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"They were heading for a charm offensive without charm," he said.

Coinciding uncomfortably with the leaked Signal chat and its Euro-bashing, the EU's trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic, along with the head of cabinet of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, arrived in Washington on Tuesday hoping to launch a charm offensive to try to stave off a new tariff onslaught.

Should South Africa's charm offensive fail, Mr Van Heerden suggests the government could opt to "negotiate hard" and use the minerals it supplies to the US as a "bargaining chip".

“This is a next-level and complicated charm offensive,” said Robin Swanson, a Democratic consultant.

But some nervousness seems apparent, with Lord Mandelson, launching a charm offensive ahead of Trump's inauguration on Monday, lauding his "straight talking and deal-making instincts" and talking up a new "Atlantic alliance".