Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Body Language Analysis No. 4283: Unidentified Man with Qatari Ahmed Al-Rumaihi in Trump Tower Elevator on 12 December 2016 - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)




On Monday 14 May 2018, Michael Avenatti drew everyone's attention to a video which was taken in the Trump Tower Lobby on 12 December 2016. A portion of that video is included within the above MSNBC clip - and loops twice between 1:52 and 2:07 (above). Here's a link to the entire video from Trump Tower that day (see 7:42:30 - 7:43:00).


In addition to Michael Cohen, one of the men in the elevator is Ahmed Al-Rumaihi - a former Qatari diplomat and currently the head of Qatar Investments (worth approximately $100 Billion).

In a sworn declaration, Al-Rumaihi has gone on record stating that he bribed Trump administration officials.

Ahmed Al-Rumaihi's face is outlined with a red ellipse and Michael Cohen's with a pink rectangle in the image above.




In this next photo, captured a few seconds later, Michael Cohen is again outlined with a pink rectangle - and a third man, whose identity is yet unknown, is outlined notated with a white ellipse.

What does the unknown bearded man's body language tell us?




Here we see him a few seconds before - as he approaches the elevator. Notice his mouth opening is horizontal - with his lips closed and thinned. There is also significant tension in his jaw. His nostrils are also flared.

This cluster betrays an adrenaline surge. He is displaying a significant element of anger in this moment.

An important detail here is that he maintains a downward gaze. In this context, such prolonged gaze suggests he's trying to control his temper - or perhaps, trying to avoid being recognized.




Here's another similar image, captured about one second after the previous one. Note his lips have pulled inward slightly - the beginnings of an Inward Lip Roll. An inward lip roll (ILR) is an attempt to suppress the crescendo of strong emotions. His nostrils are still flaring.

Note also, that in each of these images we get a fairly good view of this man's right ear. When attempting to identify an unknown person by correlating photos with a known individual - the external ear (pinna) can be used as a type of visual fingerprint - as it's highly specific to each person.




At 2:05 in the MSNBC video source, just as the elevator door begins to close, with his nostrils widely flared, he inhales deeply, dramatically elevating both shoulders, while foreshortening his neck - as he continues to look downward.




A second later, during 2:06, he repeats this same nonverbal behavior cluster.


SUMMARY: This unidentified man, who enters the elevator with Michael Cohen and Qatari Ahmed Al-Rumaihi - is likely a Qatari official as well. He's experiencing significant anxiety - and more specifically, a high adrenaline surge in the midst of anger (just prior to entering the elevator). Once inside, his anxiety and adrenaline surge increases (the presence of anger negates the possibility of claustrophobia). While it's possible that he's one of Ahmed Al-Rumaihi's bodyguard, this is doubtful due to his continued downward gaze.


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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4282: When Public Displays of Affection are More Frequent than those in Private 

Body Language Analysis No. 4280: David Beckham, Princess Leia, and Embarrassment

Body Language Analysis No. 4279: Rudy Giuliani regarding President Trump's alleged Sexual Relationship with Stormy Daniels

Body Language Analysis No. 4277: Donald Trump's First Person Shooter/Terrorist's POV Display at the NRA Convention

Body Language Analysis No. 4272: Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in Holding Hands - Alpha and Beta

Body Language Analysis No. 4199: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, and their Mission Impossible Helicopter Stunt

Body Language Analysis No. 4130: Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King regarding Charlie Rose

Body Language Analysis No. 4047: Joel Osteen, Houston, and Hurricane Harvey

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3931: Marine Le Pen's Default Configuration (and What it Tells Us)

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