Trump Refuses to Shake Hands With Angela Merkel, and It’s Very Awkward

Are you still mad about the Time thing? Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump finally met with German chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Friday. The sit-down was bound to be slightly tense: Merkel has criticized the the president’s travel ban and beat out Trump for Time Person of the Year in 2015. Trump, in response to losing, tweeted that Merkel was “ruining Germany” and described her open-door refugee policy as an “utterly catastrophic mistake.” But this scene in the Oval Office between two key allies was something else:

Just to recap: Photographers asked Trump and Merkel to shake hands. Merkel leans in and quietly asks, “Do you want to have a handshake?” Trump continues to sit with his hands clasped between his knees. Like we’ve said before, Trump does not forget.

Trump Refuses to Shake Hands With Angela Merkel