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Divided We Stand

Divided We Stand
New book about the 2020 election.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Shake Hands, Donald

In the novel Primary Colors, Joe Klein wrote that "the handshake is the threshold act, the beginning of politics."

A few weeks ago, Donald Trump said: "If I decide to run, I will be shaking hands with everybody."

If so, he will find it challenging. In February, New York magazine reported:
In case you weren't aware, Trump hates shaking hands. In his 1997 book The Art of the Comeback, he wrote, "One of the curses of American society is the simple act of shaking hands, and the more successful and famous one becomes the worse this terrible custom seems to get. I happen to be a clean hands freak. I feel much better after I thoroughly wash my hands, which I do as much as possible." On a number of occasions, he later referred to handshaking as "barbaric."
Then again, he has actually done it (though in the second clip, he's wearing gloves):