He has his people call their people. They set up a time to chat and patch through the call when that time comes.

领导人需要先让他的接线员打电话给对方接线员。他们会在这通电话里定下一个通话时间。

If the topic is sensitive, the NSC will offer the president an additional short briefing, and then listen in on the call.
如果通话话题很敏感，（美国）国家安全委员会将为总统额外提供一份简报，然后在总统旁边听他们通话。

通话过程中，虽然只有两个人在交流，但可能会有满满一屋子的人在围观。

World leaders usually have various people listening in on their conversations, including aides and interpreters.
通常会有很多人在世界领导人对话时在旁边听着，其中包括总统助手和翻译。

Even when leaders speak another language fluently, they often choose to conduct official calls in their mother tongue. "Sometimes that is down to national pride, but it's also to avoid misunderstandings and protect nuance," says Kevin Hendzel, a former White House linguist.
前白宫语言专家凯文·亨德尔表示，“这关系到民族自豪感，也是为了避免误解，同时保留语言中的细微差别。” 即使领导人能够流利地说另一种语言，他们也会在正式的通话中使用母语。

这就带来了一个问题。假设通话的两国领导人和所有助手都不懂对方语言，那么所有通话信息就只能通过两名翻译传达。

"There are no novices that work at the presidential level," says Mr Hendzel. "It takes a great deal of time for an interpreter to reach this stage. They are also experts in the subject matter, and they know getting a form of address wrong can be a deal breaker."
亨德尔称，“为总统工作的没有新手，一名翻译要经过很久才能做到这个级别。他们是这方面的专家，他们很清楚差之毫厘，谬以千里。”

US presidential translators will have passed security clearances, background checks and even sat polygraph tests, before they become privy to sensitive information involved in high-level diplomacy.
美国总统的翻译在获准接触高层外交中的敏感信息之前，必须通过安全审查、背景调查，甚至还包括谎言测试。

和大家印象中不同，“热线电话”指的并不仅仅是一部“电话机”，而是一整套的通讯系统。美俄两国之间的莫斯科—华盛顿热线就是很好的例子，它是一套允许美俄领导人直接沟通的高度保密的通讯系统。

The line, used to send text and images (maps, diagrams etc), was developed after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the two countries came close to a nuclear war.

1962年古巴导弹危机让美俄两国走向了核战争的边缘，此后，两国开通了这条用于发送文字和图像（地图，图表等）的专线。

虽说这套程序看似严密，实际上有的领导人也是因为电话闹过笑话的。

In 1990, then-President George Bush returned a phone call to a man posing as the president of Iran. "We were suspicious and began checking," said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater, "but, ultimately, the president needed to make the call as part of the check."

1990年，时任总统老布什回复了一个假装伊朗总统的男子的电话。“我们确实有点怀疑，并且进行了核实”，白宫发言人Marlin Fitzwater说，“但最终，我们还得需要总统亲自回拨电话来完成核查。”