A peculiar interaction between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron in Sharm El-Sheikh yesterday has sparked an interesting debate online.
The political pair were joined by several fellow world leaders in Egypt on Monday (13 Oct), including Prime Ministers from Italy, the UK, Germany, Spain, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as well as Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority.
The purpose of the high-profile get-together was to sign a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that Trump put forward last week in a bid to secure peace in the Middle East.
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As per the American's proposal, Hamas agreed to return the Israeli hostages abducted during the 7 October attack in 2023, after Israel withdrew its military forces from Gaza, where a politically weaponised famine had been recognised by the United Nations back in August.
During Monday's summit, Trump was praised by his fellow politicians for the proposal of the ceasefire agreement, which outlined a commitment to end long-standing hostilities between Israel and Palestine, and promised to see Gaza's structures restored.
As we say, however, despite the Republican leader having received credit for his contribution to peace, many live broadcast moments from yesterday's political get-together have set tongues wagging for all the wrong reasons.
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This includes an excruciating moment that French President, Emmanuel Macron endured upon being welcomed onto the stage by his US counterpart, which followed an awkward-looking handshake that lasted almost half-a-minute.
Take a look here:
The embrace varied in both strength and grip over the 30-second period - and at some points, the Frenchman even appeared to be attempting to wrangle himself free from Trump's tight grip.
Sharing footage of the odd interaction on social media, one X (formerly Twitter) user questioned: "What the actual F is this?"
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In response, another critic went on to ask: "Is it an international arm wrestling championship?"
And another questioned: "Longest handshake world record attempt?"
A second hotly-debated moment from yesterday's summit also resulted in Trump being criticised for directing 'sexist' comments towards Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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"I'm not allowed to say it because usually it's the end of your political career if you say it," the right-wing leader added during his speech, before turning to Meloni, who was standing behind him.
"She's a beautiful young woman."
He went on to add: "If you use the word 'beautiful' in the United States about a woman, that's the end of your political career, but I'll take my chances."
Trump then addressed 48-year-old Meloni directly, asking: "You don't mind being called beautiful, right? Because you are."
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As we say, onlookers were far from thrilled with the comments, with one hitting out online: "This is a way of making her small and invisible, and making people laugh while he does it, while seeming like he's giving her a compliment.
"It's cruddy to the core. No one introduces a male leader and talks about how handsome they are. It's disgusting."
While another questioned: "Does he start with going on about how handsome he thinks men are in professional capacities? She's dealing with him in a professional capacity, not as a contestant in one of his beauty contests.
"It’s inappropriate to make any comments about her looks. It’s just creepy."
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News
Rhianna Benson