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Topics: Donald Trump, US News
James Moorhouse
A video has gone viral of Trump being 'outplayed' by the chancellor of Germany as he attempted to whip out his signature move as the pair met at the White House last week.
Donald Trump is certainly a man who splits opinion and his second term as US president has been controversial, to say the least.
The 78-year-old, who returned to the Oval Office in January, has already made some significant decisions that look set to have huge impacts on the economy, society and education in the US.
His anti-immigration stance has dominated the news in recent months, first starting when he deported hundreds of so-called 'illegal aliens' to one of the world's worst prisons, while ICE raids in LA have led to awful riots and protests in the last few days.
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This rhetoric in the US was also highlighted when he moved to ban foreign students from attending Harvard last month, something which the university described as a 'retaliatory action [which] threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission'.
And who could forget Trump's decision to introduce tariffs on nearly every country in the world, something that has massively backfired for the US economy despite the president's plans to make America the richest in the world.
Whether you think his actions have been successful or not, there can be no doubt that the republican's signature handshake move recently didn't go to plan when he met with German chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The duo met at the White House to host talks on Ukraine, trade and troops, but it was something else entirely that caused the meeting to go viral on social media.
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It looks like 69-year-old Merz had clearly done his research when it came to Trump, as the US leader usually opts for a more 'dominant' handshake that sees him pull whoever he's meeting close to his own body.
But in this instance, which has now gone viral on Twitter, Merz quickly prevents the president from pulling him in and instead stands firm, something which has earned him a lot of praise on social media.
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Sharing the clip, NEXTA TV wrote: "Merz wasn’t just waiting — he was preparing for this meeting! Outplayed and destroyed Trump’s dominant handshake."
In the replies, one user wrote: "Pathetic power play. Trump tried his handshake dominance trick — and Merz shut it down without breaking a sweat. Bullies fold fast when someone grabs back."
Another said: "Trump is so excruciatingly embarrassing."
A third replied: "Merz came with a game plan, turned the power play into a power flex."
Another user said: "I saw that. Well played. He will not be bullied. Good for him."