President-elect Donald Trump's post-election pace has been a marvel of swiftness, not just in terms of Cabinet picks, but also with regard to his return to active engagement on the world stage.
Strong evidence of Trump's bold reintegration into the ranks of world leaders came on Saturday during his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, with social media users remarking en masse about what many described as his forceful assertion of American dominance after years of liberal control, as Fox News reports.
As NPR noted, Trump received a grand welcome from French President Emmanuel Macron that was full of official pomp and admiration.
Upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace, Macron made an intentional display of the close ties between the United States and France, complete with posed photos of handshakes, smiles, and declarations of the “great honor” it was to receive his American counterpart.
“It's a great honor for the French people to welcome you five years later. Welcome back again,” Macron told Trump.
While Macron's words were surely noteworthy, it was a particular handshake between the two men that caught the attention of netizens everywhere.
Trump appeared to take control of the gesture, ensuring that his hand was angled high above Macron's during the exchange of pleasantries, and that move alone sparked a range of reactions from across the Internet.
An X user named George mused of Trump's physicality with the French leader, “President Trump is back to dominating world leaders with his handshake.”
“Macron is going to need a hand massage after all that twisting and pulling Trump did to him,” he added.
Conservative commentator Drew Hernandez was similarly impressed, noting, “President Trump manhandles French President Emmanuel Macron with one of the most dominating handshakes I've ever seen. We are so back.”
Writer John Lefevre joked, “The Trump-Macron handshake is hilarious. Because it happened twice. And you know Macron was told to prepare and probably practiced and then still got dominated.”
Colin Rugg, another conservative pundit, referenced a previous, awkwardly extended greeting between Trump and Macron that occurred in 2017, saying, “7 years later and the handshake battle continues between Donald Trump and Emmanual Macron.”
Macron was not the only notable name with whom Trump engaged during his time in Paris, spending roughly 35 minutes in a joint meeting with the French president and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country's conflict with Russia is one Trump has pledged to help end.
As the BBC noted, Trump also sat down with the Prince of Wales, someone he described as a “good man” who has been doing a “fantastic job” in his role, with Buckingham Palace declaring the discussion “warm and friendly,” in what appears to be a good sign for the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.
