It was the shove heard ‘round the world.
In May 2017, the internet basically exploded when a video surfaced of Donald Trump seemingly muscling his way past a foreign leader during a NATO summit in Brussels. If you were online back then, you definitely saw it: a quick, firm shove, a brief adjustment of a suit jacket, and a chin tilted upward in that classic "I’m here" stance. The man on the receiving end was Dusko Markovic, the Prime Minister of Montenegro.
Honestly, it looked bad. For many, it was the ultimate metaphor for "America First"—literal physical dominance on the world stage. But as with everything in the world of high-stakes diplomacy, the story behind the Trump pushes prime minister moment is a bit more layered than a ten-second Twitter clip suggests.
The Moment the Video Went Viral
The setting was the brand-new NATO headquarters. A pack of world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and then-UK Prime Minister Theresa May, were strolling through the facility. As the group began to cluster for a photo op, Trump appeared from behind, placed his hand on Markovic’s right arm, and pushed himself toward the front of the pack.
Markovic’s reaction was almost as famous as the push itself. He didn't stumble or look angry; he actually smiled and patted Trump on the back. It was a weirdly polite response to a move that most people would find incredibly rude in a grocery store line, let alone a global summit.
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Once he reached the front, Trump did a quick "power move" sequence:
- The Shove: Gaining the primary position.
- The Jacket Flip: Straightening the lapels to regain composure.
- The Chin Lift: Signaling dominance to the cameras.
- The Cold Shoulder: He immediately started chatting with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, never once acknowledging the guy he just shoved.
Why Was Markovic So Chill About It?
You’d think a world leader getting physically moved aside would spark a major diplomatic incident. Instead, Markovic basically shrugged. He told reporters later that it was a "completely harmless situation" and even said it was "natural" for the President of the United States to be in the front row.
Was he just being nice? Probably not. You've got to look at the context of Montenegro at that time.
At the very moment of that summit, Montenegro was days away from officially joining NATO. They were the 29th member. Russia was livid about it. In fact, Markovic had recently survived an alleged Russian-backed coup attempt designed to stop Montenegro from joining the alliance. For Markovic, a little shove from the U.S. President was nothing compared to the literal existential threat his country was facing from the East. He needed Trump’s friendship, and he wasn't about to let a viral meme get in the way of national security.
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The "Trump Pump" and Other Power Handshakes
The Trump pushes prime minister incident wasn't an isolated event. It was part of a larger pattern of "physical diplomacy" that defined that era. Remember the "handshake battles"?
The most famous rival was Emmanuel Macron. Earlier that same day in Brussels, the two had a handshake that lasted so long their knuckles turned white. Macron later admitted it was a "moment of truth" and that he intentionally didn't let go to show he wouldn't be intimidated.
Then there was the 19-second grip-and-tug with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which left Abe looking visibly relieved when it finally ended. Body language experts, like Tanya Ryman, often pointed out that Trump used these physical cues—the "Trump Pump," the pull-in, the shoulder pat—to establish a hierarchy before a single word was even spoken.
Beyond the Meme: The Real Policy Friction
While everyone was laughing at the GIF of the shove, the actual meeting was incredibly tense. This was the summit where Trump stood in front of a 9/11 memorial and basically scolded the other leaders for not paying their "fair share" of defense spending.
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- Article 5 Tension: Trump notably didn't reaffirm the mutual defense clause (Article 5) in his speech, which sent shockwaves through Europe.
- The "Aggressive" Comment: A year later, Trump went on Fox News and called the people of Montenegro "very aggressive," suggesting their "aggressiveness" could trigger World War III.
It’s kind of ironic. He shoves the guy, then calls his people the aggressive ones. It was a masterclass in the unpredictable, disruptive style of diplomacy that became his trademark.
What This Means for Today
Looking back, that shove wasn't just about a photo op. It was a signal of a massive shift in how the U.S. interacted with its closest allies. It moved us away from the polished, scripted "after you" politeness of the Obama or Bush eras into something much more raw and transactional.
If you’re trying to understand the current state of NATO or why European leaders are so obsessed with "strategic autonomy" now, you can trace a lot of it back to moments like this. It taught the world that the "leader of the free world" title wasn't just a given anymore—it was something that could be contested, or in this case, physically asserted.
Key Takeaways for Navigating Modern Diplomacy
If you’re following international news today, keep these points in mind:
- Optics vs. Reality: A viral clip rarely tells the whole story. Markovic’s "patience" was a calculated move to secure NATO protection, not a sign of weakness.
- Physicality Matters: In the age of 24/7 video, a handshake or a shove can communicate more to a domestic audience than a 50-page policy white paper.
- The "Small State" Struggle: Countries like Montenegro often have to swallow their pride to maintain the "umbrella" of protection from larger powers.
To really get the full picture, you should look up the full video of the 2017 NATO summit speech. Seeing the shove in the context of the speech he gave immediately afterward—where he grilled the leaders on their budgets—makes the physical push seem much less like an accident and much more like a preamble.