HOW DOES the world look to President Donald Trump? He certainly likes the pomp and ceremony of foreign monarchies. His first trip abroad as president was to Saudi Arabia, where he took part in a sword dance with King Salman and other Gulf royals. In Japan last month he was treated to a six-course black-tie banquet with Emperor Naruhito, complete with Mt. Fuji-shaped ice cream (not to mention playing golf and watching a sumo match with the prime minister, Shinzo Abe). Making a state visit to Britain, starting on June 3rd, Mr Trump was delighted by his formal dinner with the queen at Buckingham Palace, even though he did not have a procession down the Mall in a gold carriage (for security reasons).

But to judge from his Twitter feed, at least, Mr Trump’s mind is mostly elsewhere when he thinks about the globe. Worldmapper, an academic mapping outfit, analysed nearly 8,300 tweets issued by Mr Trump between his election in November 2016 and May this year. Of these, 1,384 mentioned foreign countries. The president’s idée fixe is Russia, which he has mentioned in 297 tweets, although this may have more to do with his loathing for Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election than with the president’s admiration for Vladimir Putin, the Russian strongman.

North Korea—whose leader, Kim Jong Un, Mr Trump has met twice—figured in 163 tweets. The United Kingdom, which enjoys a “special relationship” with America, was mentioned just 22 times, behind both France (37) and Germany (29). Japan has been mentioned 43 times.

Not that being mentioned in Mr Trump’s tweets is necessarily a sign of friendship. Often the opposite is true. Moments before touching down at Stansted Airport, the president was already on Twitter, issuing a bilious message denouncing Sadiq Khan, London’s mayor, as a “stone cold loser” (no doubt in response to Mr Khan’s criticism of the presidential visit). During his stay in London, Mr Trump harrumphed about Mexico, declaring that it “immediately stop the flow of people and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border.” But Britain’s monarch, at least, seems to have soothed his spirits: “London part of trip is going really well. The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic.”