Don’t touch me! Hilarious moment Finland’s president appears to swat away Trump’s hand when the president slaps his knee
- Finnish President Sauli Niinistö was seated alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during a press conference on Wednesday
- President Trump playfully smacked the foreign leader’s knee
- But Niinistö’s gut reaction was to swat Trump’s hand away
- During the press conference in the Oval Office Trump announced, ‘Finland is a happy country!’ and proceeded to playfully touch the Finnish President’s leg
- The moment appeared to make Niinistö feel uncomfortable as he looked away
It could have been the start of a beautiful friendship as President Donald Trump sat down in the Oval Office to take questions from reporters alongside the president of Finland, Sauli Niinistö.
The two leaders sat side by side for a joint press appearance, during which the American media mainly asked the President questions about his impeachment inquiry, his July phone call with the Ukrainian president, and about House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff.
But when it came to body language, gestures can often speak louder than words.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö was seated alongside U.S. President Donald Trump during a press conference on Wednesday when Trump reached out to pat the leader’s leg
President Trump playfully smacked the foreign leader’s knee
At one point Trump attempted to pat Niinistö on the leg but the Finnish president appeared to push Trump’s hand away in a swat-like gesture.
The unexpected gesture came when a reporter asked what the U.S. could learn from Finland, which has been ranked the happiest country on Earth for two years in a row by the World Happiness Report.
It was at that point Trump touched the foreign leader’s knee.
‘Finland is a happy country,’ Trump said, patting Niinisto’s knee.
Niinistö’s gut reaction was to swat Trump’s hand away as he patted him on the knee
The Finnish president appeared to be looking off to the side during the press conference
The Finnish president seemed to glare at Trump and raised his hand to swat the president away.
Trump withdrew his hand and continued ranting about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff.
‘You got rid of Pelosi and you got rid of shifty Schiff,’ Trump said. ‘Finland is a happy country and he’s a happy leader, too.’
Actor Robert De Niro imagined the Finnish president to be angry at the unwanted touching
It didn’t take long before people on Twitter noticed the Finnish president swatting Trump away
A number of people on Twitter noted how they were proud of Niinistö for his move while others suggested that Trump’s knee pat was quite disrespectful of Finnish culture.
‘Never a student of history, Trump is unaware that you never invade Finland,’ tweeted one user.
‘Call me old-fashioned but unless you’re hangin’ out with your buddies, that is SOOOO inappropriate to reach out and slap the knee of another leader. Trump has ZERO class,’ said another Twitter poster.
‘I guess we can add the President of Finland to the list of people Trump has touched without consent,’ quipped another.
‘The Finnish President slaps back the Finnished president,’ said one person.
Even actor Robert DeNiro got in on the act. ‘Trump: BFF? Finnish President: Touch me ONE MORE TIME and I swear to God… Finland #TrumpMeltdown’ he wrote.
There were plenty of Twitter users quick to make jokes about the awkward encounter
U.S. President Donald Trump met with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto at the White House