Body Language and Behavior Analysis No. 4754: Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein – A Dangerous, Duplicitous, and Predatory 'Smile' – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

 

Note the peculiarities in the above image of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. Both such set-off your internal alarm bells. Neither of these facial expressions are sincere smiles. Far from it...

The lateral aspects of each man's lips are being pulled-in, they're not visible – while their central lips are pronounced, pooching forward. These are not anatomical idiosyncrasies. These expressions are behavioral, momentary, and fleeting.

This is a (relatively uncommon to rare) variation of a forward lip purse (clandestine plans, undisclosed disagreement) – but with an additional layer of warning: indicating predatory and malicious intent. 
 

Two actors come to mind who use this expression to their advantage when portraying evil and sadistic characters – Jim Carrey's version of the 'before Grinch'. ...

... And Benedict Cumberbatch as Star Trek's Khan Noonien Singh.

 

 

While each of these theatrical examples are hyperbolic, and those of Trump and Epstein are less extreme, the ramifications of real world behaviors hold much more horror.

SUMMARY: When the central lips are protruding forward with a simultaneous pulling-inward of the lateral lips (resulting in an absence/near-absence of the lateral lips), this is a red-flag for predatory intent.

Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com  

Ω

Body Language and Behavior Analysis No. 4753: Donald Trump denying calling fallen military heroes "suckers and losers" – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

On Saturday 22 June 2024, during his event in Washington DC, Donald Trump defended accusations against him calling US military members "suckers and losers".

What follows are body language and statement analyses of this video clip. 

Above is a shorter segment of Trump's behavior in this context. Here's a longer segment of this same statement/speech:

Note, in the first 2/3rds of the sentence, "I was better than any president ever to our military", Trump is retracting (flexing) the index finger (forefinger) of his right hand at the first joint past the knuckle (the proximal interphalangeal joint).

 

Trump is right-handed. With respect to body language, the index finger of the dominant hand is the most powerful and dominant digit on either hand.

In general, *without any accompanying spoken words* – retracting a hand (especially the dominant hand) and/or the index finger on either hand signals low confidence and high emotional discomfort. ... 

...But, *when making a statement or answering a question* while retracting the most dominant digit on the dominant hand – is an extremely high indicator of lying. This is a common tell during deception – particularly with Trump.

If we look a few seconds earlier, as he says, "I'm the exact [self-interruption]", Trump briefly displays the same dominant index finger retraction body language.

 

 

Even earlier in the video he displays this once again as he says, "by a third rate magazine". Trump is lying and does not believe this to be true.

 

It's important to contrast this with other occasions during this same clip, when Trump's hand was oppositely configured – retracting (flexing) all the other digits on his right hand while extending his dominant index finger (aka index finger pointing).

Index finger pointing is hyper-dominant and offensive. It's negatively received across all cultures. But, not surprisingly, it's *frequently* used by those with manipulative and pathological personalities. 

Now contrast these two body language signals. The dominant-finger-retraction-tell (retracting dominance) has the opposite configuration of an index finger point (projecting dominance).
 

 

 

Did you notice Trump's facial expression at about 1 second before the very end of this video? He displays a Tight Tongue Jut – signaling his disdain, disgust, and repulsion.
 

Be careful not to confuse a Tight Tongue Jut with a Loose Tongue Jut or a Wide Open Tongue Jut – as these indicate completely different thought-emotions.

During the entire speech, in his effort to refute the story, when referring to the fallen military heroes, Trump repeated "suckers and losers" multiple times.

This is a common sadist's/manipulator's trick – under the guise of defending themselves, they poke the original wound over and over.

Thereby giving themselves license to repeat their original insult several times and re-inflicting verbal injury – whilst they're experiencing sadistic joy.

Moreover, note that Donald Trump *never* speaks John Kelly's name (his first Chief-of-Staff) as the source/witness of the accusations. He only mentions "The Atlantic" Magazine who printed the story.

Trump then outs himself again – for while maligning "The Atlantic" magazine, referring to (but not naming outright) Laurene Powell Jobs (Steve Jobs' widow), he says, "They got lucky, they got some sucker to fund it for a little while, some stupid sucker."  

