Trump and Merkel met again, finally shook hands, and took some pretty awkward photos

pulse

July 6, 2017 8:57 PM

A day before world leaders descend to Germany for the G20 summit, President Donald Trump met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her hometown.

President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel shake hands in Hamburg, Germany.

A day before world leaders descend on Germany for the highly anticipated G20 summit, President Donald Trump met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her hometown.

As Trump and Merkel don't see eye-to-eye on some issues, many expected the latest meeting between the two foremost world leaders to be tense.

After Trump failed to shake Merkel's hand on her visit to the White House, the world was watching to see what would happen this time.

The photos perfectly capture the awkwardness of the encounter:

In March, Trump hosted Merkel inside the Oval Office. He then made headlines for appearing to ignore Merkel's offer of a handshake.

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After a quick visit to Poland on Thursday, Trump met with Merkel on the eve of the annual G-20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany.

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Many expected the encounter might be awkward and uncomfortable. Earlier in the week, Merkel implied that Germany could not "fully rely" on the US anymore.

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This time, Trump and Merkel successfully shook hands in front of reporters. "Merkel extended her hand first and then Trump shook it," tweeted MSNBC's Jesse Rodriguez.

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Climate change, trade, immigration, and global terrorism are all expected to come up at the summit meeting — topics on which Trump's views have clashed with European leaders.

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In particular, Merkel has signaled her disapproval of Trump criticizing NATO allies and pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.

"Whoever believes the problems of this work can be solved by isolationism and protectionism is making a tremendous error," Merkel once said, in what many saw as a nod to Trump.

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The photos on Thursday spoke for themselves.

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