When a meeting without a protocol triggers a storm of commentary, it is rarely because of the conversation itself. Usually, it speaks to something deeper - the need to appear significant when one’s significance has long since leaked through the cracks of politics. That was the case with Boyko Borissov’s visit to Donald Trump Jr. - a meeting that officially never existed but somehow became political capital, valued in dozens of hours of media coverage and hundreds of thousands of views online.

In economic terms, the consequences of such a display can be more dangerous than the meeting itself. Bulgaria is a small country but large in the number of people eager to represent it to the world. When the leader of a party that claims to stand for statehood appears in a photo beside the heir of an American billionaire, it becomes an advertising campaign - not for the country, but for the politician himself. That campaign sells the illusion that his connections are international, his influence global, and his contacts priceless. Yet behind the façade, there is no institution, no mandate, no accountability. Only a private trip and a story retold on home soil with pathos and phrases like “I have always defended Bulgaria’s interests.”

The true interest of Bulgaria in such a meeting would have been to gain investment, political support, energy agreements, or at least a diplomatic tone. None of that happened. No document was signed, no joint statement issued, no press conference held. There was only a video in which Borissov, with his trademark blend of familiarity and grandeur, explained that “everything was on friendly terms.” Translated from political to human language, that means: “I achieved nothing, but I look as though I achieved everything.”

The so-called friendship between Borissov and the circles around Trump, however, has its own logic. Trumpism, with its blend of business, nationalism, and distrust of institutions, is the ideal environment for a man like Borissov - a man who sees the state as a private company and the people as an audience on a construction site. In that context, the meeting with Donald Trump Jr. was not accidental. It was a demonstration of belonging to the global club of “strongmen” who need neither procedures nor parliaments nor press offices to conduct politics.

Economically, that friendship may appear harmless, but it is a symptom of something deeper - lobbyist diplomacy. Bulgaria has a painful history with it: from the construction of “Balkan Stream,” through gold and energy concessions, to the political “patrons” who always appear whenever power changes hands. Even out of office, Borissov strives to remain useful to those who would like access to Bulgaria’s energy and infrastructure networks. The meeting with Trump Jr., whatever its content, was a signal: “I’m still the man who can make things happen.”

From Washington’s perspective, this is nothing more than an anecdote. America does not play games with politicians who no longer control institutions. But in the Bulgarian context, a single photo with an American is worth more than ten legislative bills. In a country where PR often replaces politics, Borissov knows that one smile with Trump Jr. will outlast all his explanations before the prosecution.

The meeting, however, did not pass without consequences. In Brussels, several Members of the European Parliament raised the question of why a former prime minister of an EU member state had participated in discussions with representatives of American business interests without diplomatic authorization. The European People’s Party, with which GERB is formally affiliated, declined to comment, but sources in the European Parliament told Politico Europe that such actions “do not help the image of a party seeking to rebuild its credibility.”

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria, rumors surfaced that people in Borissov’s inner circle had used the meeting to convince potential donors that GERB once again had “channels” to American conservative circles. Thus, political symbolism became an instrument of internal party marketing. There is no clearer sign that a politician has turned into a brand than when he uses foreign policy connections as an advertising campaign for personal use.

At the same time, another narrative emerged on social media - that Borissov’s behavior had humiliated not Trump, but Bulgaria. Because when a meeting happens in secret and is then explained loudly, it looks less like diplomacy and more like smuggling of dignity. In a world where heads of state sign agreements instead of exchanging quips, Bulgaria once again appeared as a territory where the personal and the public blend into indistinguishability.

Economically, the consequences may seem minor, but the reputational damage is lasting. Every nation is built not only upon its institutions but also upon the image it creates of itself. When its leaders appear in ambiguous roles before foreign businessmen, that image erodes slowly but surely. Investors are not afraid of risk - they are afraid of unpredictability. And nothing is more unpredictable than a politician who today is everyone’s friend and tomorrow everyone’s enemy.

In this sense, the meeting between Borissov and Trump Jr. was less a diplomatic mistake than a moral diagnosis. It revealed how the Bulgarian political class understands power - not as service, but as possession. Borissov does not need institutions because he is the institution. All he needs is a stage. And when the United States becomes that stage, it means he is not merely playing a role - he believes he can write the script.

But America is not an audience from the Balkans. There, lies are expensive, and shadows do not vote. In Trump Jr.’s world, political friendships are investments that pay dividends in influence, not in gratitude. The Bulgarian former prime minister, however hard he tries, remains a peripheral player in a global game where there are no invitations for a second act.

And yet, while Bulgarian media still debate whether the meeting was humiliating or historic, the real question remains unresolved: how many more times will we allow one man’s personal ambitions to masquerade as the national interest? Every such episode undermines the foundations of statehood, because it teaches that power is something you can carry in your suitcase as a souvenir.

Mark Twain would likely smile sadly and say that “in politics there are no friends - only accomplices.” And in this case, the accomplice may not even know he is one. Donald Trump Jr. has probably already forgotten the name of the Bulgarian who came to talk to him about the Balkans. But Bulgaria will not forget how cheaply one man tried to buy the respect of the greatest nation on Earth - without realizing that respect cannot be bought; it must be earned.

Thus, a meeting that began as a friendly visit became a symbol of how far a politician will go when he has lost the fear of shame. And perhaps that is the greatest lesson - that in the politics of small nations, humiliation often disguises itself as diplomatic triumph. Borissov left America without a contract, without a transcript, without an ally. But he brought back something far more precious - another myth of his own indispensability. And myths, as we know, live longer than truth.

Part I here

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