Donald Trump’s Europe tour leaves leaders strangely shaken
US president’s first visit to Europe memorable for body-language battles and patchy understanding of the bloc
Donald Trump passes in front of Montenegrin prime minister Dusko Markovic (on his right) after he pushed him aside at a Nato leaders meeting in Brussels. Photograph: Etienne Laurent/EPA
Saturday 27 May 2017 06.00 BSTLast modified on Saturday 27 May 201720.16 BST
He crunched hands, shoved shoulders and struck poses. He scoffed chocolates, ignored protocol and harangued heads of state. He denied saying things he had said, then said things that showed he did not understand.It may, mercifully, have passed off without apocalyptic mishap, but Donald Trump’s first transatlantic trip as US president still left European leaders shaken.
First, there were the body language battles. Trump is well known for his efforts to dominate male interlocutors with a firm handshake, often accompanied by an arm wrench: notable victims include the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who survived a 19-second power grip in February.
In Brussels on Thursday for meetings with EU and Nato leaders, he was trumped by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, whose smile and squeeze – reporters present described “knuckles whitening” and “faces tightening” – were so fierce that Trump was forced to yield.
