Presidential awkwardness continues.
President Donald Trump had another awkward moment as he shook President Emmanuel Macron’s hand in preparations to leave France. It was a seemingly endless handshake, completed by yet another even more awkward moment with President Macron’s wife, Brigitte, as Trump kissed her while holding on to her husband’s hand.
The Trump-Macron farewell handshake goes on … and on … and on … even while Trump kisses Brigitte Macron goodbye pic.twitter.com/ef5jQfnjIU
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 14, 2017
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Another angle:
While shaking hands goodbye with President Macron during the double celebration marking 100 years since the United States entered World War One as well as France’s annual Bastille Day holiday, President Trump couldn’t keep his eyes off of his prize, Macron’s wife Brigitte. Trump pulled her in for a kiss while grasping her husband’s hand – as his own wife Melania Trump looked on from outside the circle of awkward.
Friday’s lesson in being awkward and inappropriate came on the heels of Thursday’s lesson in how to violate protocol by treating your ally’s wife like a piece of meat.
Is Trump still desperately trying to one-up the French President with BMOC moves better suited to days before sexual harassment was a problem, or is he a lost little boy who was shamed by the press of yesterday’s move and trying to show everyone today that there are no hard feelings? Hard to say.
What is not hard to determine is that President Trump is fit to be around women. The weird, awkward way his eyes were trained on Brigitte recalled his bizarre stalking of Hillary Clinton during a debate. Trump thinks he can use a menacing sexual energy as a way to dominate the women (and their men) he encounters. This might be his idea of manliness.
Melania, standing on the outside of the three, ignored Brigitte’s efforts to include her, leaving her arm and hand limp as Brigitte tried to grasp it several times, until finally the two shared farewell air kisses.
Awkward. Inappropriate. Desperate. That’s our President.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
