The Taoiseach entered the Oval Office with a clear strategy: to act as a bridge between the United States and Europe.
As members of the media bombarded the US President with questions, Micheál Martin held back for a while - assessing, listening and analysing the answers.
He interjected when he felt it was the right moment.
That came when the Donald Trump started, once again, to criticise the British Prime Minister.
He said Keir Starmer wasn't Winston Churchill, the wartime leader whose bust was placed behind him in the Oval Office.
Putting his schoolteacher hat on, the Taoiseach reminded Mr Trump of Ireland’s sometimes difficult relationship with Churchill, before defending Mr Starmer, calling him an "earnest, sound person".
"I just met with Keir Starmer last week. The British-Irish relationship is a very important one. Churchill was a great wartime leader, although in Ireland it was kind of a different perspective in terms of our own War of Independence and so on - he created his own bit of difficulties for us."
Taoiseach's three-minute defence of Starmer, Europe and peace
It turned out to be an extraordinary moment: an Irish Taoiseach defending a British Prime Minister to the US President in the Oval Office.
The Taoiseach didn’t opt to walk a diplomatic tightrope when he defended Ireland’s neighbour, and then the European way of life.
After a few attempts to speak during the meeting, Mr Martin eventually broke through the loud questions from the press to have his say.
The Taoiseach said Europe was sometimes "characterised wrongly in terms of it being overrun", and that there are now "stronger mechanisms in place" to facilitate legal migration.
Both comments didn’t get much pushback from Mr Trump, who appeared to listen intently to the Taoiseach's responses.
That being said, the Taoiseach chose his moments too when not to interfere.
He refused to comment when an Irish journalist clearly and loudly asked for his opinion on the bombing of an Iranian school and didn't correct the US President when he referred to the Irish President Catherine Connolly as a "he".
Mr Martin told RTÉ yesterday that he hadn't had time to plan or game things out, but his performance suggests otherwise.
Overall, his time in the Oval Office will likely go down as a notable moment of diplomacy, as the Taoiseach made his position clear without creating tension.
