Trump, Macron Handshake: Presidents Forging Stronger Relationship Despite Awkward Start?

When President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris climate accords in June and French President Emmanuel Macron turned around on social media and invited American scientists to come to work in France in a video that ended with, “make our planet great again,” it looked as though the two leaders would not get along.

But, surprisingly, France’s youngest elected president at 39, and the U.S.’s oldest elected president at 70, (now 71), seem to have a strong working relationship.

READ: Macron Assassination Plot Foiled, As French President Calls For End Of State Of Emergency

Trump and Macron have come a long way since their first awkward handshake in May. “My handshake with him, it wasn't innocent,” Macron said at the time. “One must show that you won't make small concessions, even symbolic ones, but also not over-publicize things, either.”

In a Wednesday interview with the New York Times, Trump joked three times about the relationship. “(Macron) loves holding my hand.”

Trump detailed his July trip to Paris to the Times, a trip that ended with a prolonged Trump-Macron handshake.

Macron's invitation to Trump was a surprise given the initially awkward start of the relationship. It was also surprising that Trump would accept the invitation given his mercurial nature and an already planned trip to Germany for the G20 meetings.

“Macron asked, I said: ‘Do you think it’s a good thing for me to go to Paris? I just ended the Paris Accord last week. Is this a good thing?’” recounted Trump. “He said, ‘They love you in France.’ I said, ‘O.K., I just don’t want to hurt you.’”

Trump’s praise for the French president was effusive.

“He’s a great guy. Smart. Strong. Loves holding my hand,” said Trump. “He’s a very good person. And a tough guy, but look, he has to be. I think he is going to be a terrific president of France.”

Trump also was very complimentary of the Bastille Day Parade, an annual French military parade which this year marked the 100-year anniversary of the United States entering World War I.

“It was one of the most beautiful parades I have ever seen. And in fact, we should do one one day down Pennsylvania Ave,” said Trump. “It was a two-hour parade. They had so many different zones. Maybe 100,000 different uniforms, different divisions, different bands. Then we had the retired, the older, the ones who were badly injured. The whole thing, it was an incredible thing. ”

READ: Environmental News: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emmanuel Macron Team Up To Slam Donald Trump

Both presidents are political outsiders, new to elected office. Trump was a real estate magnate and reality TV star before becoming president, while Macron worked as an investment banker and briefly served as an economic minister. Macron ran as an independent, forming his own party and Trump ran as an unconventional Republican.