Polish President Says Trump Handshake Snub Is Fake News

Polish President Andrzej Duda criticized fake news reports claiming his wife snubbed President Donald Trump by missing his handshake and shaking first lady Melania Trump’s hand instead.

A number of out-of-context viral GIFs showed Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda only shaking Melania’s hand while the president waits. The whole video of the exchange, which is only a few seconds long, shows Kornhauser-Duda shaking President Trump’s hand right after shaking Melania’s. In the clip, it appears that the Polish first lady doesn’t see Trump’s hand and instead opts for Melania.

Contrary to some surprising reports my wife did shake hands with Mrs. and Mr. Trump @POTUS after a great visit. Let’s FIGHT FAKE NEWS. — Andrzej Duda (@AndrzejDuda) July 6, 2017

A number of mainstream media outlets like Time magazine, the Washington Post, and Yahoo News claimed it was a snub. “WATCH: Polish first lady hilariously rejects Trump’s handshake,” reads a Yahoo headline.

But President Duda, in a tweet, pilloried “fake news,” echoing statements from President Trump.





“Contrary to some surprising reports my wife did shake hands with Mrs. and Mr. Trump @POTUS after a great visit. Let’s FIGHT FAKE NEWS,” he tweeted on July 6.

Trump is visiting several countries ahead of the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, this week. “A strong Poland is a blessing to the nations of Europe, and a strong Europe is a blessing to the West, and to the world,” Trump tweeted. “THE WEST WILL NEVER BE BROKEN. Our values will PREVAIL. Our people will THRIVE and our civilization will TRIUMPH!” he wrote.