Gotta give the man his due. Donald Trump may be the only person alive equally capable of charming Kanye West, Jim Brown, and Mitt Romney. However you may feel about his shtick on the stump, the guy must have a genius-level quotient of personal charisma in private conversation when he feels like summoning it. I wonder how it’ll translate in diplomatic meetings, with leaders from other cultures. It’s hard to imagine Trump and Merkel hitting it off in the same way it’s hard to imagine Merkel hitting it off with, say, Don King, but nothing would surprise me anymore. Brown sounds like he’s ready to sign up for the reelection campaign here.

Note what he says about being impressed that Trump held no grudges against his critics after winning the election, which I assume is a reference to Romney. I agree. Contra the speculation about Trump supposedly hatching a revenge plot to embarrass Romney by considering and then rejecting him for a cabinet job, the fact that he was willing to seriously consider Romney for State is one of the most encouraging things he’s done in the transition. If he can put aside personal feelings and consider the good of the country, he’s thinking the right way. Let’s hope it lasts.

Exit question: Romney and Kanye must, must be seated next to each other at the first state dinner, right?