U.S. President Donald Trump told NATO leaders he was feeling the love at the end of a two-day summit in Ankara.

But his actions show the U.S. president¡¯s own affections were directed less toward the alliance¡¯s European members than the leaders who appeal to his political instincts.

Syria¡¯s Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former jihadist, won sanctions relief. Volodymyr Zelenskyy¡¯s rehabilitation was rewarded with a deal on air-defense missiles for Ukraine. When Recep Tayyip Erdogan heard through his translator Turkey might be in line to buy the F-35 fighter jets he¡¯s long craved, he gave a jubilant thumbs up.