On 2 October 2018, journalist Jamal Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and he never walked out alive. He traveled there to obtain a document that would verify his divorce in order to marry his Turkish fiancée. The Turkish government has reported he was tortured and killed inside.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has publicly stated that the burden is on Saudi Arabia to prove that Khashoggi had indeed left the consulate alive as the Saudi's have claimed.
Donald Trump has many financial ties with Saudi Arabia. It was also the first country he visited as President. On Monday 15 October 2018, Donald Trump made a statement about Jamal Khashoggi's murder, saying maybe it was perpetrated by "Rouge Killers". Some have interpreted this as the President sending up a trial balloon for the Saudi's spin.
The image above shows Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, in the Oval Office with President Trump during his visit on 14 March 2017. From a body language perspective, one thing jumps out. Red lights flashing, sirens blaring. Anyone who has paid even casual attention to Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy, would notice his constant seated crotch display - wherein his legs are spread very wide. This is often colloquially referred to as Manspreading.
No one out-manspreads Donald Trump (well.... almost no one).
In this image, note how Mohammed bin Salman's manspreading (the angle of his legs, particularly his thighs) is considerably more pronounced than Trump's. This is of profound importance - for this is in the Oval Office. They're meeting on Donald Trump's home turf. And yet Mohammed bin Salman is displaying much more dominance and a considerably higher alpha emotional tone than the President.
It's important to point out that not only is Mohammed bin Salman's manspreading more extreme, but the President's is considerably less alpha than his typical seated display. To nuance this nonverbal even further, notice the angle of each man's feet - Trump's are pointed more straight ahead (beta), while Mohammed bin Salman's feet are pointed considerably more outwardly (higher alpha).
Since he's been President, Trump has not met in the Oval Office with any other leader, foreign or domestic while defaulting to this acquiescing configuration - only Mohammed bin Salman. Although retrospectively it may not surprise many people, astute observers may remember that shortly after the 2016 Presidential election, when Donald Trump met with President Obama in the Oval Office, he also assumed this beta role.
SUMMARY: Donald Trump feels a significant beta emotional tone when the presence of Mohammed bin Salman. The fact that he adopts this subordinate mindset while on his home soil, in the Oval Office, cannot be over-emphasized.
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See also:
Body Language Analysis No. 4351: Donald Trump Stops Anthony Kennedy in His Tracks
Body Language Analysis No. 4349: Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford - Part III
Body Language Analysis No. 4347: Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings - Part I
Body Language Analysis No. 4345: World Leaders Laugh at Donald Trump at the United Nations General Assembly
Body Language Analysis No. 4340: Ruby Rose gets Emotional regarding her new Role as Batwoman
Body Language Analysis No. 4339: Pre-Confession Interview of Murderer, Chris Watts
Body Language Analysis No. 4334: Ivanka Trump and the Pistol Steeple
Body Language Analysis No. 4326: Carter Page's near-constant Smile
Body Language Analysis No. 4295: Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos, and Red Flags
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