Donald Trump is continuing on with his first foreign trip as president and reports suggest that he is getting tired. After arriving in Israel, video caught First Lady Melania Trump smacking the president's hand away as he attempted to hold her's, which quickly triggered social media into a frenzy.
Twitter on Melania
When Donald Trump picked up steam in the 2016 presidential election, many wondered what role his wife Melania Trump would have in the campaign. Melania kept a relatively low profile, and when she was given the spotlight, would often find herself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The future first lady's first big blunder came at the Republican National Convention when it was revealed that her writing team had plagiarized a portion for former First Lady Michelle Obama's prior speech, and given to her to read off. Since the election and inauguration, Melania has kept her distance, opting to stay in New York City as opposed to the White House, and live with son Barron Trump for the start of the presidency. However, Melania decided to travel with her husband during his first international trip as commander in chief, but was found on camera swatting away his hand at an Israeli airport. Once the video was made public, Twitter users quickly had the news trending on May 22.
People are wondering if Melania Trump just refused to hold her husband's hand https://t.co/f3oTAAnkA1 pic.twitter.com/FmJyFGcw3i
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) May 22, 2017
As reported by Newsweek and many other sources on Monday, Donald Trump and company landed at an airport in Israel to kick off the second part of his trip.
As Trump went to grab the first lady's hand, Melania Trump could be seen smacking it away, though the White House has not yet offered an official comment.
Melania Trump smacks away the president's hand at Israeli airport https://t.co/IYjPqtvbt7 pic.twitter.com/V4xcJMADmR
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) May 22, 2017
Twitter reacts
In response to the video of Melania Trump rejecting Donald Trump's offer to hold hands, critics of the president on social media acted accordingly.
"Melania slapped Trump's hand away so fast!!" one tweet read.
@saabreu56 @Rosie @funder @LouiseMensch @PuestoLoco @TrueFactsStated @MELANIATRUMP if this is u slapping his hand away - break away. U can do it. U dont need him. U got $ & Citizenship. We got u girl, go ahead
— ❄ Stephanie Stone ❄ (@Stephademic) May 22, 2017
MELANIA TRUMP: PUTS PREZ IN NO HAND-HOLDING ZONE https://t.co/qUMpQtCxGk How often does this happen to you?
— Harvey Levin (@HarveyLevinTMZ) May 22, 2017
@Newsweek Haha no amount of $ in the world would make me hold hands with the orange man baby either!!😂
— Heidi Weydahl (@_heidirw) May 22, 2017
"Never before has a @FLOTUS slapped a @POTUS hand away on first foreign trip.
Thank you @FLOTUS (blink once if you're being held hostage)" one social media user wrote. "(she) is SUPER PISSED about something, she pushed #donaldtrump hand away!" another tweet read.
@netanyahu @POTUS @MELANIATRUMP Never before has a @FLOTUS slapped a @POTUS hand away on first foreign trip. Thank you @FLOTUS (blink once if you're being held hostage)
— mariusc64 (@mariusc64) May 22, 2017
@mwats05 @Newsweek @AltNatSecAgency Used to think she walked 3-4 steps behind b/c he's an ass. Starting to think it's *her* preference.
— Mark Carter (@mrc314) May 22, 2017
"MELANIA TRUMP: PUTS PREZ IN NO HAND-HOLDING ZONE How often does this happen to you?" Harvey Levin wrote on Twitter. "if this is u slapping his hand away - break away. U can do it. U dont need him. U got $ & Citizenship. We got u girl, go ahead," another tweet noted. The trolling continued as backlash to Donald Trump's foreign trip continued on Twitter.
