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President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron on May 25.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump met Emmanuel Macron, the newly inaugurated French president, for the first time on Thursday, ahead of a NATO summit in Belgium.
2017-05-25
After pictures and an amusing pool report surfaced, the internet had a field day scrutinizing their handshake.
The pool report noted both presidents' "considerable intensity" and clenched jaws.
Their knuckles apparently went white during the tight grip, according to observers, and Trump, who is known for his intense handshakes, looked as though he wanted to disengage.
Check out photos of their interaction:
Initially, Trump and Macron seemed at ease when they shook hands in front of reporters and photographers in Belgium.
Thomson Reuters
Soon, however, "each president gripped the other's hand with considerable intensity, their knuckles turning white and their jaws clenching and faces tightening," a pool report said.
Thomson Reuters
"They shook hands for an extended period of time," the report said, and Trump looked visibly uncomfortable.
Thomson Reuters
Trump tried to let go of Macron's hand twice, while Macron held tight, reports said.
Thomson Reuters
The awkward interaction lit up Twitter. Sky News' Mark Stone likened the handshake to a competition.
Other reporters also weighed in. "If relationships were defined by handshakes, then Trump & Macron's is gonna be fierce," tweeted Philip Rucker, The Washington Post's White House bureau chief.
Sonam was a political correspondent who covered national security, foreign policy, and elections. She has interviewed former national security adviser John Bolton, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Rep. Adam Schiff, the special counsel Robert Mueller's top prosecutor Andrew Weissmann, Mueller's star witness Rick Gates, and former CIA director John Brennan.Sonam's work has been cited in The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair, and others. She frequently appears on MSNBC and has also made appearances on NBC News, BBC World News, BBC News radio, WNYC, and more.Sonam worked at CNBC before joining the politics team at Business Insider.
