The Moment Everyone Missed When Trump Met Putin in Alaska and Body Language Experts Are Still Talking About What Really Happened During That Handshake

“Have you ever realized that the smallest moments can show the biggest truths? Get ready—what happened when Trump and Putin met in Anchorage is causing shock for all the wrong reasons.”

Picture this: Two of the world’s most powerful men walking toward each other on an Alaskan tarmac, and millions of people are watching every micro-expression, every gesture, every breath. The anticipation was electric. But what nobody expected was how much one simple handshake would reveal about power, politics, and human psychology.

The moment Putin stepped off that plane, Trump started clapping. And according to lip reader Nicola Hickling, he said just one word: “Finally.” Like he’d been waiting his whole life for this encounter. There was something almost desperate in that greeting, the way Trump added “You made it, fantastic to see you” with what witnesses described as a sharp intake of breath.

But here’s where it gets really interesting. Putin’s response was chilling in its simplicity: “I am here to help you.” And Trump, without missing a beat, shot back: “I’ll help you.” Two leaders of superpowers, making promises in plain sight that felt more like a secret deal than diplomatic pleasantries.

Then came the handshake that broke the internet.

You’ve probably seen Trump’s signature move before – that aggressive yank where he pulls people toward him, asserting dominance like some kind of boardroom power play. He did it to world leaders, celebrities, anyone really. It’s his thing. But watching him do it to Putin, a man who famously guards his personal space like it’s state secrets, was mesmerizing and uncomfortable all at once.

The comments started pouring in immediately. “Trump just asserted dominance before the meeting even started,” one person wrote. Another observed, “I know Putin felt that.” The internet was convinced they’d witnessed a power struggle in real time.

But here’s where the story takes an unexpected turn.

“Body language expert Patty Ann Wood noticed something almost everyone missed. Trump stood tall, shoulders back, wearing his usual confident smile. He even stepped forward to greet Putin, showing respect and eagerness. But when their hands met, Trump did something totally surprising—something you wouldn’t expect from him.”

He presented his palm upward.

This is absolutely surreal.

Putin in the US, at an air force base, getting into a limo to have a tet-a-tet with Trump on the way to actual negotiations. 🫣 pic.twitter.com/UnDA3O9AH3

— Olga Bazova (@OlgaBazova) August 15, 2025

Think about that for a second. This is Donald Trump we’re talking about. The man who turns every handshake into a territorial claim. Yet with Putin, he offered the more submissive position, what Wood called “indicating he sees Putin as more powerful.”

The contradiction is mind-blowing. In the same gesture, Trump both yanked Putin toward him (classic dominance move) and positioned his hand in surrender (classic submission). It was like watching someone try to be the alpha and the follower simultaneously.

Social media had a field day, of course. Some people couldn’t take it seriously at all – “They were playing rock paper scissors,” one Facebook user joked. Others were genuinely disturbed: “Trump caressing the top of Putin’s hand is making me feel awkward and uncomfortable.”

But maybe the most telling part wasn’t the handshake itself. It was the history behind it.

“These two had been circling each other ever since Trump took office. Their first encounter came in 2017 at the G20 summit—just months into Trump’s presidency—while Putin was already a seasoned political veteran. Yet somehow, amid all the high-stakes tension, they found a rhythm. At the 2018 Helsinki summit, they spent three hours behind closed doors. Just the two of them.

“Trump later said, ‘He’s clever and experienced—but so am I… We get along well.’”

That handshake in Alaska wasn’t just a greeting. It was the physical manifestation of a relationship that defies easy explanation – part rivalry, part mutual respect, part something else entirely. And in those few seconds of awkward yanking and palm positioning, the whole world got to witness the complex psychology of power playing out in real time.

What strikes me most is how that single moment captured something we all recognize but rarely see so clearly: the exhausting dance of trying to be powerful and vulnerable at the same time, of wanting to dominate while secretly acknowledging someone else’s strength. “It was messy, human, and utterly fascinating.”

Sometimes the most important conversations happen without words at all.