The second handshake between U.S. President Donald trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday afternoon was the subject of speculations and analysis. Interest was high, not only because the event involved the presidents of two global superpowers.
Since Trump became the 45th president of the U.S., political pundits have been observing and analyzing his handshakes with world leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
Alpha male posturing
Equally interesting is the absence of a handshake like Trump’s first meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the almost absent handshake with the Polish first lady. With Putin, observers pointed to his alpha male posturing as the thing to watch out for in his official handshake with Trump.
The Telegraph dissected the second handshake as well as other body languages between the two presidents. The British daily’s analysis shows while the real estate billionaire made a joke, the former KGB spy prepared to lure his prey. Putin laughed at Trump’s joke which the Russian president saw as his opportunity to seize the moment.
The newspaper interpreted Trump’s laying out of a flat palm as a sign of victory for Putin, which was reflected in his triumphant facial expression.
He accepted Trump’s offer of a handshake by limply sliding his hands into Trump’s grip and made a smile of victory. After their first real encounter, The Telegraph interpreted Putin’s dejected face as saying, “And this is the praise I get for putting this man in the White House.”
Scenario from “House of Cards”
Beyond the handshake, Mashable said the scenario between Trump and Putin came straight out of a “House of Cards” episode.
The website posted a tweet of Alessandro Nardone who compared the photos of the two presidents with similar shots from the Netflix series.
Il giornale russo online @tjournal, provoca: la foto di Trump che da la mano a Putin, con quella di @FUNDERWOODHOC di @HouseofCards. pic.twitter.com/Yjac8TmgIB
— Alessandro Nardone (@alenardone) July 7, 2017
It was a case of life imitating art as the tweets and photos showed the similar facial expression of Putin with Viktor Petrov, his equivalent in the “House of Cards” series, and Frank Underwood’s similar facial expression to the American president.
It is not the first time that the Netflix series has shown parallel incidents between what’s happening in the White House and TV land such as the “House of Cards” episodes on Comey tweets and NSA hacking report.
Time reported that Patti Wood, a body language expert, noted Trump’s first handshake with Putin was different from his handshake with Merkel since it was the German chancellor who made the first move. She noted that Trump tapped Putin’s arm with his left hand during the handshake and later patted the Russian president’s back which are gestures that often are indicators of support.
