Finnish leader’s golf diplomacy with Trump results in icebreaker deal
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When President Donald Trump and Finnish President Alexander Stubb struck their latest trade deal Thursday, it wasn’t just a handshake for 11 sturdy ships.
It was another sign of a friendship that quickly turns into strategy.
Where other European leaders tried to win Trump’s respect through politics and persuasion, Stubb chose the fair route. In March, the Finnish president — once a player on the national golf team — showed up at Mar-a-Lago not with briefing notes, but with clubs, challenging Trump to a round and winning something rarer than a trade deal: connections.
Presentation matters to Trump, and Stubb — 6-foot-3, fit and well-dressed in a double-breasted coat — seemed to seize the moment. During their last meeting at the White House in August, Trump told him he “looked better than ever” and introduced him as “a young and powerful man.”
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Finnish President Alexander Stubb transformed this fairway into a diplomatic fast lane. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
This personal chemistry, maintained through frequent text exchanges, quietly opened the doors for the Finnish president, a longtime marathoner and triathlete with a competitive side. What’s more, it translates into real policy — from defense contracts to Arctic cooperation — that elevates the once-quiet Nordic nation to new prominence in Washington.
An improbable rise for a country better known for its saunas and its serenity than for its peaks. Stubb comes from a country of 5.6 million that regularly tops the global happiness index, where forests cover nearly 75 percent of the land and lakes sparkle by the hundreds of thousands.
Finland – slightly smaller than the state of Montana and sandwiched between Sweden and Russia – has long seen its security prospects shaped by geography, a position that now places it at the forefront of NATO and Arctic strategy.
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Finland builds around 60% of the world’s icebreakers in its own shipyards. (Giles Clarke/Getty Images)
The trade deal signed Thursday, involving 11 ships valued at about $6.1 billion, is the latest sign of how that alignment is taking shape. Under the deal approved by Trump, three of the ships will be built by Davie in Galveston, Texas, and four by Bollinger Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana, a setup that fits his “Made in America” credo and emphasis on creating U.S. jobs by pumping billions of dollars into the maritime industrial base.
And when it comes to icebreakers, Helsinki is definitely in its element: Finnish companies design around 80% of the world’s fleet.
Finland’s expertise has made it more than just a supplier. That has made Helsinki a trusted player in Trump’s Arctic strategy, a region increasingly defined by military competition with Russia and China, melting shipping routes and access to critical minerals.
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Trump and Stubb at the White House signed an icebreaker agreement. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)
This partnership goes both ways. For Finland, the deal deepens defense cooperation with the United States and makes the country a new addition to NATO as a strategic partner, a bridge connecting Washington to the rapidly evolving Arctic border.
“We’re very pleased that we have so much training going on with American soldiers right now. They’re gaining experience in our Arctic conditions and we’re integrating our armies together,” Stubb said during a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday.
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For now, Stubb’s relationship with Trump has turned that path into a fast-track to diplomacy. Whether this personal chemistry endures in a changing political context remains to be seen, but for Finland, the gains are already tangible.
Stubb learned what other global counterparts did not. With Trump, a well-timed campaign can go further than any policy memo. And so far, that lesson is paying off for both men.
