Macron says Trump handshake was ‘moment of truth’

FILE - In this May 25, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels. Trump hasn’t done a lot of public speaking during his big trip abroad. But the president’s body language and that of those around him has spoken volumes. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

FILE - In this May 25, 2017 file photo, President Donald Trump shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Brussels. Trump hasn’t done a lot of public speaking during his big trip abroad. But the president’s body language and that of those around him has spoken volumes. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says his now famous white-knuckle handshake showdown with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump was “a moment of truth” — designed to show that he’s no pushover.

Macron told a Sunday newspaper in France that “my handshake with him, it wasn’t innocent.”

Macron added: “One must show that you won’t make small concessions, even symbolic ones, but also not over-publicize things, either.”

Macron’s office confirmed to The Associated Press the veracity of the president’s comments in Le Journal du Dimanche.

At their first meeting, ahead of a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, the two men locked hands for so long that knuckles started turning white. The French leader held the shake for a few seconds more. Both men’s jaws seemed to clench.