Anthony Albanese’s recent encounter with Donald Trump has garnered accolades from both political camps, yet an influence expert suggests it was a meticulously crafted scene where the US President intentionally took a backseat.
Despite it being their inaugural meeting, the Australian Prime Minister and the US President appeared like old comrades, sharing laughter and conversation at the White House on Tuesday.
Though the cordial atmosphere briefly chilled when Trump criticized Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, for some past disparaging remarks, the warmth quickly resurfaced as he refocused on Albanese.
During their discussions, the leaders formalized an agreement on a critical minerals framework, a strategic move for the US to reduce its dependence on China for technology components. This comes in response to Beijing’s stringent export policies, which have irked Trump.
Dr. Louise Mahler, an authority on communication and body language, highlighted their handshake following the signing of the agreement as particularly notable. Trump positioned his hand underneath, palm up, seemingly allowing Albanese to take the lead in the gesture.
“This is quite remarkable for Trump. I’ve examined his handshakes extensively, and he typically asserts control, often pulling others towards him,” she explained to the Daily Mail on Tuesday.
‘It broke all the Trump rules…. but clearly the instruction here was that Albanese must look like the leader.
‘I think the threat from China is more serious than we think, or they’re taking it more seriously, and that they’ve said Albanese must look like he’s a leader, and in association with America’.
Body language expert Dr Louise Mahler was shocked by a handshake between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House in which the Australian Prime Minister appeared to dominate the interaction
Dr Mahler said Albanese made an error by not looking at Trump during the interaction but she praised his initiation and that he ‘slapped’ his hand down onto Trump’s hand
Trump’s handshakes while in the White House have been widely critiqued, with the Art of the Deal author, at times showing superiority and at others deliberately outstretching his hand below his counterpart.
‘It really is beginning to look like you can read Donald Trump’s foreign policy by the bizarre ways that he shakes the hands of foreign leaders,’ one Guardian journalist wrote during his first term.
Dr Mahler, who has often criticised Albanese for his poor body language while in leadership, said the Prime Minister had transformed.
‘It is totally bizarre, first of all for Trump to allow that, and second of all, for Albanese to take the the opportunity to shake hands with Trump by bringing his hand from high above and slapping it down on top of Trump’s hand.’
‘It was a shock to me but I have to say to Albanese (deserves) credit where credit’s due,’ she said.
‘Normally under stress, he over-smiles, he looks pathetic. His jaw jams. His tongue goes slack and his eyes dart. (Today there was) none of that. He spoke strongly, he enunciated… He spoke clearly and his sentences flowed.’
She highlighted that Albanese had initiated the handshakes, which she said was rare when Trump usually ‘controls’ the handshake and ‘tests people for strength’.
‘He just let Albanese do it,’ she said.
But there were still some drawbacks, Dr Mahler added, including Albanese’s eyeline compared to that of Trump.
‘Looking at a hand while you shake is so amateur. I feel as though he’s cutting a piece of cake. He’s concentrating, that’s what I see… Trump is looking at Albanese; that’s what you’re supposed to do in a handshake.’
Trump in a meeting with former Canadian PM Justin Trudeau during his first term
Trump can be seen deliberately offering his hand from underneath to Trudeau
Albanese has also received praise surprisingly from former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has laid into the current leader for his approach to national security.
‘It was a good day for Australia,’ Abbott told Sky News on Tuesday evening.
‘The meeting went much better than it might have. The fact that we haven’t had additional tariffs, the fact that we’ve got clear presidential support for AUKUS, I think is a pretty good outcome.’
At the start of the meeting, Trump and Albanese signed the critical minerals deal which had been negotiated over four or five months, with Trump declaring: ‘We got it done just in time for the visit.’
‘And we work together very much on rare earths, critical minerals and lots of other things, and we’ve had a very good relationship,’ he said.
‘We’ve been working on that for quite a while.’
Albanese said the minerals deal would take the US-Australia relationship to ‘the next level’, adding that he hopes the deal can be used as leverage in any tariff negotiations with the US.
‘This is an $8.5 billion pipeline that we have ready to go,’ the Prime Minister said.
The two leaders had signed the framework of a critical minerals deal, which the US could use to help combat China, in what was the first proper meeting between Trump and Albanese
Albanese has been critical of Trump in the past – but it was all pleasantries when they met face-to-face as the Prime Minister described the two countries as ‘great friends and great allies’, and complimented the US President for his foreign policy initiatives.
He said Trump’s work in the Middle East, which led to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and remaining Israeli hostages being released, was an ‘extraordinary achievement’.
The President told reporters gathered for pictures of the arrival that he hoped to accomplish ‘a lot’ with Albanese and said his message to the Australian people is: ‘We love them.’
Trump praised Albanese for doing a ‘fantastic job’, and said ‘I hear you’re very popular today’.
‘It’s a great honour to have you as my friend… It’s a great honour to have you in the United States of America,’ Trump said.
Albanese invited Trump to come to Australia, which the President said he would ‘seriously consider.’
