BRUSSELS — California Gov. Jerry Brown's recent trip to the capital of the European Union had all the trappings of a visit by a head of state — he even got an upgraded title.
"Mr. President, welcome in Brussels," Brown (D) was told this month as he exited his Mercedes van in front of the European Parliament in the spot usually reserved for national leaders. Then he was whisked off to a day of hearings, testimony and high-level meetings in the heart of European power.
Nearly a year into the Trump presidency, countries around the world are scrambling to adapt as the White House has struggled to fill key government positions, scaled back the State Department and upended old alliances. Now some nations are finding that even if they are frustrated by President Trump's Washington, they can still prosper from robust relations with the California Republic and a constellation of like-minded U.S. cities, some of which are bigger than European countries.
Meanwhile, state and municipal governments are expanding or building new offices to help them manage the increased interest in Europe and Asia. This year, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) created the position of deputy mayor for international affairs to better manage relations with foreign governments.
Last week Garcetti huddled in Los Angeles with the Israeli president and Armenian defense minister. The latter stopped by on his way to a peacekeeping conference and briefly described his country's ongoing dispute with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Many world leaders say they have no illusions that they can avoid the White House on critical issues at the core of global stability, especially those related to security. But they have embraced efforts by Democratic governors and mayors to present a different face of U.S. power to the world, albeit at a lower level than the White House or State Department.
"There is an impression by politicians here that President Trump in person is no longer the voice of the free Western world," said Christian Ehler, a German lawmaker who heads the European Parliament's delegation for relations with the United States and helped broker Brown's visit to Brussels. "We are much more carefully looking now to the diversity of what is being discussed in the United States, and we see that California is one of the powerhouses of the world economically."
Ambassadors complain that even when they can secure meetings with administration officials, the policy is often unclear.
"The problem is that people don't know anything," said one Eastern European ambassador in Washington who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share his frank opinion. "They are quite open about it. . . . It doesn't matter what level. It is all levels."
Ehler said that although European countries always have had robust ties with U.S. cities and states for business reasons, the center of their conversations had shifted since Trump took office.
In the past, he said, the federal government was the focus on most big issues. Now when governors and mayors come to visit, "climate change or environmental issues, or regulatory issues, are the focus. Because these issues are dropping down from the capital level to the state or community level," Ehler said.
In the United States, local governments are still figuring out how best to influence policy debates and work with international partners.
