You have probably read and watched more about the recent bilateral summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Donald Trump than anyone but a masochist should have to bear. However, there were some precious moments to savor.
A welcoming bear hug had Abe looking a tad uncomfortable, but that was nothing compared to Trump's signature handshake where he squeezes hard and pulls his reluctant counterpart into a long and uncomfortable clinch. It is one of those stupid Beavis and Butthead stunts that he pulls all the time, a macho mash that looks buffoonish. Abe finally managed to extricate himself while giving an eye roll that said, "Who is this clown?" And when Abe was speaking in Japanese, Trump nodded along as if he understood even though he was not wearing an earpiece for the translation, showing that he doesn't really care what anyone else says.
The social media had a field day at Trump's expense, but he seems immune to embarrassment. After all, this is a president who went out of his way to publicly humiliate a close ally, hanging up on Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for raising uncomfortable questions.
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