Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron were captured engaging in a tense, jerking handshake on stage in Egypt amid the end of the Israel-Hamas conflict
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron appeared to engage in a war of words during a tense handshake captured at an event marking the the end of the Israel-Hamas conflict, it is claimed.
Mr Macron, 47, joined the US President and other leaders at a summit in Egypt, where discussions were held around the next steps for peace in the Middle East. Mr Trump, 79, and Mr Macron tightly clasped hands for nearly 30 seconds as they appeared to wrestle for physical dominance during a photo op.
A professional lip reader who viewed the interaction said the pair may have issued subtle threats and accusations at one another before agreeing to continue the conversation behind closed doors. Nicola Hickling said Mr Trump seemed to make retorts at the French President, who assumed office in 2017.
She suggested Mr Macron appeared to say: “Let’s handle this behind closed doors,” to which Mr Trump apparently said: “I only hurt the other.” Mr Macron reportedly hit back: “I see. We will have to see about that — you will see what is about to happen.”
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“I’d like to see you do it,” retorted Mr Trump. “Do it. I’ll see you in a bit.” It was the latest in a string of seemingly hostile interactions between Mr Trump and Mr Macron, including in February when the US leader rudely left Mr Macron at the White House door.
But the on-stage photo op was part of Mr Trump’s and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s co-hosted summit “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability,” according to the Egyptian presidency.
Twenty world leaders attended the meeting, including heads of Qatar, Palestine, Turkey, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, Norway and representatives from the United Nations and European Council.
Conspicuously absent from the summit were Israeli officials and Hamas representatives. Ms Hickling said that Mr Macron and Mr Trump’s testy interaction on Monday continued a long history of theatrical diplomacy, calling it an example of “power play by touch.”
“Repeatedly prolonged, tight handgrips between these two have a clear history as theatrical diplomacy. The squeeze here (Trump squeezing Macron’s hand while speaking) reads as an attempt to dominate the interaction physically while delivering a conciliatory/accusatory line,” she wrote in an email to The Mirror US. “This mirrors documented public handshake tussles between the pair.”
In attempting to disengage from the shake, Mr Macron appeared to favor a de-escalation, Ms Hickling added. The lip reader said there appeared to be a mismatch between Mr Trump’s words and body language.