The Shiny Object Syndrome
When foreign leaders realize America’s president can be swayed not by principle but by praise, not by policy but by gold, democracy itself becomes the collateral.
Guest article by Michael Cohen. Remember to follow him on Substack for more by clicking here.
It’s never just about the gold. It’s about what the gold does to him.
When Tim Cook handed Donald Trump that commemorative plaque with a gold base, the Apple CEO wasn’t just humoring the president; he was teaching the world how to handle him. Cook knew the formula: flatter him, feed his vanity, give him something shiny, and suddenly he’s calling you a genius and giving your company a tax holiday. It wasn’t policy. It was flattery weaponized.
And now, here we are again—the same playbook, just with higher stakes. South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung rolled out the literal gold carpet this week. The man gifted Trump a replica golden crown, South Korea’s highest national honor, the “Grand Order of Mugunghwa,” and capped it off with a gold-laced “Peacemaker’s Dessert.” The message was clear: praise the king, and he’ll forget who’s really running the kingdom.
Let’s not forget, Qatar already played this game and won. Earlier this year, in what they called an act of “honor,” the Qatari government gifted Trump a custom aircraft worth roughly $400 million—complete with gold trim, embroidered Trump insignias, and a private suite that makes Air Force One look like a budget airline. Trump gushed that it was “the most beautiful plane anyone’s ever seen.” Meanwhile, Qatar walked away with favorable energy contracts and renewed U.S. military assurances. Imagine that: foreign policy bartered for the price of a shiny toy with wings.
There’s a reason dictators and diplomats alike love to hand Trump anything that sparkles: it works. You don’t need to out-negotiate him; just outshine him.
In Gyeongju, South Korea’s ancient capital, Trump was handed the crown and medal, flanked by soldiers, a military band blaring “YMCA,” and a luncheon curated to his well-known tastes—familiar comfort foods, served with the grandeur of a state banquet. Every detail, down to the gold-trimmed dessert, was designed not for diplomacy but for indulgence. It wasn’t a meal; it was theater—a meticulously staged act of flattery meant to turn policy into pageantry.
When Trump saw the crown, he reportedly said, “I’d like to wear it right now.” Of course he did. To Trump, power isn’t about responsibility; it’s about optics. It’s about how it looks on camera.
South Korea knows it. Qatar knows it. Tim Cook knew it. Hell, every lobbyist within a hundred miles of Washington knows it: if it glitters, he listens. If it flatters, he folds.
That’s not just embarrassing. It’s dangerous.
Foreign leaders have figured out that America’s foreign policy can be steered not by strategy, not by principle, but by pageantry. Give him a medal, a crown, a gold-plated plane, and he’ll call you his “great friend.” The self-proclaimed “toughest negotiator in the world” becomes a mark. The master of the deal becomes the easiest con in the room.
South Korea’s Lee Jae-myung isn’t stupid. He’s in the middle of trying to lower U.S. tariffs and secure trade perks. So he rolled out the flattery buffet. A gold crown symbolizing “peace on the Korean Peninsula”? Brilliant. A gold tie “reflecting Trump’s taste for gold”? Inspired. A “Peacemaker’s Dessert” served on literal gold leaf? That’s not dessert; that’s diplomacy à la mode.
And as Trump beams, America bleeds influence.
This is what happens when the president’s ego is the single point of failure in the world’s most powerful democracy. He’s not being manipulated through ideology; he’s being manipulated through insecurity. His weakness isn’t policy ignorance or impulsiveness—it’s vanity. The kind that turns every photo op into an auction for his loyalty.
He doesn’t respond to substance. He responds to spectacle.
That’s why Putin calls him “brilliant.” Why Kim Jong Un writes him “beautiful letters.” Why Saudi Arabia projected his face on skyscrapers and draped him in gold chains. Why Qatar delivered a $400 million aircraft trimmed in gold leaf, and why South Korea just crowned him like a visiting emperor. They’ve all learned the same lesson: Trump is a man who confuses praise for power and attention for respect.
And the scariest part? He’s proud of it.
When he says, “I’d like to wear it right now,” he’s not joking. That’s the instinct of a man who wants to be adored, not advised. The instinct of someone who measures success by applause, not outcome. It’s the same instinct that makes him trade national credibility for the dopamine hit of a headline.
He doesn’t understand that when foreign leaders treat him like a king, it’s not because they revere him; it’s because they’ve realized how cheaply he can be bought.
It would almost be funny if it weren’t so catastrophic. When your president can be swayed with a plaque, a plane, or a gold-plated dessert, the question isn’t what they’ll give him next—it’s what he’ll give away.
Because the world isn’t gifting him gold for his brilliance. They’re gilding the leash.
And that should terrify every American who still believes this country’s power lies in its principles, not in one man’s golden reflection.
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 | A guest post by
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it makes him a national security threat
This is exactly right!!! He can be bought easily.