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Melania Trump pulls her hand away from husband following presidential debate

Melania Trump sharply pulled her hand away from her husband on Thursday night as they walked off stage following the final presidential debate - a reaction which raised eyebrows on social media.

At the end of the 90 minute discussion, both Mrs Trump and Joe Biden’s wife Jill walked on stage to congratulate their husbands.

It was the first time Mrs Trump, 50, had been seen in public since testing positive for coronavirus on October 1.

She walked to greet her husband, briefly acknowledged the crowd, and then moved to leave the stage.

Mr Trump, 74, took hold of her hand, but she swiftly pulled it back and strode off stage.

“Did anyone else just see melania yank her hand out of trump’s” asked one person on Twitter.

Another critic said: “Even she hates him.”

CBS News’s White House correspondent, Mark Knoeller, tweeted a photo of the pair returning to the White House, hand in hand.

“Did you see the spat when they were leaving the stage?” one asked.

“Melania pulled her hand away when Trump tried to hold it. Then he gives her a little angry push, elementary school style. It wasn't very nice.”

The first lady has a history of swatting away the president’s hand , with her gestures of flicking him away frequently going viral.

Since then she has often pulled her hand from his, frequently while descending steps and wanting to walk alone.

Critics of the family have seized on the actions as a sign of a fractured marriage; supporters of the Trump insist it is a storm in a teacup.