Melania Trump appears horrified after shaking hands with Vladimir Putin in viral video
Even though President Trump's summit with the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland earlier this week came under heavy criticism and was denounced by Republicans and Democrats alike, the Republican leader called it a "tremendous success." However, it appears that First Lady Melania Trump was not quite pleased after meeting the Russian leader.
A video of the first lady shaking hands with Putin and apparently looking horrified after it during the summit has emerged, which has made social media users speculate whether she was the only one from the American side during the meeting who understood "how dangerous this man actually is."
Putin, meanwhile, can be seen smiling and nodding in the video captured on Monday as he is introduced to the first lady by President Trump.
The clip also shows Melania smiling back at Putin momentarily, however, when the Russian strongman releases her hand, she has a peculiar expression on her face suggesting shock or horror. The first lady then looks straight at the camera with widened eyes.
The clip from the summit has gone viral, and social media users have not stopped talking about Melania's expression in the video ever since its release.
One Twitter user, Aaron McCord, wrote that Melania appeared to "the only one in the room who understands how dangerous this man actually is."
While another user, @daisygirlmg, wrote: "She looks like she short-circuited there for a second."
"She looks like she just stared into the eyes of evil...." another user added on the micro-blogging site.
The Twitter user who pointed out Melania's odd reaction after the handshake first, @srmduke87, wrote: "I think she looked scared to death."
President Trump, during his meeting with Putin, did not acknowledge that Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential elections and drew flak from his own party members for cozying up to the Russian president.
House Speaker Paul Ryan also condemned Trump's stance and said that the president should understand that "Russia is not our ally."
"There is no question that Russia interfered in our election and continues attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world. That is not just the finding of the American intelligence community but also the House Committee on Intelligence. The president must appreciate that Russia is not our ally," he said.
"There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. The United States must be focused on holding Russia accountable and putting an end to its vile attacks on democracy," Ryan added.
Trump, however, attempted to defend his presser with Putin on Wednesday and took to Twitter to hit back at "haters."
"So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved my press conference performance in Helsinki," Trump tweeted.
"We got along well which truly bothered many haters who wanted to see a boxing match. Big results will come!," he added in his tweet.