In an interview with The Journal du Dimanche, French President Emmanuel Macron stated the meaning behind his handshake with Donald Trump. The two newly elected figures met in Brussels earlier this week for the NATO Summit and the press quickly reported on this brief, yet significant moment, releasing pictures of Donald Trump’s white knuckles to the public. The two locked eyes for pictures but the handshake ended when Trump attempted to pull his hand out.
Donald is renown for initial meetings with world leaders and these moments tend to go viral online. When Trump met with Japan’s PM, Shinzo Abe, the leaders shook hands for nearly twenty seconds, and when meeting Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, the two had a situation similar to tug of war. Macron used this to his advantage and told the French media, “My handshake with him is not innocent, it is not the alpha and the omega of a policy but a moment of truth.”
Macron believes there is potential to establish a “cordial” relationship with Trump and later began talking about foreign affairs with the Journal du Dimanche. He explains his stance in saying, “Donald Trump, the Turkish president or the Russian president believe in the logic of the trial of strength, which doesn’t bother me. I don’t believe in the diplomacy of public invective, but in my bilateral dialogues, I don’t let anything pass, that is how we are respected.”
While handshakes can represent dominance and authority, Macron took this opportunity to present a voice to his country. He provides his thoughts in this mere interaction and tells JDD, “We need to show that we won’t make small concessions, even symbolic ones, while not overhyping things either.” With that simple act of a handshake, Macron projected a message of resilience for France and more countries.
