What does Donald Trump's handshake tell us about the President?

Feb 15, 2017, 09:07 PM

Darren Stanton - Body Language and Deception Detection Expert - tells Clive what President Trump's 'unusual handshake' tells us about the US President

President Trump’s handshakes have all the finesse of a grizzly bear with a toothache. For President Trump it’s all about the assertion of power and control. The fact that he already knows he’s the most powerful man on the planet right now does not detract from the fact that you can take the businessman out of the boardroom but you can take the boardroom out of the businessman. Believe it or not, you can tell a lot about someone just from their handshake. Donald Trump is an expert at sizing up his opponents right from the outset. He employs a bone crusher handshake where he completely engulfs the other person. Its purpose is to convey power and confidence to the other person as if to say 'don’t mess with me'. Personal space is also a key indicator, Trump pulls the other person towards him in to his personal space. This is a great indicator of whether the other person is going to be relatively compliant. For example, if someone was resistant to being yanked towards him and stood their ground, he would know that he has work to do with them before he got what he wanted. The shaking of the whole hand and arm is much the same gesture where he almost shakes his opponent in to submission. He was virtually having an arm wrestling competition with Canadian PM Trudeaux.