Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron continued their ongoing handshake contest with a bizarre ‘arm-wrestle’ as they greeted each other at Monday’s peace summit.
The duo’s uncomfortable ‘death clasp’ handshakes have gone viral over the years, with footage from 2017 showing the two leaders locking hands for 29 seconds straight.
And they almost matched that during their most recent meeting ahead of the US president’s landmark speech on the day 20 living Israeli hostages were released home and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners delivered by the busload to the West Bank.
Trump drew his French counterpart in for a warm handshake before the pair each placed an affection hand on the other’s upper arm in front of a large crowd of photographers.
The embrace soon turned into something akin to an arm wrestle as the two presidents exchanged what seemed like intense conversation while swinging their opposite number’s hand from side to side.
Macron eventually freed himself from Trump’s grasp and hurried off the stage ahead of a busy day in Jerusalem.
The US president trumpeted ‘the dawn of a new Middle East’ during a speech before the Israeli parliament later in the afternoon, just over two years after Hamas militants invaded Israel and sparked a harrowing war in Gaza that wiped out about 67,000 of its population.
‘Israel, with our help, has won all that they can by force of arms,’ Trump told the Knesset while appealing directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the leader to strive for peace rather than armed conflict.
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron continued their ongoing handshake contest with a bizarre ‘arm-wrestle’ as they greeted each other at Monday’s peace summit
An embrace soon turned into something akin to an arm wrestle as the two presidents exchanged what seemed like intense conversation while swinging their opposite number’s hand from side to side
‘You’ve won. Now it’s time to translate these victories against terrorists on the battlefield into the ultimate prize of peace and prosperity for the entire Middle East.’
For the first time in two years, Hamas no longer has any Israeli captives. Over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel will also be set free as part of the deal.
Macron and Trump’s relationship has sparked interest among global onlookers over the last eight years and has often been punctuated with enthusiastic handshakes, bordering on the bizarre.
In February, the pair awkwardly shook hands three times as they met in Washington DC to discuss a possible end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Body language expert Judi James referred to the shake outside the White House as a ‘death clasp’.
‘With the eyes and the fate of the world currently resting on their shoulders,’ James told the Daily Mail, ‘this latest handshake greeting was always going to be riddled with signals of superior power and dominance.’
During a May 2017 meeting ahead of the NATO summit in Brussels, Trump and Macron gripped hands so tightly that their knuckles turned white and their jaws clenched.
Macron said at the time that the clinch of a handshake was ‘not innocent’ and meant to be a ‘moment of truth’ showing his US counterpart that the French leader would not be intimidated.
US President Trump arrives to address the Knesset, with Amir Ohana, Speaker of the Israeli Knesset, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem
The Republican and Netanyahu embraced before the US president took the podium
An Israeli member of parliament holds a placard that reads: ‘Recognize Palestine.’ He was later escorted out
President Donald Trump signed a welcome book before speaking to Israel’s Knesset. ‘This is my great honor – a great and beautiful day. A new beginning,’ the president wrote
They shared several more bizarre handshakes during Trump’s first term, which ended in January 2021.
In December 2024, after Trump won reelection over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, he and Macron were reunited in Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame, which had been severely damaged in a April 2019 fire.
Trump and Macron were back at it with the intense handshakes during that trip.
The watershed moment in Jerusalem on Monday solidifies Trump’s transition from New York dealmaker to global peacemaker. This was evident when the Knesset honored the US president with a nearly three-minute standing ovation and broke out in cheers, chanting ‘Trump, Trump, Trump…’
The US president also extended an olive branch to Israel’s chief regional rival, Iran, saying, ‘The hand of friendship and cooperation is open.’ Trump further noted that his next project is ‘getting Russia done’ and ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also received major applause. Kushner and Witkoff have been praised by Trump and the Israelis for their central role in negotiating the details of the peace agreement.
Still, there are already questions whether the ceasefire can hold beyond the release of hostages and prisoners.
Over the weekend, a senior Hamas official told AFP that disarmament is ‘out of the question,’ declaring that demands for the group to hand over its weapons are non-negotiable.
Trump greets French president Macron in February and the pair shake hands for 12 seconds
The leaders can be seen posing for pictures in 2017 while holding on to each other during the long handshake
In December 2024, Trump and Macron were filmed during another awkward handshake
Trump and Macron pictured above during another long handshake in June 2019
Macron and Trump pictured during an awkward handshake in July 2017
Trump and Macron clinch hands as they meet on the sidelines of the G7 in Quebec, Canada in June 2018
French President Macron invites Trump to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame in 2019 and marks the occasion with a little arm wrestle
And Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu has emphasized that the current ceasefire is temporary and that Israel retains the option to resume its military operations if Hamas fails to meet the terms of the agreement, particularly regarding disarmament.
While the president was speaking, a protest briefly broke out during Trump’s remarks as a Knesset member banged on his desk and began shouting. The activists were swiftly removed from the room.
Trump played it off swiftly by joking about how ‘efficient’ the security was in dealing with the rabble-rousers.
The 79-year-old president also lashed out at his predecessors for not prioritizing peace in the region.
‘All of the countries in the Middle East that could have what we’re doing now, it could have happened a long time ago, but it was strangled and set back almost irretrievably by the administrations of Barack Obama and then Joe Biden,’ Trump said.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana invited Trump to address Israel’s main legislative body during his visit to oversee a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that he brokered.
‘You, President Donald J. Trump, are a colossus,’ Ohana proclaimed as Trump sat next to him in the Knesset. ‘Thousands of years from now, the Jewish people will remember you.’