So in the very midst of his denying calling fallen military "suckers and losers", Trump proceeds to twice call a widow a "sucker" as well as "dumb" and "stupid" – while showing profound disrespect toward another deceased person – Steve Jobs.

This is a massive Freudian slip and self-own. Trump is saying he would never say these things about the dead – and then while defending himself, he openly disrespects the dead and calls someone else a "sucker".

The importance of the word "sucker" in these contexts cannot be overstated.

A person who *repeatedly* sees others as "suckers" is a con man. 

To add insult to injury, Trump says, "she took his money". This level of misogyny is light years beyond the pale.

Trump also displays another Tight Tongue Jut (disdain, disgust, repulsion) after he says, "you dumb – I shoulda never ..." (directed at Laurene Powell Jobs).

Contrast this against the Loose Tongue Jut (§) that Trump displayed when he said "I woulda said that woulda [sic] been, ahhh [§], justified for somebody to start taking swings at me – as president".

A Loose Tongue Jut indicates:

• Deception
• "I've been bad"
• "I just said/about to say a stupid thing"
• "I've been/about to be caught"

Note also, Trump *never* says "I didn't say that" (or similar). He doesn't deny it. Instead he says, "Who would do such a thing?", and "You say it's not true" (not, "It's not true"), and "Who would say it?" 

When Trump also says, "There's nobody that's stupid enough to make that statement" – he's angry at himself for being this "stupid" – to let his true feelings be shown, especially to John Kelly (whose son was killed in battle in Afghanistan).

Trump fears John Kelly.

Trump also said, "Even if you hated the military, you wouldn't say that".

This is another example of Trump, while under the guise of defending himself – stating what he actually thinks and how he truly feels.

When Trump said, "Looking down, at graves, saying suckers, they make it up, suckers and losers", he is reliving his original disparaging events at Arlington National Cemetery and at Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in France.
 

Trump's palm-down, fingers splayed display is a dominant display of subjugation and control. He is painting a false scenario – Trump is reliving these actual cemetery events (as he again calls them "suckers and losers"). 

 

 

SUMMARY: While we can certainly fact-check this story by other means (John Kelly, you're long overdue for a video interview), Donald Trump's body language tells us General Kelly's account of the facts are true: Trump did call fallen military heroes "suckers and losers".

Moreover, Donald Trump feels disdain, disgust, and repulsion toward – as well as subjugation and control over – members of the military.

Trump also fears John Kelly.

Additionally, Trump also feels disdain, disgust, and repulsion toward Laurene Powell Jobs. He also demonstrates deep misogyny toward Ms. Powell Jobs – as well as exhibiting a profound disrespect toward Steve Jobs. 

While in the very act of trying to refute allegations of him calling fallen military heroes "suckers and losers", Trump uses some of the exact same language ("sucker") toward Ms. Powell Jobs and profoundly disrespects the deceased (Steve Jobs). Trump is telling on himself.

Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com  

Ω

Body Language and Behavior Analysis No. 4752: Jim Jordan responds to Jamie Raskin re Jordan's ignoring his Subpoena from the January 6th Committee – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

Last week, the Republican House voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in Contempt of Congress for not releasing the audio of President Biden's interview with Robert Hur. They have been in possession of the official transcript of this interview for months.

216 Republicans voted for the Contempt of Congress charges against Merrick Garland: 206 Democrats and 1 Republican (Dave Joyce, OH-14) voted against contempt (One Republican and 7 Democrats did not vote).

What follows is a body language analysis of the above, crucial portion of Jim Jordan's response to Jamie Raskin today on the House Floor where Raskin called Jordan out for his ignoring of the January 6th Committee's subpoena. 

Anyone can fact check Jim Jordan here. Jordan is telling a blatant and verifiable lie. There is ample and well-documented history on this account.

Jordan refused to testify before the United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack and he was referred to the DOJ for criminal investigation. 

But if this were a different person – or Jim Jordan's history was an unknown quantity, what clues does his body language reveal regarding his true thoughts and feelings during this response?

Immediately prior, Rep. Jamie Raskin had called out Jim Jordan and others – for holding Merrick Garland in Contempt of Congress, while pointing out to Jordan, et. al., had themselves refused to testify before the January 6th Committee when they had been subpoenaed.

