Macron Explains Tense Handshake With Trump, Calls It 'Moment Of Truth'

The white-knuckled handshake between newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron and President Donald Trump may finally have an explanation. According to Macron, the tense exchange ahead of Thursday’s NATO summit was “a moment of truth” between the two political leaders.

Quoted in the Sunday newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, Macron said, “my handshake with him, it wasn't innocent,” the Associated Press reported Sunday. Macron added, “One must show that you won't make small concessions, even symbolic ones, but also not over-publicize things, either.”

Read: Trump's Handshake With Emmanuel Macron Was 'Aggressive Move,' Expert Says

Macron’s comments seem to confirm suspicions raised by social media users, media and body experts alike: that the exchange was more of a battle of the wills than a friendly handshake. According to the Associated Press, “both men's jaws seemed to clench” during the gesture.

Weighing in on the tense exchange between the two world leaders, body language expert and retired FBI counterintelligence and counterterrorism operative Joe Navarro said that President Trump's behavior may indicate he does not understand the meaning of a handshake — particularly when meeting other political leaders.

“Diplomacy is about getting along,” Navarro told Mic Thursday. “One of the things we do with our handshakes is we establish comfort. We're saying, ‘I'm your friend. I'm the person you're going to be working with.’ That's what the handshake is supposed to be for, not some sort of sophomoric challenge between two alpha males.”

Read: Trump Lies To French President Emmanuel Macron About Backing Him Against Marine Le Pen In Election

Another London-based body language expert, India Ford, called the move “aggressive” in a Friday interview with Time and said it's an example of Trump “showing Macron who’s boss.”

“It's another aggressive move by Trump; he's pulling Macron towards his own face and he's basically saying ‘you will come to me, whether you like it or not,’” she told Time. “You can see Macron trying to get away from the situation — he puts his arms on Trump to stop him pulling him inwards. This handshake makes sense when you see the previous video. Trump's done this because of what Macron’s just done. It's as though he's saying, ‘Do you know who I am? You will not be doing that again.’”

Reasons behind some of President Trump’s behavior during his first trip overseas — including a number of tense handshakes in addition to his shoving the prime minister of Montenegro — remain unclear. However similar handshakes with politicians such as Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe indicate that President Trump has managed to turn an innocuous gesture of camaraderie into a grand display of machismo on more than a single occasion.