Donald Trump held hands with Theresa May due to his ‘chronic fear of slopes and steps’
Government sources in Washington DC say the US President suffers from 'bathmophobia'
DONALD Trump may have held hands with Theresa May in the White House because he has a fear of stairs.
Stunning images of the two leaders’ intimate moment was captured by photographers and flashed around the world.
Taken as they walked from the building’s state rooms to the West Wing, it seemed to sum up how deeply they had bonded after a historic first meeting on Friday afternoon in Washington DC.
But an alternative explanation emerged that the US president suffers from bathmophobia - a fear of stairs or slopes.
Government sources in Washington DC said they had been told the New York property billionaire is uncomfortable with using either.
The 70-year-old president is thought to have grabbed Theresa May’s hand to steady himself as the pair walked down a ramp in a colonnade, before then rubbing it in thanks.
Trump’s phobia also means he refuses to visit one close aide’s office in the White House because it’s up a flight of stairs from the Oval Office.
Downing Street last night would not discuss the president’s alleged phobia, instead dubbing the hand holding “a chivalrous gesture”.
RELATED STORIES
The PM’s spokeswoman said: “They were walking along and there is an unseen ramp.
“He offered his hand, which she took as they stepped down the ramp.”
Quizzed on why Trump took the PM's hand, the spokeswoman added: “They'd had a very friendly bilateral meeting, and we're getting on very well".
Earlier this month, President Trump confessed to also being “germaphobic”, as he rubbished claims that he had paid prostitutes to wee on a Moscow hotel bed that President Obama once slept in.