Donald Trump’s return to the world stage has already given so much. The end of Pax Americana, Amerexit, tariffs. But it’s not all doom and gloom – Trump’s extraordinary body language is back, too, and never more astonishing than when he greets other world leaders.
Trump is famous for using brutishly alpha male posturing to disarm and dominate his peers – from the back slap to the chest puff and the iconic “death grip” handshake. The full array of his techniques was on display this week when he met French president Emmanuel Macron. Macron is well-versed in Trumpian tactility, and was evidently in possession of his own countermeasures.
Their touchy-feely meet-and-greet at the White House was slightly adversarial at first, but soon melted into a mutual love-in with both leaders playfully trying to gain the upper hand, eventually pawing frantically at each other like hormone-engorged teens. Hands fumbling hands, hands fumbling knees. Hands held, hands brushed away. The White House HR department would have intervened, had it not been disbanded.
The men have hand-to-hand history, including a famous bone-crushing encounter at the 2017 Nato summit. Macron gripped Trump’s tiny hand so tightly, his jaw clenched, his knuckles turned white, and he left indents. He later admitted purposefully prolonging his grip. “My handshake with him was not innocent,” he said.
But this time round things were different, says Stephanie Davies, behavioural psychologist and founder of consultancy Laughology, explains.
“There is an initial tussle, almost as if they’re about to play thumb wars which is a testing move to see who’s in charge. Then there’s a hug and backslapping, but it’s Trump who pulls Macron in, dominating and asserting his masculinity. Later, when they are sitting together there is a lot of manspreading as each of them tries to own the space.
“Macron appears to be playful and affectionate, borderline flirting – possibly deliberately, as Trump seems to enjoy it.”
Trump’s handshakes have gone viral before: patient zero was former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe who met Trump in February and was subjected to a full 19-seconds. Video of that epic shake shows a visibly shaken Abe attempting to leave the room after the encounter.
A patronising hand pat is another of his trademarks – and he’s not afraid to lead counterparts by the hand, famously on a captive Theresa May when she visited Washington in 2017.
However, observers have noted a marked difference in Trump’s second presidency – the exaggerated power-pats and crushing clamped handshakes, jostling, preening and posturing have gone, says communication and body language expert Judi James.
“He seems to have finally shucked off what looked like the Imposter Syndrome and relaxed more into his status and power – dropping all the showboating and sharing the stage and the spotlight, notably with Musk,” she says. She says, though, that Macron managed to push his buttons.
“Trump’s muscle memory came into play, and he joined in the power-battle, even slapping his hand on Macron’s knee twice in a bid to register authority,” adds James.
Indeed, while Trump has evolved, he is still prone to impulsivity and sometimes struggles to mask his feelings, as evidenced when met Governor of California Gavin Newsom this year. The men had beef – Trump had criticised the response to the Los Angeles wildfires, calling him “Newscum” – and it showed, as body language expert Carole Railton explains.
“Trump looked down until they came face to face, he didn’t open his body up. Newson’s body was completely stiff and directly head to head but Trump didn’t yield, he just patted Newsom on the arm and walked off in front of him,” she says.
But she agrees that generally the President has become more confident.
“When he was sitting with Macron, he held his hands together pointing down between his legs in a downward steeple pose, which signifies confidence. His mannerisms have changed. He used to hold his hands up in front of his chest, like a boxer. He’d come from an aggressive stance. He doesn’t do that anymore and is far more composed.”
Next up for the Trump Shake will be Keir Starmer who travels to Washington to meet the President on Thursday. The Prime Minister will need to employ some careful psychological trickery, according to James.
“I imagine he will fall into the ‘We’re total friends’ trap of over-compensating and end up grinning at and patting Trump to look confident and amiable. His best move would be to avoid any active signalling, as Trump will eat him up and spit him out.
The one thing Donald Trump loves about Britain is its monarchy, and James says Sir Keir should exploit his Britishness, and take inspiration from Prince William or Princess Anne.
“UK etiquette allows for a cool approach that gives nothing away apart from polite charm, which is perfect to create a superior profile without even trying. Sir Keir needs to channel the style of the royal family, which is the skill of looking polite but very faintly amused. Used well it can look non-committal and lethal at the same time.”
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