“If he felt slightly out of place at Buckingham Palace or on the world stage, you revert to the familiar,” said Jon Meacham, a presidential historian, noting that while George W. Bush famously traveled the world with his feather pillow in tow, Trump instead brings his phone — and its Twitter app.

Meacham added that while previous presidents often traveled abroad to escape domestic controversies and elevate themselves as global players, Trump seems to tote the morass overseas, as if it is tucked into his carry-on next to the toiletries.

“What’s so predictable and self-defeating about Trump is that instead of using the world stage to escape domestic political strife, this for him is just another arena in which to be on Fox News,” Meacham said. “You’re not making peace and commemorating our dead. You’re making points and bestowing nicknames.”

Trump has long existed in a split-screen presidency — the duties of the job juxtaposed with a shattering of norms. But in Europe, as he hopped between Britain, Ireland and France, the president seemed to enter something of a montage, perhaps set to the “Looney Tunes” theme song.