Thehandshakes ofDonald Trump, the 45th and 47thpresident of the United States, with world leaders have been the subject of extensive commentary.[1] Scholars have noted that politicians' handshakes are usually unnoticed or restricted to silent interpretation by the participants, and only in the case of Trump do they appear to receive widespread media attention.[2]
Notable incidents of handshakes (and avoidance of handshakes) have included interactions with French presidentEmmanuel Macron, Japanese prime ministerShinzo Abe, Canadian prime ministerJustin Trudeau, German chancellorAngela Merkel, and U.S. leaders including FBI directorJames Comey andSupreme Court justice nomineeNeil Gorsuch. The same characteristic or mannerism was identified during Trump's2016 presidential campaign, although not widely reported at the time.[2]The Washington Post reported that "Trump has a habit of sharing awkward, intense and sometimes downright strange handshakes with world leaders",[3] who prepare themselves to counteract the handshake from Trump.[4][5][6]
The Guardian said Trump's handshake style is a way to assert his superiority,[7] and theNew Statesman called it a show of masculinity.[8] Psychology professor Florin Dolcos finds it to be a part of Trump's strategic way of interacting with world leaders.[5] Commentators claim that Trump hasgermophobic views relating to handshaking;[9] At times, he has deemed handshaking to be "barbaric, disgusting and very, very terrible".[10] Trump's approach to handshaking became even more a subject of debate during theCOVID-19 pandemic, when he predicted that the social convention might come to an end, but as a politician he would continue shaking hands due to its "deep-seated symbolic meaning".[10]
Prime minister ofJapan,Shinzō Abe and Trump, November 17, 2016
Director of the FBIJames Comey, on January 22, 2017: Trump reportedly "pulled in Comey with that signature tug and an attempted hug" which was said to have "appalled" Comey.[1]
Prime Minister of JapanShinzo Abe, on February 10, 2017: their handshake lasted 19 seconds,[5] visibly disconcerting Abe[9] and prompting "a memorable eye-roll from the Japanese leader".[1]
Supreme Court Justice nomineeNeil Gorsuch, at his April 7, 2017, nomination ceremony: Gorsuch was reportedly "almost jerked... off his feet" by Trump,[5] who "yank[ed] the judge towards him as if he were a pet dog on a leash".[1]
President of FranceEmmanuel Macron, at the May 25, 2017,NATO summit: a five-second-long[9] handshake in which it was reported that Macron's knuckles turned white and Trump "appeared to painfully twist [Macron's] arm";[5][11] and onBastille Day, July 14, 2017: a 29-second-long encounter that was covered extensively, including a second-by-second commentary byCNN'sChris Cillizza.[12]
Donald Trump accidentally walks away halfway through handshake with Israeli prime ministerBenjamin Netanyahu in May 2017.[13][5]
Macron said that his five-second handshake with Trump in July was deliberate.[14][15][16] He said, "My handshake with him was not innocent."[14][15][16] He continued, "We need to show that we won't make small concessions, even symbolic ones, while not over-hyping things either."[14][17][18][19] Macron elaborated on shows of strength expressed by world leaders: "Donald Trump, the Turkish president or the Russian president believe in the logic of the trial of strength, which doesn't bother me. I don't believe in the diplomacy of public invective, but in my bilateral dialogues, I don't let anything pass, that is how we are respected."[20][21][22]
Trump said of his handshakes with Macron, "He's a great guy–smart, strong, loves holding my hand."[23][24][25] Trump said, "People don't realize he loves holding my hand... that's good, as far as that goes."[26][27][28] Trump explained, "I mean, really. He's a very good person... a tough guy, but look, he has to be. I think he is going to be a terrific president ofFrance. But he does love holding my hand."[29][30][31]
The Independent reported, "Some world leaders have started preparing for a handshake-showdown with the president. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attracted attention for his notably strong, extended grip with Mr Trump when the two met in February."[5]VOA News, a media outlet funded by the U.S. government, analyzed a series of Trump handshakes, "Since Trump took office on January 20, many world leaders, and even American politicians, have discovered they need to be ready for an unusual handshake from the U.S. president."[6]
