Earlier today, President Donald Trump—a phrase I still type with horror and astonishment each day—met with the newly elected president of France, Emmanuel Jean-Michel Macron, in Paris in celebration of Bastille Day. While the festivities did include a marching band rendition of Daft Punk classics, that somehow wasn’t the strangest occurrence of the day-long celebration. In a clip shared by NBC News, reporters witnessed an oddly intimate 25-second handshake between the two leaders. Trump, ever the strong-armed alpha of world leaders, doesn’t let up as Macron pulls away, instead drawing him in for a close embrace, patting him friendly on the back with a few whispered words, then taking a few steps over to kiss Macron’s wife on the cheek, all while still locked in tight handshake with the French President.
It’s not the first time Trump’s allegedly affluent social cues have left us scratching our heads, but just another embarrassing reminder of how utterly insane the current moment of politics feels at every turn. Truly on some slapstick Mr. Bean shit.
WATCH: Pres. Trump and Pres. Macron have a 25-second handshake before parting ways in Paris – @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/QOUKTAfNEN
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) July 14, 2017
