Donald Trump Emmanuel Macron handshake: Two world leaders shared three awkward handshakes with videos going viral - after being at it for 8 years

Emmanual Macron visited Donald Trump at the White House yesterday (Monday 24 February), and observers noted that the pair's "handshake battle" had resumed. The French and US Presidents have been in power at the same time for years, with an intermission after Mr Trump lost the 2020 US election to Joe Biden.

When they meet, footage usually shows the two men engaging in an enthusiastic handshake, which has been described as an implicit tussle. Footage has been shared online from 2017, 2024, as well as from the latest instance.

One video shows a 29 second long engagement during Mr Trump's visit to France for Bastille Day commemorations a few months after Macron first became President. The leaders seem to pull at one another, each keen to prove their strength.

A similar greeting occurred on Monday, after Macron got out of a car at the White House. The French President momentarily clasped his hand over Mr Trump's. It was described as "an absolute death grip of a handshake" online.

The men later seemed to hold hands in the Oval Office in front of the press, Trump placing his hand on Macron's knee. Jeremy Art took to X to describe the interaction as "awkward". Later, the third uncomfortable shake of the day happened during a news conference, which appeared to show Trump oddly twisting Macron's arm before they locked fists and faced the audience.