Note Jordan's initial nonverbal response as he says, "Mr. Speaker, first of all, I never said, 'I wouldn't testify in front of the January 6th Committee'...", he is pointing at Rep. Jamie Raskin with his left index finger. 

 

 
Jim Jordan is right-handed. If he truly believed his own words in this moment, he would be pointing with his dominant hand, not his non-dominant hand.

He does not believe his own words. Jordan is lying.

Notice also, the diminutive configuration his right hand simultaneously holds. His dominant index finger is retracted (low confidence, emotional discomfort, deception) whilst his left (non-dominant) index finger feigns self-righteousness.

 

Moreover, Jordan does not hold his left hand still while pointing at Rep. Raskin, rather he simultaneously shakes it. This combination of body language is known as a 'finger-point-hand-chop'.

 
In addition, did you also notice that Jordan's eyelids are closed as he's left (non-dominant) index finger pointing? Extended duration blinking is a form of diminished eye contact (deception, distancing, shame). 

 

Whenever a person is being confronted with a lie or wrongdoing, and while pushing-back against their accuser/the accusation, if they're using a finger-point-hand-chop, there's an extremely high likelihood that they're lying.

Notice too Jordan's subsequent words, "... I just wanna know what the parameters of that, that testimony were gonna be ..." – Jordan uses both the past (were gonna be) and present tense (just wanna know) in the same sentence. Jordan also stutters (that, that). 

The mixing of tenses – as well as stuttering in a non-stutterer, while interpreted in isolation do not indicate deception, they're both reliable indicators of anxiety.

A moment later, Jim Jordan does recruit his dominant (right) hand, momentarily pointing with both index fingers – but now he's displaying a two-handed finger-point-hand-chop.

Jordan then reverts back to a primarily left (non-dominant) finger point (again, with another finger-point-hand-chop), while his right (dominant) hand, although still pointing, retreats to a much lower, subordinate position. 

 
Although Jordan does eventually recruit his right hand into his gesturing, his (non-dominant) left hand/left index finger was his initial hand/finger of preference, and it continued to play the dominant role in his nonverbal behavior.

SUMMARY: Jim Jordan's displays classic body language of deception in response to his being called out as guilty of committing Contempt of Congress while he accuses Merrick Garland of the same.

Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com  

Ω

Body Language and Behavior Analysis No. 4751: Donald Trump's and Mitch McConnell's Handshake in DC – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

 

On Thursday 13 June 2024, Donald Trump met with Republican members of the House and Senate in Washington D.C. It was the first time Trump had returned to the nation's capital since leaving office almost 3.5 years ago (Photo Credit: Doug Mills).
 

The meeting took place at the Capitol Hill Club – an exclusive Republican social coterie – just 0.12 miles from the grounds of the US Capitol, the site of the January 6th 2021 Insurrection. 

The Capitol Hill Club occupies the same building which once was the home of former Senator John McCain's parents.

Intriguingly, the Capitol Hill Club is also the location where the second DC pipe bomb was planted on the evening of January 5th, 2021 (not at the RNC headquarters, an adjacent building, immediately to its south [as is nearly always falsely reported]).

The above image captures the first meeting of Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell since Trump left office.

Note the angle at which each man 'leans into' the handshake. Trump's torso is tilted at about 30º-35º and McConnell is also leaning-in, but less so, about 20º.

This behavior is akin to leaning-in during a hug, wherein the further apart the two *lower* bodies are, the greater the lean-in required – indicative of less (or absent) affection. 

In the context of a handshake, the greater the leaning-in, the less the respect and/or (what we see demonstrated here) – the less trust (or no trust) held for the other person.

Now you may say, "Well what about the chair and the corner of the table, between them? Those obstacles prevent the two men from leaning-in."

While if you isolate this moment solely to physics and physical objects, you would be correct – but with respect to psychology, you'd be dead wrong. 

Human nature doesn't exist in isolation. 

If you have affection for, respect, or trust another person, your psyche wants to 'close the distance' to them. There's a subconscious drive to be physically closer. 

