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.
Article continues belowThe 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.