Donald Trump appears to have gone full Donald Trump during his trip to Europe for his first major international summit.
The US President was in Brussels to meet fellow Nato leaders amid a global sojourn that has included the Middle East and Rome.
While Trump pledged a crackdown on US leaks of UK intelligence following unauthorised disclosures concerning the Manchester bombing, and delivered a confused attack on Nato colleagues, he also seemed anxious to be seen as the big man on campus.
First, while walking with Nato counterparts during his visit to the alliance’s new headquarters, Trump appeared to push aside Dusko Markovic, the Prime Minister of Montenegro. Watch the full video above, including slow-motion.
Many shared the sentiment of Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowling.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump met with France’s newly-elected president Emmanuel Macron. And it was weird. The Washington Post’s White House reporter, Philip Rucker, described the encounter:
“The two presidents, each wearing dark suits and blue ties (Trump’s was thick and royal blue; Macron’s was skinny and navy) sat in antique cream-upholstered arm chairs, with two American and French flags behind them. They shook hands for an extended period of time. Each president gripped the other’s hand with considerable intensity, their knuckles turning white and their jaws clenching and faces tightening.”
See for yourself:
Trump reportedly tried to escape Macron’s grip twice, but to no avail. Perhaps the French president was ready for the interaction, given Trump’s macho handshakes are already renowned.
After an interminable handshake between Trump and Shinzō Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister glanced to the camera a la Tim from The Office.
Here Trump is giving his nomination for the Supreme Court, Neil Gorsuch, his trademark alpha pump.
Perhaps Macron studied Canadian Primes Minister Justin Trudeau’s form.
But Trump, who has been likened to a “silverback gorilla” by Nigel Farage, was not to be outdone for too long.
When meeting the French leader for a second time, there was no escape from a full yank.