Ergo, without thinking about it, you'll step around objects (or move them) to hug or handshake. You won't lean-in any more than a small amount. 

If you trust and/or respect the other person (and absolutely if you have affection for them) your body will be straighter and your feet would be closer during a handshake than what is exemplified here. 

So with rare exceptions, you should never reach across a table (or any obstacle) to shake someone's hand. 

Take the time to walk around any obstacles prior to shaking someone's hand. This simple and conscious act shows more respect for the other person – and will increase their respect for you.

You may say, "Well, what if Trump doesn't like McConnell (or vice versa)?" They still should walk around obstacles for a handshake, for doing so also demonstrates greater command of the situation (less pretense and more substance).

Moreover, depending on the other simultaneous (nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage) behaviors, the reach-across-the table handshake can also convey that they who are reaching – are also very often intimidated. 

Another mistake Trump almost always commits during a handshake is that he offers the other person his hand in a palm-up configuration. This is almost never advised.

Exception: i.e., if your boss or some other obvious organizational superior *offers you their palm-down hand first*, it's wise to reciprocate with your hand in a palm-up manner.

But if you extend your hand first (good advice), always keep your palm perpendicular to the ground (even if they're your boss or head-of-state).

Trump offers his palm-up first for one of two reasons:

A. So that he can give the other person the 'hand sandwich' (see below)

B. He may have an old rotator cuff injury (or similar) which makes a palm-down or palm-perpendicular handshake physically difficult.

A 'hand sandwich', sometimes called 'the double-hander', (what Trump is doing in this example) is a dominance display. Trump is trying to convey to McConnell that he controls the Senator – that he has more power.

 

 

At other times, when Trump isn't using the double-hander (or one of its variations), he's usually using another dominant/controlling handshake – although he doesn't always succeed. Thank you, PM Trudeau.

(Note: There are numerous other body language components to proper handshakes – and many other handshake scenarios. This post is not intended to be comprehensive.)

SUMMARY: It's no secret that Donald Trump 'does not like' Mitch McConnell – and McConnell feels the same about Trump (they may even hate each other). ...

... and their specific behavior in the above image shows us an amalgam – that Trump and McConnell:

 

• Don't respect each other
• Don't trust each other

• Are intimidated by each other

• They need each other

Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com  

Ω

Body Language and Behavior Analysis No. 4750: Joe and Hunter Biden, hugs, and true affection – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

 

Yesterday, Hunter Biden was convicted today on three felony charges related to the purchase of a handgun in 2018 violating laws meant to prevent drug addicts from owning firearms.

The above image of Joe Biden hugging Hunter was taken this past February. It demonstrates a crucial component of a sincere hug and thus affection – closed eyes (eyelids). 

If one's eyelids aren't closed during a hug – either the person is distracted (usually with anxiety), they're not emotionally-comfortable with any public affection (anxiety component here, too) – or, the hug is insincere (the affection is being feigned).

Ninety percent of our sensory input and forty percent of the mass of our brains is dedicated to the visual system (the occipital lobe).

When we close our eyes, the blood, nutrients, and neuro-activity are slightly shunted to areas of the brain which serve our other four senses - as well as to the cognitive and emotional centers.

By closing our eyes, we amplify the non-visual areas of our brains. So it's not your imagination that you can taste the wine or the chocolate more deeply, smell the aroma of the flower, or hear music with more nuance, if we close our eyes.
 

It's also very common to close our eyes when we're trying to increase our cognition – when we're trying to 'concentrate', to focus.

 

The same enhancement also is true of our emotions. And when we're sincere – we instinctively want to experience the totality of the affection – to "drink in" the entire hug, and experience every ounce of the moment – thus we close our eyes.

Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com  

Ω

Body Language and Behavior Analysis No. 4749: Donald Trump asked if he would "Declassify the Epstein Files" – Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence

 
Just two days after Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 Felony counts for Election Interference, he gave an interview on Fox News. 

What follows is a body language, statement analysis, and paralanguage analysis of this exchange.

In the above video clip from that interview, Rachel Campos-Duffy asked Trump, "Would you declassify the 9/11, um, files? Trump answers, "Yeah".

