French President Emmanuel Macron bragged to a Sunday newspaper this week that a handshake with President Donald Trump was “not innocent” and was instead a sign that the milquetoast Frenchman was not going to make even “small concessions” with Trump.
The handshake occurred Thursday in Brussels when both leaders were present for a NATO summit. In a video of the incident, which took place at a press gaggle ahead of the summit, the 39-year-old former investment banker is seen glancing at Trump’s hand before reaching in and squeezing, while clenching his jaw.
Although Trump did not appear to notice Macron’s furious efforts, the Frenchman was apparently very proud of his poignée de main, which some journalists noted turned Trump’s knuckles white. Macron subsequently told the Journal du Dimanche in an interview published Sunday that it was “a moment of truth”.
“My handshake with him is not innocent, it is not the Alpha and the Omega of a policy but a moment of truth,” he said.
Macron, who became France’s president earlier this month, added: “We need to show that we won’t make small concessions, even symbolic ones, while not overdoing things either.”
The enthusiastic French premier later grouped Trump with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin as leaders who focus on power.
“Donald Trump, the Turkish president or the Russian president are in a logic of balance of power, which does not bother me. I do not believe in the diplomacy of public invective but in bilateral dialogues, I leave nothing to pass,” he said. “That is how we are respected.”
The handshake came on the same day as another apparent stunt by Macron – when he walked toward the world leaders and appeared to swerve away from Trump in order to shake hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Macron subsequently shared his moment on social media.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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