Beginning at 0:33 in the above video, Mike Pence says, "I think, ah, I think it's inarguable, ah, that Vladimir Putin has been a stronger leader in his country than Barack Obama has been in this country ..."
On Tuesday night, during the Vice Presidential Debate with Tim Kaine, Mike Pence denied that he made such a statement. Did Pence just remember incorrectly - or was he lying?
To answer this question, let's go back to an earlier portion of the video above - from a segment during the debate.
Beginning at 0:14, Pence says, "You're - that is absolutely inarg- , ac ....[stutters/misspeaks three times] ... inaccurate" - as he displays a variation of a finger point hand chop.
There's a high probability a person is lying - if when being accused, that person refutes the lie with a finger point hand chop. Importantly, Gov. Pence simultaneously stutters - three times - misfiring with "You're", then saying the first two syllables of "Inarguable" (repeating the word he said in his original praising of Putin) and then saying the first syllable of "accurate" (subconsciously affirming the accusation). This combination of behavior constitutes a tremendous verbal-nonverbal cluster highly indicate of deception.
A few seconds later (at 0:25), Pence can be seen performing another variation of a hand chop - while displaying a partially suppressed sincere smile. Such smiling out of context - when being confronted for lying is particularly telling. It's a form of (a failed) attempt at Duping Delight. These two concurrent nonverbal displays are also highly consistent with deception.
In this second video - from an earlier portion in the debate (beginning at 1:18), as Tim Kaine says, "... he said, 'Inarguably, Vladimir Putin is a better leader than President Obama ...'." At the beginning of Kaine's sentence, Pence looks down (a lack of eye contact)- and just as Kaine finishes this statement, Pence can be seen contracting his jaw, protruding his lower lip and nodding up and down (yes) several times in affirmation. This was a subconscious display of Pence's agreement with Kaine's accusation.
Conclusion: This was not a failure to remember - Mike Pence was lying when, during the debate, he denied calling Putin a better leader/stronger leader.
See also:
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3714: Vice Presidential Debate - Tim Kaine v. Mike Pence
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3711: Vin Scully calls Kirk Gibson's legendary walk-off homer during Game 1 of the 1988 World Series
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3708: Hillary Clinton v. Donald Trump - Presidential Debates - Part IV - Hillary's Email Anxiety
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3693: Grace VanderWaal Wins America's Got Talent Season 11
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3678: Donald Trump's Trip to Mexico
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3638: Hillary Clinton's DNC Speech - and One Expression Which Profoundly Lowers Her Likability
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3601: Casey Neistat & Candice Pool - Water Spit Challenge - Body Language, Laughing and Mirror Neurons
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3642: Does Donald Trump Know Vladimir Putin?
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