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You are here: Home / White House / The Art of the Oval Office Ambush

The Art of the Oval Office Ambush

June 4, 2025 at 7:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Now elected leaders across the nation and world are worrying about who will be next, officials and experts said, weighing the benefits of a high-profile meeting with the most powerful man on Earth against the chance that they will be politically bruised by an Oval Office ambush…”

“Roughly four months into his second term, Trump has transformed what historically has been a rote performance that countries choreograph well in advance of a meeting into a political and diplomatic minefield. Trump routinely places world leaders before cameras for as long as an hour as he opines, frequently veering off topic and sometimes raising sensitive issues that leaders once discussed behind closed doors.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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