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U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with First Lady Melania Trump before delivering remarks to military personnel and families at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, U.S., September 15, 2017. Reuters/Yuri Gripas

US President Donald Trump thanked his wife Melania by shaking her hand after she introduced him at a Maryland event. It reportedly appeared that the first couple prefer more formal public displays of affection like handshakes. Various reactions from the public has flooded the Internet.

Melania spent some time at the Maryland army base's youth centre. She then took the microphone to deliver a speech and introduce her husband.

"It's my great pleasure to introduce my husband, the President of the United States Donald Trump," the first lady said as she warmed up the crowd of servicemen and women. Her husband thanked and encouraged her to sit down as he pumped Melania's hand.

The video of the incident went viral, with some Twitter users calling it an “awkward” husband and wife encounter. “Ah yes, a handshake, so intimate, thank you very much husband sir, my misery is palpable, solid deal sir,” one Twitter user wrote. See more tweets below.

There are reports claiming the president flew to Bedminster, New Jersey, after his speech with daughter Ivanka, Jared Kushner and their three children. He brought White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and National Security Adviser Dina Powell along, according to the Daily Mail.

It is not the first time the internet has noticed a PDA exchange between the POTUS and his wife. In May, Melania appeared to swat her husband’s hand away as he tried to reach for it when they arrived in Tel Aviv, Israel. She appeared to reject her husband for the second time as they made their way down the steps of Air Force One in Rome.

In January during Trump’s Inauguration, footage shows Melania enthusiastically smiling then grimacing after he turned away. Trump was also criticised for not helping her down the steps in her high heels. But the couple also shared sweeter moments including their three dances at the various inauguration balls.

Meanwhile, Spanish fashion designer Manolo Blahnik has commented about the first lady wearing heels on her way to Texas with the POTUS following Hurricane Harvey. He told Harper's Bazaar UK that he did not think she was insensitive. Blahnik said he isn’t good with telling people what to wear because they wear what they want to.

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