Trump Catches Heat for Awkward Limp Handshake

Politics admin June 15, 2026 0 Comments

President Donald Trump is raising eyebrows with the limp handshake he shared with French President Macron.

Trump and his French counterpart awkwardly shook hands as Macron welcomed him to Évian-les-Bains for the G7 summit. The president appeared to barely put any weight into the handshake, as he limply took Macron’s hand into his.

The president’s low-energy greeting, coming just hours after his big birthday fight night at the White House, was not well-received.

“His hand!!! Jesus Christ,” popular Democratic user Jo Carducci said.

“Wait a minute, What kind of diplomatic handshake is this? Can someone explain it to me?” one user joked.

“Sure, Trump hasn’t had any sleep, but that handshake and his demeanor is him showing extreme disrespect to Macron….” another said.

The White House did not return a request for comment from The Daily Beast on the president’s limp hand.

Throughout their meeting, Trump boasted about the UFC cage match the night prior, even going as far as to claim that it was more popular than the World Cup.

“I called last night, very late last night to congratulate you because a French fighter won. I don’t know, is that maybe more important than the World Cup?” Trump told Macron. “To some people it might be.”

Trump also asked Macron if he watched the fight, to which Macron responded that he did not watch it live but appeared to say that he caught the highlights.

The president appeared to have regained some energy when he later greeted Brigette Macron. With her, he did his usual tug-of-war style handshake, which lasted about 14 seconds.

But his limp greeting with Macron is a stunning switch from his usual aggressive handshake style.

When Trump usually meets world leaders, he typically tries to dominate the handshake, as evidenced by his 14-second handshake with Chinese President Xi Jinping earlier this year.

His right hand is also perpetually bruised, which the 80-year-old president typically tries to cover up with makeup. His hand was covered with makeup just hours before he met with Macron after his birthday bash.

The White House has repeatedly asserted his decaying hand due to his frequent handshaking,” with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt repeatedly claiming Trump is “a man of the people and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history.”