President Trump has been abroad for less than 24 hours and already he's had two notably awkward encounters involving hands.
The first incident on Thursday involved Poland's first lady, Agata Kornhauser-Duda. After Trump shook hands onstage with Polish President Andrzej Duda, he saw the first lady headed his way with her hand extended and naturally assumed she wanted to shake his hand. She didn't.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Kornhauser-Duda apparently later shook Trump's hand.
Later Thursday, Trump was once again confronted with shaking German Chancellor Angela Merkel's hand — and this time he didn't refuse like he did when she visited the White House in May. Instead, the duo opted for an uncomfortably prolonged grip. Merkel seemed to make an attempt at smiling:
And Trump's handshaking on his trip abroad is just getting started: Trump is slated to meet with at least nine leaders during the upcoming Group of 20 summit, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
While you await the president's next cringeworthy handshake, revisit his past encounters with The Week's visual history of Trump's most awkward, tender, and aggressive handshakes.
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
