‘This cannot get any weirder’: Emmanuel Macron just had to pry Donald Trump’s hand off his knee

Donald Trump is famously obsessed with trying to physically dominate anyone he comes in contact with. Multiple world leaders have had to deal with a purposefully aggressive handshake combined with a sharp elbow tug, to the point where people rehearse the ‘Trump squeeze’ with a stand-in before they actually meet him.

French President Emmanuel Macron is better at this handshake game than most, to the point that whenever the two men meet there’s anticipation as to how far they’ll go. Judging by previous footage Macron’s tactic is to simply mirror Trump: reaching for his elbow or maintaining tightly clasped hands for as long as possible.

On Monday, Feb. 24, the pair had a particularly tense meeting over Russia’s war in Ukraine at the White House. Over the past week, Trump has proved terrifyingly willing to cozy up to Vladimir Putin and his ambitions to carve up Ukraine for its resources, a move that’s sent Europe into panic mode as they face the very real concept of Russia hungrily eyeing more territory.

Despite Macron and Trump being politically at odds, the two tend to get along due to Macron’s winning tactic of disagreeing and fact-checking Trump while also smiling and complimenting him. One might even call it something of a love-in. But, in a bizarre twist, Trump just had to take things too far:

LMAOOO, look at President Macron prying trump's tiny little mitt off of his knee.

WTF is even happening here?pic.twitter.com/8WoPK2GhPN

— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) February 24, 2025

After Macron briefly touched Trump’s leg, Trump quickly responded by gripping Macron’s knee. Macron reached down to grab Trump’s wrist and appeared to have to forcefully pry the hand away from him. Macron was clearly exerting some effort, but Trump pushed back and ended the bizarre interaction with a little slap on Macron’s knee.

I’m no body language expert, but it’s clear that Trump interpreted Macron casually touching him as a power play that must be responded to immediately, so his forcing his hand onto his knee even as it’s shoved away theoretically sends the message that Trump is the man in charge here. Let’s face it, it’s kinda weird that two of the most powerful men in the world are interacting with each other like apes jockeying to become an alpha male, but politics is the law of the jungle…

Responses indicate that Trump came off the loser in this interaction:

Agreed.

That's because he IS weak.

— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) February 24, 2025

Get DOGE on the line immediately:

He should put this in the email to Musk – a list of tasks he accomplished last week.

— Elna 🌻 (@ElnaMbioi62) February 24, 2025

And it’s an oldie but, let’s face it, a goodie:

Ohh, very nice! pic.twitter.com/qLxVuiE2JW

— windriderz49 💜 (@windriderz49) February 24, 2025

Given that Trump and Macron’s physical interactions seem to be escalating, we can’t help but wonder where the pair will go from here. Perhaps the next time they meet we’ll see the unedifying spectacle of the two men wrestling on the floor under the watchful eyes of Secret Service agents. Meanwhile, other world leaders should begin taking notes on what to do when their Trump encounter arrives, as the president has zero concern for personal boundaries and those hands can and will go everywhere.