![\"Trump](\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.towleroad.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/handshake.jpeg?resize=600%2C336\")
<\/p>\nDonald Trump and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Engage in Awkward, Neverending Handshake: WATCH<\/b><\/p>\n
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Check out\u00a0the not-awkward-at-all\u00a019-second handshake between Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the gritted teeth, and Abe\u2019s eye roll\u00a0at the end.<\/p>\n
\n[Trump and Abe hold hands for 19 seconds]<\/p>\n
Trump: \u201cStrong hands.\u201d [golf swing] pic.twitter.com\/ytPGgwlI3W<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) February 10, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Another perspective. Yep it was that awkward:<\/p>\n
\nAn honor to host Prime Minister @AbeShinzo<\/a> in the United States. pic.twitter.com\/f6TvfZ6sMj<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 President Trump (@POTUS) February 10, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Politico notes that the body language so far has been unusual<\/a>:<\/p>\n
The president greeted Abe like an old friend Friday morning, meeting him personally at the front door to the West Wing, where the two men<\/a> hugged, shook hands, then hugged again. That interaction, too, seemed a bit off, with Trump appearing unprepared for the second hug.<\/p>\n
Later, at their bilateral press conference, Trump elaborated on the greeting, saying, \u201cI shook hands, but I grabbed him and hugged him because that\u2019s the way we feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump began the press conference by welcoming Abe to the \u201cvery famous White House\u201d but focused his opening remarks largely on the defense and trade relationships between the U.S. and Japan. As he wrapped up, Trump said he and Abe have \u201cdeveloped a great friendship\u201d and that the two have a \u201cvery, very good bond\u201d and \u201cvery, very good chemistry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll let you know if it changes, but I don\u2019t think it will,\u201d the president said.<\/p>\n
Abe, in his remarks, brought up Trump\u2019s utter lack of political experience and then attributed his victory to the \u201cthe dynamism of democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the end of the handshake, Trump pantomimed a golf swing and said \u201cstrong hands\u201d which leads to the more pressing issue, their weekend golf date at Mar-a-Lago, which of course raises a boatload of ethical questions<\/a>:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president, in going about his work, should be completely separate from his commercial interests,\u201d Wonderlich told NBC News. \u201cThe concern here is that by hosting foreign leaders at his resort he is directly receiving money from a foreign government.\u201d<\/p>\n
And if Trump is putting Abe up for free \u201che is then donating money to a foreign government,\u201d said Wonderlich, who is weighing whether to file a formal complaint with the Office of Government Ethics. \u201cSo there is clearly a conflict of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan Libowitz of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the legal side, if the Japanese government is spending any money at Mar-A-Lago, the president is further violating the foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution,\u201d Libowitz, whose organization is already suing the Trump Administration<\/a> for alleged ethical violations, said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The post Donald Trump and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Engage in Awkward, Neverending Handshake: WATCH<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n