Donald Trump seemed to dominate the art of handshaking. With the palm upwards, the Republican used to squeeze hard and shake decisively, sometimes for an endless number of seconds. The Frenchman Emmanuel Macron left his hand pale; The Japanese Shinzo Abe terrified after 17 seconds and several slaps on the back. But on Sunday, in the Philippines, Trump was in evidence not to find a way to make the "traditional" handshake, which consists of cross-reference arms to reach the hands of those on their left and right. Smile, asked a master of ceremonies to the leaders gathered by the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEA) for the commemorative photo. The American, flanked by the Filipino President and Vietnamese prime minister, ignored the indication and placed his hands on top of each other while most of the leaders crossed their arms and shook hands. After the initial confusion, he finally turned his body to the right and extended his left hand to the leader of Vietnam, as if it were a normal greeting. Then he had to maneuver with his entire body to achieve, with his right hand, the doll of Filipino Rodrigo Duterte. With a grimace of tension, the Republican celebrated the end of the havoc before the light laughter of the witnesses. Involuntarily comic, Trump again starred in a curious scene for the world of diplomacy. In the social networks the effort of the American was the object of laughter for its critics: the president known to make of the greetings a demonstration of power was in evidence not to understand a basic movement of arms.