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Foreign diplomats are laughing at Trump, but they're no closer to figuring him out

"You have to make adjustments," one former official said. "And you just batten down the hatches and hope things change sooner rather than later."

President Donald Trump.

The consternation President Donald Trump has inspired in many Americans has perhaps been felt even more acutely by foreign diplomats, who have been trying to size up the American leader since he surged to the front of the crowded Republican primary field.

After the publication of full transcripts of Trump's calls with the leaders of Mexico and Australia, some of those diplomats were able to have a laugh at his expense.

But the details revealed by the transcripts may not give them any more insight into dealing with the mercurial US president.

The day the transcripts were published, Jorge Guajardo, one of Mexico's most senior diplomats, received several messages from colleagues about them.

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"He's the opposite of Teddy Roosevelt," one official told him, according to McClatchy. "He speaks loudly and carries a small stick."

The transcripts, published by The Washington Post, appeared to show that Trump didn't understand the domestic political consequences that Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto would face if he backed off his stance that Mexico would never pay for the border wall Trump touted as a central part of his campaign.

Diplomats from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East all expressed concerns about candidate Trump in private conversations.

Lynn Van Fleit, founder of the nonprofit Diplomacy Matters Institute, told The Post at the time that much of the talk among Washington-based diplomats was about "how are we going to build ties with the new administration."

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