'Clasp, yank, release': the great Donald Trump handshake tracker
Over the first 12 months of his presidency, if we have learned anything more about Donald Trump's 'people' skills, it's that he likes to dominate the contact. And for a head of state, that means letting people know who's boss with the handshake.
Repeatedly, Trump has proven that a handshake is a thumb war for him: a raging battle into which all four of his fingers will inevitably become embroiled.
It has been considered by body language experts to be a display of power and domination, his handshake has been characterised as a “yankshake”, a "clasp and yank” or – in the pages of this newspaper – a “macho arm-yank handshake thing”.
In essence, it breaks down to three key stages, (though this is an imperfect schema as no two Trump handshakes are identical; like snowflakes, ironically):
Stage #1: The clasp
In the early stages of any shake, Trump will clasp his interlocutors’ extremity with the firm grip of an American bald eagle grasping onto the unsuspecting rump of a prairie dog.
Stage #2: The yank
His opponent dazed, Trump will then yank them towards him, as if to say “I am an extremely strange man.”
Stage #3: The release
This stage is optional and rarely actually happens.
Let’s take a look, along at a choice selection of Trump's greetings that have earned him the mantle of Handshaker-in-Chief in Year One:
The never-ending shake
There was an awkwardly lengthy handshake when Macron and Trump first met on this trip in July (below), but this one, to say goodbye, was quite extraordinary. Some leaders have had shorter careers than this handshake.
Putin the feels on
It is well known by now that Trump cannot complete a handshake without something extra. A yank, a grab, a slap. In the case of his great friend Vladimir Putin, though, it was the 'delicate pat on the lower-forearm'.
Why not the upper arm like a normal person? We do not know, but let's just assume it's a secret signal.
Out 'alpha-ing' a Medal of Honour recipient
There are few more impressive achievements than winning the Medal of Honour, the US Army's highest medal of valour and its rough equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Trump, of course, has no military experience whatsoever, having reportedly dodged the draft during the Vietnam war.
A man of Trump's pride doesn't like to feel inadequate, though. Not one bit. So how does he prove he is just as big and strong and brave as Captain Gary Rose recently? With the grab, of course.
Not even a Medal of Honor recipient is safe from Trump's aggressive pull-in handshake power move thing. pic.twitter.com/IcPfwXHAKb
— Andrew Wyrich (@AndrewWyrich) October 23, 2017
Meeting the Macrons
By now this point Trump was rather chummy with Emmanuel Macron, but there was still time for a stern and awkwardly elongated handshake when they met in Paris.
Brigitte Macron didn't get off scott-free either, with Trump managing to fuse the French convention of a kiss on the cheek with a cack-handed version of his classic clasp-and-yank.
Struggling with the French convention of the kiss on the cheek, Trump opted instead for the Franco-American 'cack-handed hand hold' instead, as well as a kiss on the cheek.
Here's that awkward handshake between Trump and France's Brigitte Macron. pic.twitter.com/5Ci6lAWuV6
— Meg Wagner (@megwagner) July 13, 2017
When Trump met Putin
The world's eyes were fixed on Trump and Putin's first handshake at this month's G20 meeting in Hamburg, but it was a fairly anodyne affair, like two store managers from the same company meeting at an annual conference.
Luckily, a photo call later in the day provided more fodder for analysis (which we duly did, here).
The original Macron shake
That might sound like a limited edition dairy drink on the menu of a Champs-Élysées McDonald's, but it's actually a description of one of Trump's most notorious diplomatic handshakes, when he met first met the French Premier in Brussels.
Macron wins this game of chicken, maintaining a white-knuckle grip while Trump's hand squirms for freedom.
The rematch
Trump spies Macron approaching in the distance and fizzes with giddiness. He does a practice handshake with the man next to him, waits for his opportunity, and then launches into a fully fledged 'clasp-and-yank' with the French president. This was The Don's chance for revenge, and he seized it with one hand. The smile at the end says it all.
Shinzō Abe gets more than he bargained for
Japanese PM Shinzō Abe clearly enjoyed every second of his handshake with Trump. Lucky, because there were 19 of them in total.
Trudeau's bonecrunching greeting
Presumably Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had to rest his hand in icy water after this one.
Merkel gets the silent treatment
Trump here, seemingly refusing to return Merkel's invitation for a handshake. Arguably the biggest power-play of all.
Judge Neil Gorsuch receives the shake par excellence
Trump's pièce de résistance was delivered to then nominee to the position of Supreme Court Justice, Neil Gorsuch. A handshake so good it received a standing ovation.
Eyes Down
What do you do when asked to shake the hand of the man whose job you've taken after years of casting aspersion on his place of birth?
Don't. Look. Him. In. The. Eyes.
Obama's expression says it all.
