Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have some odd history. The US president and his French counterpart don’t particularly see eye to eye and their strained relations have, over the years, been reflected in a series of rather intense handshakes – with one lasting for a full 29 seconds during a 2017 encounter. Crikey.
Their meeting on Monday was similar. The duo met to discuss European plans for peace in Ukraine, including the possibility of deploying western troops in Kyiv, after joining a call with other G7 leaders on the matter. The meet followed the US president’s claim that Britain and France had ‘done nothing’ to end the war in Ukraine – and Trump further snubbed Macron by not greeting him at the White House upon his arrival yesterday.
During the course of the visit, two rather bizarrely long handshakes were caught on camera – and when the Presidents shook hands again on leaving, there was yet another prolonged moment of awkwardness.
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