For world leaders, a handshake is never just a greeting. Monday’s handshake between President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron for a G7 summit was especially strange, according to body language experts.
Trump and Macron have a history of awkward, intense handshakes. In 2017, the pair shook hands for almost 30 seconds. Trump is known for tugging people toward him and not letting go, but that energetic, dominant style was absent this time.
A great handshake usually has firm elbow pumps and sustained eye contact, but this one had neither. When Trump and Macron shake hands, Trump’s wrist is limply straight down while Macron is reaching upward.
“Trump is literally hanging his hand downward,” which is what is known as a “dead fish” handshake, where the other person has to “do all the work,” said Denise Dudley, a clinical psychologist and behavioral expert.
Here’s what body language experts noticed about this unusually passive handshake:
