Body Language Analysis No. 3938: Donald Trump regarding asking James Comey for his Loyalty - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

During his recent (12 May 2017) interview on Fox, Donald Trump was asked by Jeanine Pirro about his allegedly asking James Comey, for Comey's loyalty. This interview took place three days after the President fired the FBI Director.

What follows is a transcript of this portion of the interview, followed by a partial nonverbal and paralanguage analysis.

JEANINE PIRRO: People suggest that the question that - apparently The York Times is selling, that you asked Comey, whether or not you had his loyalty was - possibly inappropriate. W-, could you see how people could think that?

DONALD TRUMP (over-talking): No, I don't think, I read, I read that article. I don't think it's approp, inappropriate. The mor- [inaudible]

JEANINE PIRRO (over-talking): Did you ask that question?

DONALD TRUMP: No. No, I didn't. But I don't think it would be a bad question to ask. I think - loyalty to the country, loyalty to the United States is important. You know, I mean it depends on how you define a-, loyalty. Number one. Number two, I don't know how that got there - because - I didn't ask that question. 

JEANINE PIRRO: What about the idea that - in a tweet, you said that there might be tape recordings, well -

DONALD TRUMP (over-talking): Well - that I can't talk about. I won't talk about that. All I want is for Comey to be honest, and I hope he will be, and I'm sure he will be, I hope.

During 0:31, as he says, "... because - I didn't ask that question ...", President Trump's face takes on an expression of forced (acted) incredulity. Thin-slicing this moment further:

• Donald Trump's central forehead contracts and elevates (although significantly blunted secondary to the effects of Botox) 
• His mouth configures in a hyperbolic, feigned smile (pulled more laterally rather than vertically, it's also asymmetrical - biased to his right side)
• Simultaneously he glances, very briefly, up to HIS Left 

Donald Trump very rarely displays an elevated central forehead contraction (Elevated CFC). But when he does, his mouth is always displaying a partial, albeit false, smile component. In this particular example, his mouth display not only does not show any upper teeth (e.g., as with sincere smiles), moreover his mouth is melodramatically morphed. His forehead and mouth cluster display is an example of forced (acted) incredulity. This is overkill. This is melodrama.

Evaluating his gaze behavior: When right-hand dominant individuals (as is Trump) look up to their left, a very large percentage of the time (>95% in those who have been evaluated ["normed" or normalized] for their baseline behavior), they are visually recalling an event from the past which they witnessed. This indicates, with high probability, that President Trump did indeed ask James Comey for his personal loyalty.

Note also, later in this segment, when Ms. Pirro asked the President about tape recordings, Trump looked to up and to HIS Right (0:39). When a right-hand dominant person looks up to his right, he is visually constructing an event in his mind. Why isn't Trump looking up to his left then? (Why is he not simply visually recalling the event?). He has to visually construct the event for one of two reasons:

• It did not occur - ergo he's lying

          or

• It did occur, BUT he was not there to see it 

With either scenario, he did not witness the alleged event, thus he's re-creating a visual "memory" of it. Since Trump was there with Comey, he would not have to construct a memory (If it was a true memory, he would simply have to recall it). Thus we are left with the conclusion that, with a very high probability, Donald Trump did not tape record (audio record) James Comey as he has suggested in his recent tweet.

President Trump also displayed multiple paralanguage behaviors which are noteworthy. Here are two particularly glaring examples:

• During 0:14, the President stutters saying, "I don't think it's approp, inappropriate."
• When Ms. Pirro asks him a question regarding him allegedly asking for James Comey's loyalty, Donald Trump responds with statements about loyalty to the country. 

Summary:

Based on President Trump's nonverbal and paralanguage behavior during this interview segment, we can say with a high degree of confidence:

• Donald Trump did indeed ask James Comey for his personal loyalty
• The President did not record this conversation with then Director Comey. He is bluffing.

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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 3397: Mr. Lavrov Goes To Washington - “Was he fired? You’re kidding!” - Sergey Lavrov, Rex Tillerson, and James Comey

Body Language Analysis No. 3395: Donald Trump and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office

Body Language Analysis No. 3933: Sally Yates Testimony before Senate Judiciary Committee

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3930: Emmanuel Macron, Hacking, and Anger

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3923: John Boyega, Orlando Bloom, Swagger, and Alpha-Beta Balance

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3873: Brie Larson's Eyes, The Bachelor, and the Edge of Consciousness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3843: 84 Lumber Super Bowl Ad - "The Entire Journey"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3798: Elle Fanning, Channing Tatum and Dialing Up the Alpha

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3814: Claire Foy's recounting of Meeting Kate Winslet

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