Trump's 'dead fish' handshake with Macron speaks volumes, according to body language expert

Body language experts have picked apart a strangely limp handshake between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit, and they reckon it says a lot more than either leader intended.

The exchange between the two presidents was unusually flat compared to their history of famously intense, drawn-out handshakes, including one infamous 2017 grip that lasted almost 30 seconds.

Earlier the same day, Trump was seen shaking the hand of Macron's wife Brigitte for a very long 13 seconds, with the exchange branded 'awkward'.

The US president is typically known for tugging people toward him and refusing to let go, but that forceful energy was nowhere to be seen this time around.

In the footage, Trump's wrist hangs straight down while Macron reaches upward to meet him, with no firm elbow pump and barely any eye contact between the pair.

Clinical psychologist and behavioural expert Denise Dudley told The Huffington Post Trump was 'literally hanging his hand downward', describing it as a textbook 'dead fish' handshake, where the other person is left to 'do all the work'.

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Video of the moment shows Trump closing his eyes just before shaking Macron's hand, something experts say points to clear disinterest in the encounter.

“God give me strength, I'm about to do this thing that I don't want to do,” Dudley said, describing what she believes the gesture communicated.

The timing has also raised eyebrows, with the handshake taking place just a day after Trump's late-night UFC celebration for his 80th birthday.

“It seems like someone stayed up too late,” body language expert Traci Brown told the Huffington Post.

“He's there in body, but that's it.”

Brown said the lack of energy was especially striking given Trump's usual 'yank-and-grab' approach, noting he'd held Brigitte Macron's hand for around 13 seconds, a sharp contrast to his brief, lifeless grip with her husband.

“It's off-brand for him,” she said. “His brand is power and force, and so this is the exact opposite of that.”

What does the handshake reveal about US-France relations?

Behavioural scientist Abbie Maroño didn't hold back either, calling it 'a limp handshake for sure'. She added: “He's very passive, almost like it's not worth his time... It felt so passive that it was disrespectful.”

For Dudley, the body language told its own story about the current dynamic between the two leaders.

She said the gesture suggested Trump 'can't be bothered to address this man and make it look pleasant', forcing Macron to 'come up in there and find his hand'.

She added that a dead fish handshake essentially signals 'I'm not going to give you my full energy; I'm not going to acknowledge you as an equal'.

That reading sits awkwardly alongside Trump's words at the summit, where he referred to Macron as 'a very special friend'.

Brown said handshakes 'tell you what's going on deeply unconsciously with people', while Maroño put it more bluntly: “This is a classic situation of words saying one thing and the body saying the other. And whenever the words and the body say different things, I always kind of lean towards what a body's saying.”

The White House have been approached for comment.