Macron explains his tense handshake with Trump

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that there was indeed a deeper significance to the prolonged handshake he shared with US President Donald Trump in Brussels.

“My handshake with him, it’s not innocent,” Macron told the Journal du Dimanche in an interview published Sunday. “It’s not the alpha and the omega of politics, but a moment of truth.”

The two newly-minted leaders met in Brussels on Thursday and shook hands in full view of the press.

Pool reporter Phillip Rucker of the Washington Post, who was in the room, described it:

“They shook hands for an extended period of time. Each president gripped the other’s hand with considerable intensity, their knuckles turning white and their jaws clenching and faces tightening.”

Steve Holland, who covers the White House for Reuters, tweeted this: “The photogs noticed that Trump and Macron were gripping their hands hard… Trump seems to just want his hand back.”

On at least one, and maybe two, occasions during the tug of war Trump tries to pull away and Macron just keeps holding on.

Trump’s 1st foreign trip: 5 takeaways

Handshake history

The tense moment during Trump’s first trip abroad as President became the latest of Trump’s handshakes to draw attention online. In February, Trump’s lengthy handshake with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – along with Abe’s animated reaction – went viral.

Handshakes are a very big thing to this president, writes CNN’s Chris Cillizza. Trump seems to view the handshake as a sort of battle of wills and a battle for power all wrapped into one.

In addition to the awkward Abe shake, Trump has foisted his unusual tug-and-pull style on other high-profile figures, including Vice President Mike Pence and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Decoding Trump’s body language

Show of dominance

In the interview, Macron compared his own handshake to his leadership posture.