Opinion | Flattery as Trump Management Strategy

One of the things that has been clear with Donald Trump’s win this time is how different it is: no shock wave jolting society. This is, according to polling, one of the presidential election outcomes most widely accepted as legitimate of the past 25 years. The reaction from some of those who didn’t vote for him seems more restrained, with a widespread interest in preservation of self amid potential chaos — a retreat from the news to focus on family, friends and peace of mind.

On the public level, we’re back in business in some way, back to an earlier pre-Trump era of normal relations, strategic silence, public deference and an antiseptic corporate friendliness — a bit of flattery, at times, for Mr. Trump. That kind of public sheen might also originate from the bone-deep acceptance of the hard and fast reality that this is happening again.

There has already been a surreal set of visuals from the past few weeks, both normal (congratulations and good tidings for the incoming president) and surreal at the same time (President Biden and Mr. Trump grinning in front of the White House).

Tim Cook, the Apple C.E.O., wrote on X on Nov. 6: “Congratulations President Trump on your victory! We look forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity.” Phil Murphy, the Democratic New Jersey governor, has already volunteered that he’ll attend the inauguration. Recently, the hosts of “Morning Joe” met with the president-elect. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues and we told him so,” Joe Scarborough said. “What we did agree on,” Mika Brzezinski said, “was to restart communications.”

These things are, again, both normal and surreal within this realist reset. Mr. Cook was one of the people during the first Trump administration who visited the White House to meet with Mr. Trump. At the same time, it’s somewhat jarring to see “Congratulations President Trump on your victory!” eight years into the Trump era, when it reads like something more out of 2012. Mr. Biden welcoming an incoming president to the White House is normal, but a few weeks ago, the White House press secretary said Mr. Biden considered Mr. Trump a fascist.

This month, Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, took up golf again to prepare for Mr. Trump’s presidency. “For our countries to continue our conversations, our president also needs to hit the ball properly,” a senior South Korean official told reporters, a perfect quotation. In one instance, you see the range of reactions — deference, vanity, strategy, comedy and an awareness of the deep dangers of the world.