The image above (cropped, close-up below) was taken on 21 September 2016 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. In this moment, Mike Pence and Donald Trump were supposed to be praying. They were attending The Midwest Vision and Values Pastors and Leadership Conference. I say, "supposed to" because Donald Trump was absolutely not praying - and we can say this with 100% certainty.
The two emotions Donald Trump is expressing here are:
• Contempt
• Anger
Now, while it's absolutely possible for a person can be angry at God (e.g., Why did you take the life of my child?) - it's impossible for a human being to have contempt toward God. Why?
Contempt is actually a mixture of both Anger and Disgust - and fundamentally, experiencing contempt also involves the emotional context of placing oneself above another person or a group (or putting them below you). Thus when you feel Contempt - you are subordinating the other person or group. Because God, by definition, is the ultimate superior being - one cannot feel contempt toward God.
And make no mistake, Donald Trump has a significant element of Contempt on his face, therefore - he must not be praying to any being he deems superior.
The further a person is from their emotional baseline, the less self-aware they become as to how, exactly, they appear to others. This progressively diminished objectivity holds true whether the emotions are positive or negative. This phenomenon, at least in part, explains why then-candidate Trump behaved in a manner such that he did not care if people knew he was not praying.
Although not required for contempt - in this scenario, Donald Trump's "Side Eye" amplifies this emotion. We do not look directly at someone who we:
• Don't Like
• Don't Respect
• Don't agree with
Summary: In this moment, Donald Trump was not praying - he was pretending to pray. Rather, Trump was feeling contempt. Because Contempt involves putting oneself above another person (or them below you) - we know with absolute certainty he was not thinking, meditating, or praying to any being he thought to be superior. Moreover, as Contempt (or any strong emotion) facilitates diminished self-awareness, it contributed to his lack of caring that others saw him in this moment of feigning.
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See also:
Body Language Analysis No. 4265: Donald Trump regarding Mike Pompeo's Chances of Being Confirmed as Secretary of State
Body Language Analysis No. 4263: Kellyanne Conway regarding James Comey's Interview
Body Language Analysis No. 4261: President Trump's Address regarding the Retaliatory Strike on Syria
Body Language Analysis No. 4259: Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad
Body Language Analysis No. 4236: Andrew McCabe, Jeff Sessions, James Comey - and Sincerity
Body Language Analysis No. 4202: Saoirse Ronan, Ed Sheeran, and Galway Girl (Galway Grill)
Body Language Analysis No. 4196: Trey Gowdy on "Face The Nation"
Body Language Analysis No. 4106: Jordan's Queen Rania meets with Rohingya Refugee Children
Body Language Analysis No. 4017: Elisabeth Moss, Anthony Rizzo, and a Signal of Sincerity
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