It was the swat heard ’round the world; the snippet of Melania Trump appearing to bat away the outstretched hand of President Donald Trump went viral yesterday. Played again and again on the internet — a tweet by @Haaretz of the moment, in slow-motion, no less, has now been shared almost 50,000 times — the hand-holding fail symbolized perhaps a brief moment of acrimony between the two. Or it was something else, unknown and misperceived by the many people who have viewed the video.
A request for comment from the White House has not been returned.
In truth, married couples have their own, often unspoken, language, which could have been what occurred on the tarmac in Tel Aviv Monday, after the couple touched down on Air Force One and made the long, red-carpeted walk with Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu upon arrival. However, no such awkwardness Tuesday, when they returned to the airport, this time to walk from Marine One to Air Force One, and the flight out of Israel and onto Rome.
This time, they reached for each other’s hand and held tight.
But a few steps later, they unclasped, and the president saluted a service member.
And by the time they reached the plane, Trump was back to his usual ways, walking up the stairs, ahead of his wife.
After a few hours’ flight to Italy, the Trumps deplaned yet again, with another hand-miss to interpret?