Handshakes and Donald Trump are often in the same spotlight, and another addition to Trump's growing list of unforgettable handshakes comes from a video clip of the president's foreign trip to Warsaw, Poland. In a video clip shared by NBC News senior editor Bradd Jaffy, it appears that the Polish first lady dodged Trump's handshake. But it may not be as deliberate as it appears: Agata Kornhauser-Duda, wife of Polish president Andrzej Duda, allegedly did not see the American president's hand as she was heading forward to greet Melania Trump.
Leaving someone hanging in a handshake can be embarrassing, but it's a common mistake that often happens during meet-and-greets. If you watch the clip, you will see that there is no actual snubbing from Kornhauser-Duda as she actually does wait for a fleeting second to greet Trump but then heads over to shake hands with Melania. As soon as she is done with meeting Melania, Kornhauser-Duda can be clearly seen reaching out to Trump to shake his hand. Enthusiastically, even.
This plain fact, however, got swept under a flood of reactions from users on social media who viewed the awkward miss-the-handshake incident as a kind of rebuke from the Polish first lady. One observer found the clip of Kornhauser-Duda missing Trump's handshake to be "badass."
As mentioned before, handshakes are a frequently reported feature of Trump's presidency. This is not the first time for Trump that a handshake (or initial lack thereof) became a remarkable incident. Trump himself missed an initial opportunity from Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose request for a handshake was met with silence at first.
There was also the incident of Trump shaking hands with French president Emmanuel Macron, which took on an unexpected element of uncomfortable intensity. Both leaders can be seen firmly gripping each other's hands as their knuckles turn paler and their jaws clench. Even Macron himself described the handshake as "not innocent." Trump's long and drawn-out handshake with Shinzo Abe of Japan was also reported for its peculiar nature.
Trump's handshakes with domestic figures like the vice president Mike Pence, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson have also been commented on and even rated on the levels of aggression, tenderness, and awkwardness — it's definitely a thing.
Given these previous handshake-related incidents, it makes sense that viewers online were quick to make assumptions about the Polish first lady and her handshake with Trump. But rest assured: Kornhauser-Duda did not snub Trump.
