Donald Trump has a signature move: the grab, the yank, the pull meant to leave the others scrambling for footing.
It’s worked on plenty of world leaders and even the wife of one man. But this time it had no impact.
Trump tried his signature tug upon greeting four-term Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
The exchange happened on July 3 after Trump landed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota for America 250.
The two men have not exactly been on good terms lately. Trump has repeatedly pressured the much taller Thune to deliver key legislation, but Thune says he lacks the votes.
After the U.S president also rejected a bipartisan housing bill, all eyes were on their meeting in South Dakota.
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Trump and Thune ended up in an awkward standoff after a forceful handshake nearly knocked the president off balance.
Trump reached for Thune’s hand, then slapped his elbow, but the Senate majority leader stood his ground.
He likely didn’t expect Thune to return the favor in a much harsher way that knocked him off balance.
Social media caught Trump’s stunned reaction as his power had slipped right out of his hand in real time.
Thune laughed as Trump scolded him before moving on to greet other military soldiers and shake their hands. The reaction online split sharply down the middle when a brutal snapshot of their interaction went viral.
Traitor John Thune just greeted President Trump as he got off Air Force One. Look at Trump’s face:
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) July 4, 2026
John Thune will be FIRED soon pic.twitter.com/IJPYOLyk1F
“Trump almost fell over when his grab and yank handshake failed because Thune was ready for it,” one person wrote on X.
Another said, “His power handshake isn’t working and he may be hanging onto Thune to stay upright. I hope Thune is OK.”
Two other shocked viewers said, “Whoooa” and “That he’s going [to] fall and need Thune support, after viewing the clip.
MAGA loyalists saw it differently after one photo was circulated online.
“You say, look at Trump’s face, I say, look at Thune’s body language. It’s like he wishes he could run away l o l,” one person wrote.
One tweeted, “Looks like a Handshake with a message. ‘Backoff Thune!’” Another wrote, “Look at John’s arch back. That’s an indication of being guilty of hating the person you’re shaking hands with. I don’t know about y’all but that’s a tell.”
Tension aside, Thune said, according to the Washington Examiner, he was looking forward to working with the president when he arrived.
This wasn’t the first awkward Trump-Thune moment.
A week earlier, at the Capitol, Trump stopped Thune with a hand on his arm as the senator tried to walk past reporters. He then stopped and held court with the press in attendance.
Thune clearly wants to walk past reporters but Trump puts a hand on him, stops, and says, "the war is going very well. We are winning by a lot." pic.twitter.com/FdjZuxNinP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 24, 2026
But Trump’s handshake game has been tested over the years.
One recent instance came at the G7 in Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 15.
Trump greeted French President Emmanuel Macron with his trademark power handshake, but Macron refused to be pulled off balance.
The U.S. president then moved on to Emmanuel’s wife, Brigitte Macron, reigniting a narrative that had been building for weeks.
Critics had already fixated on a separate 13-second handshake between Trump and the French first lady, arguing it looked more forceful than the one Trump gave her husband.
Trump and Brigitte Macron shake hands for 13 seconds.pic.twitter.com/G7cSrnipnO
— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 15, 2026
Macron pulled the same move in 2017, gripping just as firmly and refusing to let go.
Also in 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau countered Trump’s bullying move by squaring his shoulders and planting his feet.
Trudeau makes sense since he’s the same man who Trump’s wife, Melania, nearly kissed in a viral moment that he can never live down.
King Charles pulled a similar move during his April 27 White House visit. Cameras caught Trump attempting his signature tug, but the monarch held firm and reclaimed his hand without breaking his grip.
The king held firm and reclaimed his hand without breaking his grip, turning a ceremonial exchange into a moment viewers kept replaying.
In March, it was Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s turn at the “Shield of the Americas” Summit at Trump’s golf club in Doral, Florida.
The U.S. President went for his extended clasp, and the moment turned into a standoff. Peña held his ground, and Trump’s smirk at the end looked more like defeat than dominance.
His California nemesis, Gavin Newsom, has usurped the handshake and added some extra disrespect to it. Once in January 2025, not only did he grip him, but he also kissed his wife, Melania.
Trump’s buddy, President Vladimir Putin, avoided the tugging altogether on an Alaskan tarmac. In October 2025, he tried it again when he visited Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the handshake landing far less dramatically than usual.
Trump still throws his weight around every chance he gets. But Thune has, like so many other leaders around the world, refused to be bullied by the MAGA leader. The move might have simply lost its power.
