Macron annihilates Trump in the most awkward handshake battle of all time

Painful on so many levels.
 By 
Nicole Gallucci
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo

President Trump's infamous handshakes are getting downright vicious, but brave leaders of the world are starting to fight back.

Throughout his time in office Trump seems to have perfected his signature intimidating handshake, in which he firmly grasps the hand of his victim and powerfully shakes and pulls on it for a ridiculously long period of time.

On Trump's international tour, his handshake was first challenged (and defeated) by the president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, but on Thursday morning the newly appointed president of France, Emmanuel Macron, made Trump's hand pay for what it's done.

At the U.S. ambassador's residence in Brussels, Trump congratulated Macron on his "tremendous victory." Then, the highly anticipated moment of truth came: The two went in for the handshake. MACRON WAS PREPARED.

The French president showed tremendous strength and resilience during the shake, making faces that showed unrelenting dominance. Trump, on the other hand, appeared to weaken. The video clearly shows the U.S. president attempting to pull away towards the end, but his international host wasn't having it.

Let's take a closer look at Macron's accomplished and slightly menacing face:

And now a peek at President Trump, who appears to be slowly dying inside with his limp-looking hand:

Now while this certainly wasn't Trump's strangest handshake, the description provided in the White House Pool report is what makes this moment truly terrifying.

According to the report, "Each president gripped the other’s hand with considerable intensity, their knuckles turning white and their jaws clinching and faces tightening." LOL. Great. Wonderful. Everything is fine.

According to The Washington Post, Macron was so well-prepared for Trump's shake because he was likely warned about it in advance.

Washington Post's Jonathan Capehart reported that he asked Gérard Araud, Ambassador of France, if he gave Macron a heads up about Trump’s powerful handshake. "A look of surprise popped on Araud's face," he said. After telling him about "Trump’s affinity for the alpha male, grab-and-pull power pump that always seemed to reduce the other person to a rag doll," Araud reportedly said he would alert Macron. Nice going, man.

Naturally, Twitter users noticed the latest installment in Trump's bizarre handshake tour and shared their thoughts on Macron's challenging grip.

Round one round CLEARLY went to Macron, which was probably tough for Trump's ego to handle. But later that day he had his chance at revenge.

During a second handshake between the two presidents, Trump used his good old "shake and pull" concept once again, and yes, it was truly painful to watch.

Trump can be seen jerking Macron's arm back and forth until the French president firmly patted him on the arm to end the madness. Once Macron's hand was finally free, he used it to pat Trump on the shoulder and quickly moved on to other, more normal handshakes. Trump let him go, but not after he ensured he had the last shoulder pat. 🙃

Whoever's on deck for the next Trump shake should probably start practicing now.

UPDATE: May 25, 2017, 10:58 a.m. UTC Updated to include footage of a second handshake between Trump and Macron. Trump clearly attempts to recover from his Round One loss.

UPDATE: May 26, 2017, 3:30 p.m. UTC Updated to include news of Gérard Araud's handshake warning to Macron.

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Nicole Gallucci

Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.

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