CNN performed a second-by-second analysis of Trump's handshake with Macron.[12] CNN editor-at-largeChris Cillizza wrote, "President Donald Trump added to the growing lore of his handshakes with world leaders on Friday in France when he and French president Emmanuel Macron spent 29 seconds in a shake that turned into something much, much more."[12]The Guardian journalist Peter Collett commented, "Another way Trump reminds people of his superior status is by patting them on the arm or back during or after the handshake, and if the other person is so bold as to pat him back, he trumps them by producing an additional, terminal pat."[7] Another reporter atThe Guardian, Moustafa Bayoumi wrote, "it really is beginning to look like you can read Donald Trump's foreign policy by the bizarre ways that he shakes the hands of foreign leaders."[32]National Review journalist Noah Daponte-Smith commented, "the handshake between President Trump, visiting Paris for the occasion, and Emmanuel Macron, the recently elected French president. Trump has already achieved notoriety for his awkward handshakes, but this one is truly something to behold."[33]
Daponte-Smith observed the attention placed on Trump's handshakes with other world leaders, "Trump's conduct toward his fellow heads of state, both in one-on-one meetings and in larger groups, has become a topic of great interest over the last few months: his handshakes with Justin Trudeau, Angela Merkel, and Shinzo Abe have also attracted great attention."[33]New Statesman journalist Ruby Lott-Lavigna commented, "For President Trump, masculinity lies in the act of a handshake."[8] TheFinancial Times noted that Trump is a self-confessed "germaphobe" who once said handshakes were "barbaric".[9]New Statesman analyzed different tactics used by Trump for different world leaders.[8]The Independent consulted psychologists who described the handshakes as a "tactical" move.[5]The New York Times also consulted abody language expert who said this prolonged interaction was an attempt by each to show dominance.[34]
Time provided a chronology of Trump's handshakes over time, noting, "Newly inaugurated French President Emmanuel Macron drew international headlines when his knuckles turned white during an intense handshake with President Donald Trump at the G-7 meeting."Time observed, "Sometimes, a lack of a handshake says even more. The President drew similar fanfare when he declined to shake the hand of Angela Merkel, the chancellor ofGermany, when she visited the White House."[11]The Washington Post reporter Peter W. Stevenson commented, "Trump has a habit of sharing awkward, intense and sometimes downright strange handshakes with world leaders and U.S. officials."[3] Stevenson contacted William Chaplin, a profesor and the psychology department chair atSt. John's University inQueens, New York, for behavioral analysis of Trump's handshakes. Chaplin noted, "People with good handshakes tended to be more outgoing, more socially at ease, less socially anxious."[35]VOA News interviewedSuccess Signals author Patti Wood and Asheville, North Carolina mayor Esther Manheimer about the phenomenon. Wood observed Trudeau attempting to turn his experience with Trump into a "power handshake" by placing his hand on Trump's arm.[6]The New York Times reporter Katie Rogers noted, "Analyzing President Trump's handshakes with world leaders has become something of a sport."The New York Times consulted etiquette author Jacqueline Whitmore and body language instructor Chris Ulrich to analyze Trump's handshakes with world leaders. Ulrich noted, "The bottom line is that in every one of these, Trump takes up real estate in other world leaders' heads." Whitmore analyzed Trump's handshake with Macron, "Looks like both men are in a battle to establish their dominance and control."[34]
Trump's handshakes have been studied as a form of social ritual[36] andsemiotics.[37] From aninternational relations perspective,Ben O'Loughlin, professor of international relations atRoyal Holloway, University of London, conceptualizes Trump's handshakes with world leaders as beingstandoffs with a signallng effect: "moments of uncertainty when nobody knows what will happen, including the people shaking hands... [which] signal, together, Trump's standoff with international relations per se."[38]
^Wignell, O'Halloran & Tan 2018, p. 197: "Trump's handshake has received so much attention and has now become so notorious that other world leaders such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron have taken measures to counteract it."
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