What can we learn from the travel trends of world leaders?

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has so far seen the US president travel to foreign lands to sign billion-dollar deals, attend lavish royal welcomes and attempt to forge elusive peace agreements amid conflicts and crises. And on September 17, 2025, he is expected to visit the United Kingdom for a second state visit with King Charles III hosted at Windsor Castle.

Meanwhile, leaders from across the world have visited the White House during Trump’s second term. Examples include everyone from El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, who visited in April, to Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who came to Washington in February. And all eyes were on the recent summit in Alaska between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Of course, this represents only a fraction of the total miles clocked by prime ministers, presidents and other heads of state and government. But what can we learn from the travel trends of world leaders?

With our colleagues at the University of Denver’s Pardee Institute for International Futures, we have meticulously cataloged every known, observed overseas trip taken by the primary heads of government and state from more than 200 countries from 1990 through 2024. Our Country and Organization Leader Travel dataset is a first-of-its-kind, publicly available dataset that allows us to thoroughly examine the causes, consequences and patterns of high-level leader diplomacy.

Even a cursory look illustrates how...

Read more