Trump Shares a Very Normal Handshake with Macron,” Viral Handshake Sparks Memes and Jokes
© Mike Segar, Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump made his first official international visit to France after his November election win to attend the re-opening of Notre Dame. During the visit, a 17-second handshake between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron quickly went viral, sparking a flurry of reactions from both the public and comedians.
In one clip, Trump was seen shaking Macron’s hand while lifting his right elbow at a 45-degree angle, a gesture that many interpreted as a show of dominance. The moment caught the attention of comedian Jon Stewart, who highlighted Trump’s commanding handshake during a segment on The Daily Show.
“Trump continued the long American tradition of not waiting until inauguration to become president to head overseas and meet with allies and remind everyone how f***ing weird he is about shaking hands,” Stewart joked.
Fox News and social media users also weighed in on the handshake. A tweet from a netizen mocked, “President Trump is back to dominating world leaders with his handshake. Macron is going to need a hand massage after all that twisting and pulling Trump did to him.”
Investigative reporter Drew Hernandez sarcastically wrote, “President Trump manhandles French President Emmanuel Macron with one of the most dominating handshakes I’ve ever seen. We are so back,” while NY Post reporter Diana Glebova remarked, “Trump shares a very normal handshake with Macron.”
This viral moment wasn’t the first time the two leaders engaged in a tug-of-war handshake. In 2017, Trump and Macron had another awkward moment when they shook hands for 29 seconds during a stroll. Author John LeFevre tweeted, “The Trump-Macron handshake is hilarious. Because it happened twice. And you know Macron was told to prepare, and probably practiced, and then still got dominated.”
As per The Independent, However, experts on body language observed that Trump’s behavior differed when interacting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tonya Reiman, author of The Power of Body Language, noted that Trump displayed “boss moves” with other world leaders but remained cautious around Putin. “He doesn’t put all smiles out, and he doesn’t lean into Putin, he leans away,” said Lillian Glass, a body language expert.
Patti Wood, author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, explained that Putin asserted his dominance during the G-20 Summit. “Putin is standing up straight in his body position and Trump is the one that walks toward him,” she said. “Trump is the one who initiates the handshake and Trump is leaning his whole body—not quite in bow, but leaning forward as a bid to bow.”
