President Donald Trump gushed over his budding bromance on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he believes 'loves' to hold his hand.

'He's a great guy — smart, strong, loves holding my hand,' Trump jokingly told the New York Times.

'People don't realize, he loves holding my hand - that's good!' the president said of Macron.

The French president invited Trump to attend Bastille Day festivities in Paris last week that ended with an epic, final 30-second handshake.

The epic 30 second handshake battle between Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Friday was a clear power struggle, a body language expert says

The pair shook hands as Trump departed a military parade during the Bastille Day celebration. They continued awkwardly clasping hands as they walked along the parade route

Trump was trying to show he still had power by taking Macron's wife's hand midway through their embrace, according to the body language expert

Their most recent embrace on Friday has been branded the 'most bizarre' handshake yet between the two world leaders.

Body language expert Patti Wood told DailyMail.com that Macron had the upper hand as the pair said au revoir at the conclusion of the US leader's visit to France.

She also described Trump's awkward embrace with France's First Lady on Thursday as 'violent and rough'.

'It's incredibly different, too bizarre for a greeting between two world leaders,' Wood told DailyMail.com.

'One thing was the length of time the two men held hands - time communicates dramatically. I believe it lasted 30 seconds, they just didn't let go. That was a power struggle.'

Wood believes Trump had the lower hand right from the start and tried to grip on to maintain he still had power.

The pair shook hands as Trump departed a military parade during the Bastille Day celebration. They continued awkwardly clasping hands as they walked along the parade route.

At one point, Trump patted Macron's hand and they jerked their hands back and forth in an arm wrestling motion.

Wood said both leaders have shown in the past they typically pull the other person during a handshake.

'(Trump) likes to pull the person towards them so the hands are right in front of his chest, right over his heart. In this case Macron was attempting to do that and succeeded several times,' she said.

Trump then shook hands with Macron's wife, Brigitte, as he bizarrely continued to shake hands with the French president.

'In the bid to regain power, Trump created a bizarre ring-around-the rosy dance with Macron and Brigitte.

'He patted the president's arm, he reached for the wife - that whole interaction was very hard. He took her outside arm and gripped her so tightly. That was just odd.'

And the French president isn't the only one to experience an awkward handshake with Trump. The US president held Macron's wife, Brigitte (left), in a death grip last week when she greeted him. A body expert said Trump's awkward embrace with her was somewhat 'violent and rough'

Despite the budding bromance between the US president and Macron, the pair has a history of handshake battles. They are pictured shaking hands at NATO in Brussels on May 25

It followed the awkward lingering embrace between the French First Lady and Trump as she and her husband welcomed him and Melania to Paris on Thursday.

Trump kissed Brigitte Macron Parisian-style, once on each cheek, before taking both her hands for a prolonged grip, in which he appeared to jerk her left arm towards him as she appeared to be struggling to get him to let go.

But despite the 'power struggle' between the two presidents, Trump told the Times that he has 'a great relationship' with Macron. 'He's a great guy,' Trump said.

This year's Bastille Day event coincided with the 100th anniversary of the US entry into the First World War.

Macron, in closing the parade, publicly thanked the US for coming to France's aid during the war, saying 'nothing will ever separate us'.

'The presence at my side of the president of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, and of his wife, is the sign of a friendship across the ages,' Macron said.

Photos showed Macron and Trump in another aggressive 'tug of war'-style handshake at the G20 summit two weeks ago. Trump and Macron awkwardly shook hands as they chatted with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the start of the G20 meeting in Hamburg

At the NATO summit in Brussels in May, the two world leaders (center) locked hands for so long that their knuckles started turning white. Macron later called that handshake a 'moment of truth' to show he's not a pushover

Trump returned the kindness of Mr Macron in a statement released as Air Force One flew back to the US. 'America and France will never be defeated or divided,' he said.

Despite the budding bromance between the US president and Macron, the pair has a history of handshake battles.

When Macron initially greeted Trump upon his arrival to Paris, Macron put his left hand on Trump's back, and Trump patted Macron's arm.

That handshake was also a lengthy one as both seemed reluctant to break away, even while Trump turned and appeared to comment on his surroundings.

Two weeks ago, Trump and Macron met again at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany.

Photos showed Macron and Trump in another aggressive 'tug of war'-style handshake, reminiscent of the drawn-out grip the two had in Brussels in May.

But after a few seconds, Trump pulled Macron's hand toward his chest in more of a hand clasp.

At the NATO summit in Brussels in May, the two world leaders locked hands so long their knuckles started turning white.

Macron later called that handshake a 'moment of truth' to show he's not a pushover.