Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have been locked in a handshake style dating back to 2017. The white knuckle grip at NATO, the 25 second standoff in Paris where neither side let go, and the Oval Office exchange that turned into a long test of strength.
Over time, it became a familiar part of their meetings. Piers Morgan once summed up the genre after watching one of the milder ones: “I’ve missed the Trump-Macron arm-wrestles.” On Sunday at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, that same style extended to someone new: Brigitte Macron.
Footage from the summit, posted by Aaron Rupar with the caption “Trump does his weird handshake tug of war with Brigitte Macron,” shows Trump taking Brigitte Macron’s hand and holding on in the same way he has done with Emmanuel Macron over the years. It was the first time she had been on the receiving end of that style of handshake.
Trump does his weird handshake tug of war with Brigitte Macron pic.twitter.com/b4LZpg2sly
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 15, 2026
Viewers were quick to render their verdict.
Trump is losing control of motor functions…he’s not well.
— The Possum Politic™ (@PossumPolitic) June 15, 2026
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That’s why his hand is bruised. Women trying to get away.
— Dog Viper( Typokign) #smokefleet (@baumfek) June 15, 2026
The fact that he pulls her hand near his belt is gross and offensive.
— Valkyrie (@ruledbynoman) June 15, 2026
He probably doesn’t have enough strength to do it with men nowadays so he does it with women.
— Libs of FlipTok (@libsoffliptok) June 15, 2026
I don’t care who it is or what the occasion is. I’d ask the person to stop squeezing my hand so hard. Not all of us want to walk around with bruises like his on our hands!
— CogitoErgoScribo (@missy_mysh) June 15, 2026
She Just wants to get
away. Sad other countries have Real world leaders and we have that Embarrassment they’re forced to show undeserved respect.😞@EmmanuelMacron— Ksugar 🟧 (@Shnookie04) June 15, 2026
That used to be a thing. Now its just a way of steadying himself from losing his balance.
— MLittle69 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇨🇦🇲🇽 (@StruckDown4evr) June 15, 2026
In April, at a private event where tensions over Iran were already present, Trump spoke about the Macrons in clear terms. “I called up France, Macron, whose wife treats him extremely badly, still recovering from the right to the jaw,” he said, referring to a clip from the previous year in which Brigitte appeared to push Emmanuel Macron’s face away as the couple exited their presidential plane.
Macron later addressed that clip publicly, describing it as the kind of interaction that happens in any marriage and dismissing the wider commentary around it.
Sunday’s handshake came only two months after those remarks, at a summit where US-France relations were already strained over Iran and broader cooperation issues.
The Trump-Macron handshake has its own track record at this point. Fox News has previously examined similar encounters, with Kayleigh McEnany once breaking one down live on air: “There it is, we saw President Trump firmly grip the hand of Emmanuel Macron there, and a little bit of a pull back there from Macron. Been a bit of a battle going back to 2017.”
Featured image via X screengrab
