In a wonderful turn of events, French President Emmanuel Macron has completely and utterly owned up to his mangling Donald Trump‘s hand, claiming it was absolutely on purpose and was “a moment of truth”.
The two world leaders met late last week at the NATO conference in Brussels, and their excruciating handshake made headlines around the world.
just a completely normal handshake between two men pic.twitter.com/H8ziROSPLv
— David Mack (@davidmackau) May 25, 2017
“My handshake with him, it was not innocent,” he explained to French newspaper Le JDD. “It’s not the be-all and end-all of a policy, but it was a moment of truth.”
The newly elected president appeared to be getting along quite well with Canada‘s Justin Trudeau and Germany‘s Angela Merkel, but had zero time for Trump or his ilk.
“Donald Trump, the Turkish president or the Russian president see relationships in terms of a balance of power,” he said. “That doesn’t bother me. I don’t believe in diplomacy by public abuse, but in my bilateral dialogues I won’t let anything pass.”
The Washington Post reports that France’s ambassador the United States, Gerard Araud, had warned Macron to expect a handshake pissing contest with Trump – advice Macron clearly headed.
“That’s how you ensure you are respected,” he said. “You have to show you won’t make small concessions – not even symbolic ones.”
