When Estonia’s much-feted prime minister, Kaja Kallas, went to Washington in November, she didn’t just meet with White House officials. She also made sure to talk to key allies of Donald Trump.

A month earlier, her foreign minister was in the heart of Trump country, thanking workers at a Lockheed Martin Corp. factory in Arkansas for their contribution to his country’s security – in the form of the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers made there. “It’s important that we take these messages not only to Washington but also to other part of American society, to states that are perhaps a little more conservative,” Margus Tsahkna told reporters.

The outreach is just one example of how countries around the world are delicately – but urgently – preparing for Trump’s possible return to the White House. It’s a reality that’s likely to resonate at this week’s meetings of the global elite in Davos after the former president’s convincing win in the Iowa caucuses further tightened his grip on the Republican nomination, setting up a probable rematch with Joe Biden, who lags in national polls.

Back in 2016, Trump’s election stunned US allies and rivals alike. This time, leaders aren’t taking any chances.

Residents of Washington’s Embassy Row have been scouring the city to meet ex-officials and anyone else close to the former president to get a read on his foreign policy plans. Some have even reached out directly to Trump, massaging his ego, or in Estonia’s case, seeking to head off his habitual complaint that Europe isn’t spending enough on defense.