Do you know the awkward situation when you see an acquaintance on the street, and you don’t know whether you should approach him and shake his hand? So, looking at Donald Trump, it seems that his life consists entirely of these moments. Trump has the worst handshake you've ever seen, and we literally haven't seen any other politician who can't interact with officials as well as the current President of the United States.
What is he even doing?
You never know what to expect when it comes to Donald Trump. He is the absolute master of awkward situations, which he himself creates. Well, for example, look at his handshake.
Here's another ridiculous handshake performed by an American president.
It turned out very, very awkward.
What does he even allow himself to do?
To learn how to shake hands as easily and naturally as Trump does, you must firmly grab your opponent's hand and begin to forcefully move it back and forth, as if each of you were holding the handles of a two-handed saw.
And it will take you some time to shake hands with Trump.
As in the case of Donald Trump's 19-second handshake with the Prime Minister of Japan.
Of course, if you're lucky, you might avoid shaking hands with Trump.
Like, for example, Angela Merkel was lucky, when asked about her handshake, Trump answered... well, in fact, he didn’t answer at all, smiling stupidly and looking in the other direction.
As you may have noticed, Trump is good when it comes to awkward situations, and his latest handshake is further proof of that.
This happened when Melania Trump introduced her husband at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
After the performance, Trump walked on stage and... shook her hand.
See for yourself: “HERE IS MY HAND FOR YOU, MELANIA!”
Damn it, it's his wife. The mother of his child. After all, she is a woman.
This whole action can simply be described as: “Nice to meet you, Melania. Now come on, get out of here.”
As if the weird handshake wasn't enough, Trump also nudged Melania as she left
Why is he pushing his wife? She can't move normally without proper acceleration?
Hmm... and these people are married
Well, it’s just some kind of idyll.
When everyone shakes hands, Trump shakes hands.
Donald Trump often pats the other person's hand when shaking hands during formal and informal meetings. This oddity came under the close attention of millions of people who watched the broadcast of the meeting of the current US President with Shinzo Abe, the 90th minister of Japan and a significant statesman. During those 19 seconds - exactly how long the handshake of political leaders lasted - Trump managed to stroke Shinzo's hand no less than six times! In general, stroking the hand means an affectionate gesture of approval, but in fact its real purpose is to casually remind the other person of your dominance. This is what psychologists call a “status reminder.”
Another way Trump communicates his status to people is by patting them on the shoulder or back during or after shaking hands. If the other person is brave enough to touch his back in return, he tries his best to surpass him by giving an extra pat. The President instinctively understands the unspoken rules that govern such pats in a meeting - during which it is the person who considers himself more important who gives himself the right to "ultimate pat."
Meanwhile, the most striking thing about Trump's handshake style is his disgusting habit of pushing people away, or, more often, of pulling them towards him by the hand. American news clips are filled with examples of the president literally grabbing a person's arm and then abruptly pulling it towards himself - and he does this with his colleagues, dignitaries or while playing golf. Thus, during an official meeting with Judge Neil Gorsuch, he pulled the man's arm so hard that the unsuspecting judge momentarily lost his balance.
Therefore, when a meeting was supposed to take place this week between the President and Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, there was every reason to believe that the former would try to psychologically suppress the politician from the first minutes of the meeting. Judging by Justin's reaction, he was well informed about this: when Trump extended his hand, the prime minister quickly stepped straight towards him, grabbing his right hand with his free left hand. Thus, Trudeau managed to invade the president’s personal space, making it impossible for him to standardly remind him of “who is really in charge.”
So why does Donald Trump feel so much need to get physical with other people, and what does that say about his character? One of the most famous psychologist and body language expert in the United States, Peter Collet, deciphered the true reasons for such daring handshakes.
There are several possible explanations for the jerk-shake handshake. One of them is that Trump has an irresistible desire to bring people closer to him: by physically pulling a person towards him, he tries to transform the handshake into a vertical one, which is customary for more homely, close communication and is unconsciously associated with family. In this way he seems to want to force people to become as close to him as possible.
The second explanation is that the president subconsciously seeks to catch a person by surprise - by doing something that he does not expect at all. Indeed, can anyone suspect in advance that when they shake the president’s hand, he will try to tear it out of its socket? This attitude perfectly demonstrates Trump's unstable and unpredictable nature.
At the same time, a handshake is a very curious form of social communication, which obliges two people to perform the same action symmetrically. Thus, this ritual makes them equal to each other - symmetry in actions enhances symmetry in relationships. Because the president continually twists this tradition and deviates from normal practice and people's expectations, preventing them from reciprocating his unexpected handshakes, we can conclude that Trump, perhaps even unconsciously, constantly violates personal space, displays disdain and even contempt for others and questions valuable principles of equality and egalitarianism.
