In lighter news, the internet was abuzz during the recent White House visit from King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom. Why? Cameras caught the U.S. president getting a little handsy with his wife, Melania.
President Trump gives first lady Melania a playful tap on the tush during meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla https://t.co/w6OYmYfxXr pic.twitter.com/ekOfIIVtH6
— New York Post (@nypost) April 28, 2026
Of course, it’s not standard protocol for any president to pat his wife’s behind in the middle of an official state visit, in full view of the media and the world, but remember: This is President Donald Trump. He breaks rules like this, and people often love him or hate him for it, and he seems to relish every minute of it.
Before getting into the American sensibilities on this, let’s look at proper behavior when you’re in the presence of the king and queen of England. Longstanding etiquette dictates that you let the royals initiate any physical contact with you. If you’re a man and it’s the king, you shake hands. Hugging is a major no-no, man or woman. The royal may gently grasp your arm while shaking hands.
I looked and couldn’t find any directives on whether it’s permissible to pat your wife on the tush while walking side-by-side with the king and queen at an official ceremony. So, I had to look for guidance in the British press.
The Daily Mail talked to body language expert Judi James, who said, “’Trump was in a very tactile mood with his wife, alternating between patting Charles on the arm or touching his back during their greeting today and placing an affectionate hand around Melania’s back in what looked like a gesture of appreciation and pride.”
That about sums it up. Of course, Trump being a Republican and the man most hated by the left, he had a few detractors on social media here in the U.S. Still, based on my own survey of the X platform, most Americans got it. This post is the typical response.
❤️ President Trump gave First Lady Melania a cheeky, affectionate pat on the backside while walking alongside King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the White House South Lawn. pic.twitter.com/fbMm7Hs7HR
— Bella (@stockbella) April 28, 2026
Some remarked that they were glad Trump didn’t slip up and accidentally do the same to the king or the queen. That said, I found it interesting when I saw a post from someone in my field that caused me to respond. Beverly Hallberg posted this.
Pro Tip: Tapping your wife on the tush is good for marriage, but not advisable in front of cameras. https://t.co/9GHyu8MYDH
— Beverly Hallberg (@BeverlyHallberg) April 28, 2026
Hallberg, who bills herself as a media trainer, posted this as though the same media coaching rules for your garden-variety trainee apply to Trump. They don’t, and here’s why.
As the most vilified, the most well-known, and the most media-savvy leader in the free world, Trump knows a thing or two about the media. He knows better than any media trainer how the media will react to him, specifically.
I have no doubt that this move from Trump was not calculated and done for effect. Trump is instinctive and impulsive. But his instincts and his impulses tend to obey an overriding set of leadership principles and philosophies that most often give him the “win” at the end of the day.
I would agree with Hallberg that if you or I did this to our spouse in the same type of forum, it would not come off that well. But I had to respond to the post. I told Hallberg, “It’s a human moment and in contrast to the couple they’re with. It destroys narratives their enemies like to spread about the state of their marriage, and it reminds people on both sides of the aisle they’re human. This isn’t an optics problem. It’s an optics advantage that few can do and have it work for them. It works for them.”
When the president gives these glimpses that he’s just a guy like most American men, wives can relate, and so can their husbands. He becomes more real to people. He’s not this manufactured political animal that emerged from the Washington, D.C. swamp.
Adding some context, these two had had a few rough days this past week. The last time we saw the first lady, she was crawling to safety in a gown during an active shooter incident, followed by her husband, who quickly took charge of the situation. To make matters worse, they were then put in the position of having to defend themselves to the likes of CBS’s Nora O’Donnell and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel for being targets of an assassination attempt.
After all of that, a pat on the tush is the least of anyone’s concerns.
Recommended: The FCC’s Bad News for Disney/ABC: The Time for Playing Nice Is Over
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