Donald Trump won't hold his wife Melania's hand in public because he wants to be seen as a presidential alpha, a body language expert has said.

The president and first lady had an awkward hand-hold Friday on the tarmac of the Palm Beach International Airport. He had just arrived on Air Force One for a visit to his Mar-A-Lago resort.

Trump and Melania were holding hands when he first got off the plane. But the president abruptly let go to clap with the well-wishers who were there to greet him. Melania reached for his hand again, at which point he brought her hand up towards him, gave it two pats - and dropped it once more.

'Typically a hand-hold shows a couple as a unit,' body language expert Patti Wood told the DailyMail.com. 'But to me, I think he's been saying, "I want to be seen as the president on my own", which is very much alpha. "I want to be just the powerful me." And it's clear that that's his choice.'

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Donald Trump and his wife Melania had an awkward hand-hold Friday on the tarmac of the Palm Beach International Airport, after he arrived for a stay at his Mar-A-Lago resort

Footage of the interaction shows first Lady Melania was at first all smiles as she waited patiently to be reunited with her husband after his whirlwind week in Washington.

She gave the president a kiss when he got off the plane, in what was her first public appearance since Trump's inauguration two weeks ago.

Melania went to hold his hand as they made their way across the tarmac, but Trump then appeared to drop his wife's hand twice.

The couple initially walked behind a car on the tarmac while holding hands.

The presidential couple were initially seen holding hands, but Trump abruptly let go to clap along with the well-wishers who had come to greet him (pictured)

Melania then reached for her husband's hand again, at which point he brought her hand towards him and patted it (left) before dropping it once more (right)

'Holding hands can communicate so much about an individual and a couple, depending on the position of the hands, who reaches in first, who breaks it first,' Wood, who has written a book on body language and first impressions, said.

'What's fascinating, I think to all of us, is that they're holding hands at all. They hold hands in private, so we know that there's a coupleness that we weren't seeing in public or at the inauguration.'

But Trump let go to clap along with the well-wishers on the tarmac. Melania then grabbed his hand again, prompting him to bring it up towards him, tap it a couple of times, and drop it one more time.

The president appeared to be walking slightly ahead of the first lady, who wore a $2000 Givenchy red cape dress for the occasion, as he waved to supporters.

This was Mrs Trump's first public appearance since the inauguration. She has been at the couple's Trump Tower home in New York while their 10-year-old son Barron attends school.

The first lady, who wore a $2000 Givenchy red cape dress, was all smiles as her husband moved away to shake hands with well-wishers

Melania embraced her husband and gave him a kiss when he disembarked from Air Force One before they made their way across the tarmac

'Even though we've been hearing that Melania wants to be like Jackie O - she initiated this hand-hold. He clapped his hands to get out of it, which was very odd because basically he's clapping away from her,' Wood said.

'And then the second time she goes into a supplicant hand-hold in which she cups her hand up, showing, "I'm supplicant, I will take the bottom position but I want to hold hands." She goes into it and he goes out of that.'

The way Trump patted his wife's hand, using his flat palm with his fingers open, wasn't an affectionate gesture, according to Wood.

'It could have been affection if he'd cupped his hand, if he'd done it with sweetness, or if he had kissed her and done it,' she said. But instead, Wood added, the gesture was a clear way of saying no.

'He pulls it up towards him, it has some admonishing to it, some power, and then he has that flat hand to say, "No no." He's smiling as he does it. He's not mad. He's fully in control of what's happening,' Wood said.

The interaction, according to body language expert Patti Wood, shows that Trump wants to be seen as president on his own and appear as an alpha

Based on the rest of the interaction, as well as on other footage, Wood believes the presidential couple do hold hands - in private.

'He doesn't want to do it in public,' she said. 'It's very clear that she does, she would like that. That would make her feel connected and she would get some of that power and confidence, and he's saying "No, not in public." '

Wood has noticed a shift in the couple's body language since Trump entered the presidential race.

'They used to be very sexually affectionate, years ago, when they were first together, first married,' she said.

But now, their body language says that Trump 'wants to be seen as alpha,' according to Wood.

'He doesn’t want to give comfort or be seen as a unit in public. Since running for president, that’s an interesting choice. It changes your couple dynamics pretty dramatically if you had that before and now you don’t,' she said.

Deja vu? Trump was also seen holding hands with British Prime Minister Theresa May during her visit at the White House last month

In that instance too, Trump appeared to pat the British Prime Minister's hand as both walked along the colonnade of the West Wing



