re from me.”
But he has a short fuse...
Backstage at the National Prayer Breakfast in February, when Sen. Chris Coons (D., Del.) told Mr. Trump several religious organizations in his state opposed the White House’s travel ban, the president snapped: “Nobody told me you were going to be a nasty man.”
...and sorry can be the hardest word.
Weeks after Mr. Trump’s election victory, the incoming president and his advisers were considering how to handle China being upset by a phone call he held with Taiwan’s leader. The question of an apology was broached. “Never, ever apologize,” Mr. Trump said.
And finally...
Mick Mulvaney, the president’s budget director and frequent golf companion at the Trump course in northern Virginia, said Mr. Trump will point out arcane features during the rounds, noting “which trees have died and which trees to cut down and what greens are struggling with what fungus.”
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