President Donald Trump is known for his unusually long and awkward handshakes with world leaders. However, when he tried the same thing with a group of young athletes, it backfired.
On October 20, the 79-year-old President met with college baseball teams of Louisiana State University (LSU) and LSU Shreveport, winners of this year’s College World Series and the National Championships, respectively, at the White House. After greeting the young athletes, Trump made a bizarre complaint that has left critics in stitches, while MAGA supporters are concerned about his health.
After shaking hands with a few, Trump turned to the podium and said, “They’re very strong hands, I’m noticing.”
“You know, they’re ripping me, they’re ripping my hand up!” he further said with a weird grin while shaking his hand in pain.
President Trump notes that LSU Baseball players have ‘strong hands’#LSU pic.twitter.com/wmUA2X6dy6
— Brian Holland (@BHollandSports) October 20, 2025
As this video surfaced online, people joked about his habit of firm handshakes, and rumors of his declining health were further fueled.
“I thought he was all about firm handshakes,” someone wrote on Facebook. Another joked, “Teeny tiny bruised hands from all the handshakes!”
A user commented, “Such a man baby,” while another comment reads, “If it ain’t Bone Spurs……. It’s handshakes? So delicate.”
Adding to Trump’s declining health rumors, a Facebook user wrote, “it’s a piece of his own medicine. He likes to do the rough handshake to assert dominance. Also, that is his port hand. Where they administer the drugs to keep him alive and kicking. This is why he has the constant bruising on his right hand… so yeah, handshakes would exacerbate that.”
“When you’re too old for handshakes, you’re too old,” wrote another.
Trump complaining about brief handshakes doesn’t sit well with the well-documented history of his extremely long handshakes with other world leaders. Most recently, he was seen doing a 26-second-long handshake with French President Emmanuel Macron. Observers and analysts called it less of a handshake and more of Trump’s grip on Macron to assert his dominance.
Fox News referred to the awkward handshake as a “Power Grip” on Trump’s part, as the network shared a clip of the diplomatic arm-wrestle.
POWER GRIP: Trump and Macron’s handshake turns into a diplomatic arm wrestle caught on camera. pic.twitter.com/Q0GNMzesdI
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 14, 2025
Meanwhile, people are also concerned about Trump’s health as his bruised hand has been grabbing the limelight for quite some time now. While the White House maintains that the President is in “excellent” health, his public appearances and actions suggest otherwise. The White House didn’t disclose Trump’s diagnosis of CVI until his swollen ankles made national headlines.
However, when it comes to the bruised handshakes, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claims it’s due to frequent handshaking. Critics, however, aren’t buying this explanation and keep pressing the White House to be transparent about the President’s health.
