Earlier today, while in Blue Ash, Ohio (near Cincinnati) - President Trump called those who did not clap during his State of The Union Address last week - "Un-American" as well as "Treasonous". What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of that portion of his speech.
President Trump (continuing at 1:50): ... They were like - death - and un-American § un-American § Somebody said, 'Treasonous' - I mean - yeah I guess why not? [pause] Can we call that treason, why not? ∑ I mean they certainly - didn't seem to love our country very much. But ∆ you look at that and it's - it's really very, very sad.
Each time after he says, "Un-American" - (2:14 - 2:15 and 2:16 - 2:17) the President displays a contempt expression (notated by § ). It's helpful to think of this type of contempt expression (there are several) - as a snarl.
As he said, "... somebody said, 'Treasonous' ..." Donald Trump displays Index finger pointing. This is a common manipulative technique - wherein he attempts to make us think, "Hey, I'm just going along with you" - when it was he who introduced the idea. Said another way, with very high probability, whenever the President says, "Somebody" - it is him trying to lend legitimacy to his point of view.
Moreover, this also overlaps with another category of behavior known as Forced Teaming (de Becker). For when he points at a person in the audience, Donald Trump temporarily elevates those watching him (either directly or vicariously) to a peer status (even though we know this is not true intellectually, people often feel it's true emotionally).
He tilts his head to his left, with a suppressed, insincere smile as the President says, "I mean". In this moment (2:18 - 2:19) he is:
• Feigning Doubt
• Feigning Consideration
During 2:19 as he says, "yeah, I guess" - Trump's entire forehead is elevated (although somewhat blunted by Botox) along with his eyebrows. No teeth are visible - which is also true during sincere surprise - except here the shape of his mouth opening is completely wrong. It's pulled strongly laterally - rather than primarily vertically as it would be with true surprise as well as with sincere smiles.
This deliberate and hyperbolic expression of surprise-smile is not only insincere - but always duplicitous. Many refer to this as a "Joker Smile" - named after court jesters, scary clowns, and the Batman villain.
Right after he says, "Can we call that treason, why not?" ∑ (2:24), the President's face adopts a posture which is always a red flag:
• Central Forehead Elevation
• Subtle to Mild Mouth "Smile"
This conveys the though-emotions of:
• Contempt
• Smug Disbelief
• Arrogance
As human beings, we're all allowed to feel each of these emotions - but hopefully, these are quite rare in any of us. Correspondingly, most of us make this expression only infrequently. Intriguingly, however, in four percent of the population (in all countries, ethnicity, cultures, etc.) - this expression is common - in the sociopaths (antisocial personality disorder).
During 2:31, just after he says, "they certainly - didn't seem to love our country very much. But ∆", President Trump displays a Tight Tongue Jut. A tight tongue jut conveys the thought-emotion of disdain, disgust, and repulsion.
Summary: Donald Trump's nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage behavior during this exchange indicates a volatility and a wide-ranging of emotions in just a few seconds - including: contempt, disgust, disdain, repulsion, melodrama/hyperbolic behavior, forced-teaming, feigned doubt, feigned consideration, smug disbelief, and arrogance.
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See also:
Body Language Analysis No. 4196: Trey Gowdy regarding his retirement from Congress on "Face The Nation"
Body Language Analysis No. 4194: Tom Brady, "Why Does Everyone Want Me To Retire So Bad?"
Body Language Analysis No. 4192: President Trump's 2018 State of The Union Address - Part II
Body Language Analysis No. 4190: Serial Killer Bruce McArthur - and a Common Nonverbal Pattern of Sociopaths
Body Language Analysis No. 4164: Emmanuel Macron's Rapport Destroyer
Body Language Analysis No. 4143: Billy Bush regarding Donald Trump on the "Access Hollywood Tape" (Stephen Colbert Interview)
Body Language Analysis No. 4097: Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, and a Tennis Tongue Tell
Body Language Analysis No. 4061: Pennywise,"IT", and Bill Skarsgård's Demonic Smile - Why is IT so Scary?
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3717: Creepy Clowns, Body Language and Emotional Intelligence
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