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Being in that meeting is not "falling into line". Everyone in that room knows who Trump is. There's no better way to know what needs to be done to fight him than to be on his good side.

"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer"

Time will tell who's schmoozing and who isn't.

I don't think an individual could afford to miss it.

That's the host exerting power.

On a personal level, it's an ego boost. "Then there was that time I advised the President of the United States" is a pretty good anecdote. Good enough to tip the scales away from making a statement for political or business reasons.

It's the name of the game - and it always has been.

> there was a lot of tough talk about fighting against Trump. Now it's all about working with him.

The tough talk was about fighting against his policy decisions, not against scheduling a meeting.