On the heels of the most excruciating 30 seconds of handshaking ever, President Trump is trying to play down the incident during a New York Times interview, joking that French President Emmanuel Macron "loves" holding his hand.

As The Hill reports, the two leaders shared an extended departing handshake in Paris last week, which was mockingly timed by MSNBC. Anchor Katy Tur saying the two leaders were "enjoying new romance."

"The latest handshake that was seen around the world lasted nearly 30 seconds," she continued as an on-screen clock counted the seconds of the handshake. "There was a lot of leaning in with President Trump at one point using his other hand to pat Macron on the chest."

Macron told the Journal du Dimanche at the time...

"My handshake with him, it's not innocent, it's not the alpha and the omega of politics, but a moment of truth."

And now President Trump has his side of the shake...

"He’s a great guy - smart, strong, he loves holding my hand, people don’t realize, he loves holding my hand - that’s good!"

No matter what, this this manual ménage à trois never gets less cringeworthy.