'Charles is having none of it': Excruciating moment King Charles faced off with Donald Trump over 'toxic bully handshake'
King Charles and Queen Camilla have been in the US this week
King Charles has probably given tens of thousands of handshakes, but facing another one of US President Donald Trump’s ‘power’ handshakes is likely an uncomfortable experience.
Although, King Charles evidently didn’t let Donald Trump muscle him out of his greeting. In a now viral clip of the duo greeting each other on Tuesday at the White House, King Charles could be seen effortlessly styling out Donald Trump’s famously aggressive handshake.
The two leaders, who are both in their 70s, metaphorically butted heads as they took each other’s hands and had their first encounter of the week.
King Charles and Donald Trump’s ‘face off’
And visibly, neither would budge. In an obvious display of their grappling power dynamic, Charles and Donald ended up embroiled in a 10 second tug-of-war-like encounter.
However, it did seem that King Charles managed to win the power play with his tight grip. King Charles pulled against Donald’s attempt to appear firmer and seemingly his strength paid off.
It resulted in Trump seemingly stretching out his hand to end the stalemate.
Famously, when sharing a handshake with French president Emmanuel Macron, Trump held onto his hand for nearly half a minute.
Approximately 26 seconds the US president held onto the French president. In fact, it was said that Trump’s knuckles ended up turning white with the effort.
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One social media user penned under the video: “Charles is stronger than he looks.”
Another said: “Charles is having none of it.”
“Charles winning the handshake tug of war,” added a third.
During Charles’s similar experience, all Queen Camilla and First Lady Melania could do was watch on.
Camilla and Melania embraced to say hello to each other, avoiding any awkwardness. The king’s greeting with Melania was rather thorough – lasting just seven seconds.
Buckingham Palace’s statement after Trump’s claims about King Charles
This hasn’t been the only awkward exchange during the king and queen’s visit.
In fact, Buckingham Palace was forced to issue a statement following some of Donald Trump’s claims about the king in a recent speech.
Donald Trump said that King Charles shares his view that Iran can never “have a nuclear weapon,” drawing the monarch into a sensitive transatlantic dispute over the Middle East.
The assertion came during a state dinner in Washington DC, where the US President hosted the king and Queen Camilla on the second day of the royal visit.
The king made no explicit reference to Iran either in his address to Congress earlier in the day or in his own remarks at the dinner, limiting his comments to the broader “conflict in the Middle East”.
As head of state, the monarch is expected to remain politically neutral, with personal views rarely disclosed.
What did Trump say about King Charles’s alleged feelings about nuclear weapons?
However, Trump appeared to override this with his own claims.
“We’re doing a little Middle East work right now… and we’re doing very well,” he said. “We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we’re never going to let that opponent ever. Charles agrees with me even more than I do.
“We’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon. They know that.”
Buckingham Palace later reiterated that the king remains mindful of the UK Government’s established position on preventing nuclear proliferation.
A spokesman said: “The king is naturally mindful of his Government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.”
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