Who taught Trump this stupid tug of war thing with his handshakes? ... This morning with the President of Paraguay.

[demmiblue]

Who taught Trump this stupid tug of war thing with his handshakes? Fred? Roy Cohn? Epstein? I guess it’s supposed to be some kind of dumb power move. This morning with the President of Paraguay.

— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2026-03-07T14:41:53.556Z

[Ocelot II]

1. He does it all the time, it's a dominance thing.

Some people are on to him. Justin Trudeau did this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalHumor/comments/pmi3uz/remember_the_infamous_trump_pullin_handshake_he/

[underpants]

2. His father. Always get a "win" no matter how petty as long as

YOU know you got the “win”. Even if you don’t win the whole deal, you know you got wins.

Handshakes
Tiny little verbal slights/nicknames
Cheating at golf
Making everyone stand while he sits
Two scoops of ice cream for him, one for you
Etc.

[Diamond_Dog]

3. Trump acts like a 10 year old bully. He is so embarrassing.

[mopinko]

4. a bit of toxic masculinity.

ppl make a big deal out of a ‘strong’ handshake, no matter how many arthritic hands they hurt.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. I hope that was a grimace the President of Paraguay got from Trump.

With Trump's bad knees, he'll eventually get toppled.

[dem4decades]

6. The idiot probably thought of it himself, it's something a 10 year old would do.

[3catwoman3]

7. He is such an insufferable jackass!

Absolutely no redeeming qualities. None, nada, zip, zilch.

That so many people were hornswoggled by this charlatan is a source of unending despair.

I wish the Vulcan neck pinch was a real thing.

[PatSeg]

8. It is rather mindboggling to watch

He got so much shit for doing it in the past, you'd think he would have stopped it. It certainly doesn't look strong and powerful, just dumb and childish.

[MineralMan]

9. It's his lame attempt to demonstrate dominance.

The other man in that clip is at least his equal in doing that.

It's a common strategy that many men use when shaking hands. It's also quite dickish!

[QueerDuck]

10. Other leaders have famously adapted to Trump's style.

Justin Trudeau countered by bracing himself and placing a hand on Trump’s shoulder to prevent being pulled, while Emmanuel Macron once engaged in a "white-knuckle" grip so intense that it left marks on Trump's hand.

[Ilsa]

11. He enjoys trying to knock others off balance.

So glad Trudeau and Macron dealt him some muscle and showed him his weakness.

[David__77]

12. Some mobster like Roy Cohn.