Emmanuel Macron greets Donald Trump last, in second awkward encounter this week

Emmanuel Macron veered away from Donald Trump, greeting him last after other leaders including Angela Merkel, in another awkward encounter between the two presidents.

In a video posted to his Twitter account, Macron walks down a blue carpet in Brussels to greet President Trump and Ms Merkel.

Mr Macron walks on the left of the frame and looks poised to greet Trump first – but at the last minute he swerves to the right, warmly kissing the German chancellor on both cheeks.

He then greets other leaders, eventually reaching Mr Trump, who shakes his hand vigorously.

The video is captioned: “In Brussels, united with our Nato allies.”

Observers saw the snub as a show of support for Ms Merkel, whose hand Mr Trump appeared to refuse to shake during an uncomfortable White House photo shoot in March.

It is the second toe-curling episode between the French and US presidents in a single day.

On Thursday, as Mr Trump and Mr Macron met face to face for the first time, they were seen gripped in an awkward power handshake that entertained Twitter users and was swiftly branded a battle for dominance.

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post said: “Trump tried twice to release and Macron held on tight… It was quite a handshake, two alphas.”