Yesterday, as previously featured by Blasting News, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited with President Donald Trump at the White House, where each presented speeches, and attended a meeting of U.S. and German business leaders, which included an announcement by Chief Executive Officer Virginia Rometty that International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) will be hiring 2,000 veterans to train and certify in "cybersecurity." The Trump-Merkel meeting included an awkward moment where the German chancellor can be heard asking the U.S. president if he would like to shake hands, and he appears to rebuff her, apparently hearing her offer, and choosing to refuse it.
The Young Turks characterized the president as "baby Trump" in a recent YouTube video, on account of his behavior.
TYT host John Iadarola described Angela Merkel holding out an "olive branch" to Donald Trump when she offered to shake his hand, as the two posed for photos before a group of reporters in the White House. Mr. Iadarola observed that it appeared that Merkel believed that Donald Trump heard her offer to shake hands. Jayar Jackson, with TYT, stated that Trump's face "was of a person who heard something;" he elaborated that it was a "semi-smirk," and that the president appeared to rock in discomfort as soon as she spoke.
Did Donald Trump refuse to shake hands with Angela Merkel?
John Iadarola described the president's semi-smirk as being a "mischievous, childish, Trump look." Jimmy Dore, with TYT, commented that, because of the president's awkward handshake encounter with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe, among others, he may be avoiding handshakes to avoid looking like a "jackass." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, perhaps having studied the situation surrounding Trump handshakes, countered with a left hand to the president's shoulder when the two met in Washington, D.C.
The Canadian PM was described by John Iadarola as putting "the fear of God" in Donald Trump, with the reasoning being if a Canadian could do such damage to Trump's veneer, "image what a strong German woman could do."
Justin Trudeau cited as Trump-handshake game changer
After examining footage of Trump shaking hands with several political figures, Jayar Jackson speculated that the president is simply unsure how to shake the hands of women, shaken after his encounter with Justin Trudeau.
The TYT host observed that, through his long business career, Donald Trump must have shaken hands with many women. The hosts described Trump's standard handshake, pre-Trudeau, including a seeming "snatch" move, where the president pulls the recipient close to him, perhaps in a display of power. Iadarola noted that, in the past, Trump may have "gone in for the kiss" with a woman. Jackson observed that Trump may have considered that he "can't snatch her," in the wake of the Trudeau ordeal, and has been left at a loss of how to shake hands with the German chancellor.
