World leaders line up to talk and meet with Trump

British premier May is set to visit Friday

World leaders from Mexico, Canada and Israel had their first conversations with President Trump over the weekend, ahead of his first face- to- face visit with British Prime Minister Theresa May later this week.

While foreign policy analysts are unsure whether the new president will charge ahead with promises he made during the campaign, they expect Trump to transfer his business tactics to the diplomatic negotiating table.

“This is the week where everyone puts their cards on the table,” says Brian Winter, vice president for policy at Americas Society/ Council of the Americas. “He’s a dealmaker, and he will take a very tough position at the beginning and then negotiate over time, because that’s the way he does business.”

His first weekend in the White House included phone calls with the leaders of America’s neighbors: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. On Sunday, Trump talked with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and described the call as “very nice.”

Afterward, Netanyahu’s office said he had a “very warm conversation” with Trump and accepted an invitation to visit the White House next month. No date was set. They discussed the international nuclear deal with Iran and the Palestinian issue, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Netanyahu and right- wing Israeli politicians have viewed Trump as more loyal to their causes than President Obama, es- pecially when it comes to Israel’s expansion of settlements. Israel tested that theory Sunday when Jerusalem city officials approved building permits for 566 new homes in east Jerusalem. But Netanyahu — ahead of talking with Trump — delayed a Cabinet vote Sunday on a contentious proposal to annex a large settlement in the West Bank.

Britian’s May, who on Friday will likely be the first foreign leader to visit in person with the new president, also will meet with congressional Republicans Thursday at their strategy conference in Philadelphia.

May wants to shore up a new trade deal through the “special relationship” with the U. S. as the United Kingdom prepares to leave the European Union. She’ll be facing a Trump administration that vowed to adopt protectionist, “America first” stances that could limit such deals.

“He’s a dealmaker, and he will take a very tough position at the beginning and then negotiate over time.” Brian Winter, Americas Society/ Council of the Americas