Yahoo News: Body Language gesture missing from Trump speech reveals his distress
Donald Trump has Taken Over my Life
Yesterday, a friend based in the US asked me if I knew what was going on in the US. I’m a Brit, living in Australia, following British and Australian news daily. Let me assure you we know what is happening.
US news has taken over on a global scale. US headlines are our headlines. They have been since Trump was elected in 2016. More and more, it feels like Donald Trump is the subject of everyone's conversation.
I try to spend my time avoiding anything Trump-related, but there seems to be no getting away from him. Our weekly Skype sessions with the in-laws are consumed by Trump talk. We laugh hard at some of his stunts but are always left feeling low before one of us asks to change the subject to something positive.
Husband, while working from home, a room away from me, spends his lunch break watching Trump-related videos (mostly satire). Then again, while preparing dinner, the videos are back on. I try not to listen, but Husband’s gasps draw me in. Then he shouts with urgency and often horror, “Did you hear that?”. Most of the time I do. I try not to listen, yet it still goes in.
This Trump consumed life is killing me. I long for the day when this man (distancing language) gives the world a break, vanishing altogether from the news feed–from my life.
Donald Trump Body Language in the Media
You can imagine my horror when Olivia Lambert from Yahoo News contacted me last week for analysis on Trump's body language. I thought about saying no, but Olivia is one of my favourite journalists to work with. Husband reminded me it would probably be the last time I'd be asked to do it and since the video snippet was short, I agreed. I could do it quickly then wipe my hands clean of it.
The analysis was from a video of Trump’s press conference during the election race, where he falsely accused the Democrats of trying to “steal’ the election, making baseless claims about “fake polls” and “corrupt mail-in votes”. With gritted teeth, I hit the play button.
You can read Olivia's story in Yahoo News here, otherwise keep reading to see what I submitted:
Subtle gesture missing from Trump speech reveals his distress
Donald Trump Nonverbal Communication Analysis
Trump’s nonverbal behaviour seems out of character. Initially, his hands grip the podium tensely as his body sways slightly from side to side, a pacifying movement to bring comfort to his distress. Trump’s usual elaborate hand gestures are absent as he reads from his notes, making little eye contact and with less power in his voice. This isn’t something we usually see.
At times, Trump perks up a little as his emotion becomes more positive and confident. His body rises momentarily, three times, with a gravity-defying behaviour which nonverbally punctuates his words. Trump rises onto his toes as he says, “As everybody saw we won by historic numbers”, “They [the pollsters] got it knowingly wrong” and “We had polls which were so ridiculous”.
There’s another clue into Trump’s thoughts with a sudden momentary head tilt to his left occurring three times. This indicates his delight at certain points in his speech, as he says, “I’ve already decisively won”, “massive victories” and “Ohio”.
(In context: “I’ve already decisively won many critical states, including massive victories in Florida, Iowa, Indiana and Ohio.”)
