--- title: Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron Handshake: See the Evolution description: Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have managed to draw international attention for their at-times awkward interactions. Here's a look at them canonical: https://time.com/4856558/donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-handshake-evolution/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-13T16:12:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T05:51:12.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: See the Evolution of Trump and Macron's Awkward Handshakes og:description: It all started with a white-knuckle showdown og:url: https://time.com/4856558/donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-handshake-evolution/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79bcd3f71c97e8e1/6988d58e4ee2625c0a30e218/donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-handshake.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3728 og:image:height: 2097 og:image:alt: French President Emmanuel Macron Receives U.S. President Donald Trump At Elysee Palace og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See the Evolution of Trump and Macron's Awkward Handshakes twitter:description: It all started with a white-knuckle showdown twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt79bcd3f71c97e8e1/6988d58e4ee2625c0a30e218/donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-handshake.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See the Evolution of Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron's Awkward Handshakes > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a1fd598d-4a8c-4de4-859c-fdee29ca9260&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: A History of President Trump's Memorable Handshakes [Watch (HLS stream): A History of President Trump's Memorable Handshakes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nAQAXrmo.m3u8) (2:39)  _Published 2017-05-30. A look back at some of Donald Trump's most memorable handshakes with world leaders and U.S. government officials over the past few months._  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 13, 2023 5:51 AM UTCPublished: Jul 13, 2017 4:12 PM UTC  French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump prior to a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace on July 13, 2017 in Paris, France. French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump prior to a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace on July 13, 2017 in Paris, France. Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 13, 2023 5:51 AM UTCPublished: Jul 13, 2017 4:12 PM UTC President Donald Trump arrived in Paris on Thursday for a [Bastille Day](http://time.com/4854413/bastille-day-2017-donald-trump-macron-france-paris/) visit with French President [Emmanuel Macron](http://time.com/4814715/emmanuel-macron-president-donald-trump-assembly/), with whom he has shared several awkward handshakes in recent months. President Trump and First Lady Melania greeted their French counterparts outside Les Invalides before visiting the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. And when the Trumps left France on Friday, the leaders’ parting handshake lasted 25 seconds. Trump has demonstrated [an inclination for intense handshakes](http://time.com/4797283/trump-handshakes-emmanuel-macron-justin-trudeau-neil-gorsuch/), but in the short time since Macron’s election, he and Trump have managed to draw international attention for their at-times awkward interactions. Here’s how the Trump-Macron greetings have evolved: ## The swerve One piece of footage from the Nato Summit in May showed Macron walking toward a group of NATO leaders. He appeared to be moving toward Trump, [until he swerved](http://time.com/4795491/donald-trump-body-language-nato-summit/) to greet German Chancellor Angela Merkel first. “As far as Macron’s concerned, Merkel is the most important person in the line-up,” [India Ford](http://www.talkbodylanguage.co.uk/us/), a body language expert and the founder of [Talkbodylanguage](http://www.talkbodylanguage.co.uk/us/), told TIME in May. “When he swerves towards her, you can see Trump thinking ‘wait a second — I’m the most important person here.’ Obviously, in any line-up you’d go first to the person who demands the most respect. In Macron’s eyes that must be Merkel and Trump is not pleased.” When Macron greeted Trump shortly after Merkel, their first handshake resembled an aggressive “tug of war” that lasted too long. > [](https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/867807337364500480) ## The ‘knuckle-buster’ Their second handshake at the NATO Summit also lasted an unusually long time, as the two leaders maintained a tight grip that turned their knuckles white before they finally pulled away. “It’s a very aggressive handshake — it’s like a knuckle-buster,” Ford told TIME in May. > [](https://twitter.com/TIME/status/867866788578590726) ## ‘Tug of war’ style Trump and Macron met again at the [G20 Summit](http://time.com/4844756/donald-trump-steel-g20-china/) last week in Hamburg, Germany. According to a pool report description, “Macron came over and had another aggressive ‘tug of war’-style handshake with Trump, reminiscent of the drawn-out grip the two had in Brussels in May. This time, after a few seconds, Trump pulled Macron’s hand toward his chest in more of a hand clasp.” > [](https://twitter.com/TomNamako/status/883317860742950916) ## The French greeting Their [greeting on Thursday](http://time.com/4855860/donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-bastille-day-france/) appeared friendly — Macron put his left hand on Trump’s back, and Trump patted Macron’s arm. But once again, their handshake lasted an unusually long time, as both seemed reluctant to break away, even while Trump turned and appeared to comment on his surroundings. > [](https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/885494648919044096) ## The long goodbye At the conclusion of Trump’s trip to France on Friday, his parting handshake with Macron [lasted about 25 seconds](http://time.com/4858338/president-trump-emmanuel-macron-goodbye-handshake/). They held their grasp, even as Trump turned to embrace France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron and say goodbye. > [](https://twitter.com/CNN/status/885846952155516928) ## Transcript [ APPLAUSE ] He's become more famous than me. [ LAUGH ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Including Antonin Scalia and Robert Jackson, are much in my mind at this moment. [ APPLAUSE ] [ NOISE ] Gentlemen, [ INAUDIBLE ] [ NOISE ] [ LAUGH ] Thank you everybody. Thank you. 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