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By Mihar Dias October 2025
If diplomacy were judged by the quality of one’s footwork, the Kuala Lumpur tarmac last weekend would go down in the annals as a high-stakes choreography: an American president cutting loose in his signature rally strut, and Malaysia’s own prime minister—affectionately known in political shorthand as “PMX”—smiling and swaying beside him. New York Post
The images were irresistible: pomp and protocol briefly given over to something entirely human, and oddly familiar.
After all, PMX has been known to dance his way into voters’ hearts long before the prime-ministerial podium ever arrived.
Donald Trump’s jubilant arm-pumps and slow-mo fist-thrusts are now a campaign trademark. That same “Trump dance” has turned up at rallies, on late-night stages and — now — on a crowded international runway, accompanied by the jaunty brass band and a flurry of flags.
It’s performance politics at its purest: the candidate as entertainer, the leader as master of the unscripted wink.
Journalists called it viral; aides called it optics; opponents called it undignified. The public, predictably, did a little of all three.
PMX’s moves, by contrast, come with a long domestic backbeat. Long before official duties and foreign summits, he was the candidate who knew why someone might dance on stage: to connect.
Videos and news reports from his earlier campaign days show him gamely stepping up to MGR classics and swaying with cultural performers at community events—tiny, deliberate gestures that said, “I see you, I’m one of you.” MalaysiaKini
Those are the same instincts that lead a politician to join a drum circle on an airport tarmac: a recognition that ritual, music and movement melt the distance between leader and people faster than any speech.
So when PMX and Trump shared the moment on the red carpet, it read less like mimicry than like meeting-at-a-crossroads.
Both men used embodied theatre to tell an audience a simple story: look, we’re not just officials; we’re humans who can laugh, who can be silly, who can participate in local ceremonies.
It’s a shrewd, sometimes risky, brand of populism. It plays well on social media, it humanises, and — crucially — it gives cameras a shot they love.
And yet there’s an awkward flip side. When leaders—especially those thrust into global power—trade too freely in theatre, the line between charm and triviality blurs.
A dance that delights can also distract; the laughter that humanises can obscure the harder news at the summit table.
We should enjoy the moment, sure. But we should also ask whether the same leaders who waltz into a photo op can tango through the harder choreography of negotiation, accountability and policy.
Politics has always had a performative vein. What changed is scale: a private jig becomes a global meme in minutes.
PMX and Trump understand that instinctively. One dips into cultural repertoire to win hearts at home; the other performs a familiar rally ritual that has carried him across campaigns.
Both know that, in modern politics, a well-timed move — literal or figurative — can change the headline.
So applaud the cheer, enjoy the clip, but keep your eye on the agenda. Politicians who dance must also know the steps that matter when the music stops.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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