Donald Trump was not wearing a translation earpiece as he nodded along and appeared to listen intently to remarks from Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, at the White House on Friday.
Asked if Trump had worn an earpiece, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House deputy press secretary, said: “I don’t believe during that time. But he did see the text and they spoke quite extensively before the remarks.”
Trump did put a small speaker to his right ear during the subsequent question and answer session with journalists, some of whom were from Japan.
A handshake between Trump and Abe also caused some consternation on social media, with some claiming it had gone on an awkwardly long time, others suggesting Abe had rolled his eyes at the end, and still others wondering if Trump had pulled Abe’s arm at one point.
Trump complimented Abe on his “strong hands” afterwards, according to the White House pool reporter.
Abe is visiting Trump and the two have now headed to Florida to stay at the president’s retreat there, Mar-a-Lago. Abe was the only world leader to meet Trump before his inauguration – at Trump Tower in New York – and is the second, after Theresa May, to do so since the president took office.