Campos-Duffy continues, "Would you declassify JFK files?" Trump again answers, "Yeah", then over-talking her, he continues, "I did, I did a lot of it."

Then she asks, "Would you declassify thee [sic] Epstein files?"

Trump answers, [pause] "Yeee-ahhh...Yee-ahh. I would. I guess I would..." (note his stretching-out the word "Yeah")

Trump continues, "...I think that less so because ya know, ya don't know, it–, You don't wanna affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there – cuz it's a lot of phony stuff with that whole [pause, inhale] world [pause, inhale] Ahum, ah, but I think I would..."

As stated in a previous analysis (No. 4747), Trump is sitting, in what for him, is a highly unusual configuration (only the second time in the last 9 years during a public appearance). His lower legs/ankles are crossed:

Trump normally sits with both feet flat on the floor.

Both in an absolute sense, but particularly with this sudden change in posture, this lower legs/ankles-crossed configuration projects thought-emotions of low confidence and emotional discomfort. 

Note also his low-steeple hand gesture (conventional low-steeple).

The conventional steeple, if used at all, should be used exceedingly sparingly. However, Trump over-uses this body language dramatically. It's a default position for him. It projects an over-compensated ego and arrogance when it's used any more than rarely and very briefly.

Rather than keeping his hands still (as he does 99% of the time), Trump taps his fingers together – demonstrating his anxiety. Because he was told about the specifics of the upcoming question:

 

 

After the question regarding the "9/11 files" and the "JFK files", much of Trump's body language changed dramatically.
 
Immediately prior to Campos-Duffy asking, "Would you declassify the Epstein files?", Trump changes his hand position to a lower-confidence, more psychologically protective left-hand holding the right-hand with thumb-rubbing – in a seated fig leaf (genital guarding):

 

Before she can finish the word, "Epstein", Trump:

• Pulls torso back, (distancing from accusation)

• Displays Loose Tongue Jut (deception, see below)

• Clenches his Jaw (anger)

• Juts his Jaw forward (adrenaline surge)

• Increases hand tension (anxiety, anger)

 

Before he answers, Trump looks down to his right (quadrant to which people overwhelmingly look during moments of deception, shame, guilt [both legal-culpability guilt as well as shame-guilt] and sadness) and pauses.

Notice how Trump says the word "yeah" (twice), he stretches-out the syllables (particularly the first time). He also says them with a less-confident vocal tone (unlike his first two answers to the 9/11 and JFK files).

People often stretch out syllable enunciation during moments when they're formulating lies.

This is an example of both stalling for time (to think) – as well as overcompensation (i.e., "If I try to pronounce clearly [slower, louder, stretching out syllables], my lies will sound truthful").

As he gives his answer, Trump shrugs his shoulders – three times in less than three seconds.

Shoulder shrugging in this context is profoundly telling. It indicates either an attempt to escape from responsibility – or lying. This cannot be emphasized enough... with that whole world § ahum § ah, but I think I would..."

During his answer, Trump also displays two additional Loose Tongue Juts (§) after he says, "world" and again after he says "ahum":

 
A Loose Tongue jut indicates:

• "I just said/about to say something stupid" 

• "I've been/about to be bad"
• "I've got/about to get caught"
• "I just lied/about to lie".

Be careful not to confuse a Loose Tongue Jut with a Tight Tongue Jut or a Wide-Open Tongue Jut, as these indicate completely different thought-emotions.

Note during these second and third Loose Tongue Juts, Trump also paused and inhaled (more time needed to lie, anxiety).

Note Trump's abundance of hedging words used in his answer:

• Yeah ("Yeee-ahhh...Yee-ahh", not "Yes")
• I guess
• I think that less so
• ya know

• ya don't know
• you don't wanna

• If
• it's phony stuff
• cuz it's a lot of phony stuff
• but
• I think I would

Note Trump used the words, "phony stuff" twice (cognitive bias, consciousness of guilt)

And, specifically, Trump's word choice of "ya know, ya don't know" is contradictory (cognitive-emotional dissonance) and bizarre. 

Moreover, Trump's vocal qualities (tone, cadence, rhythm, volume, pitch, etc.) completely changes during his answer to the "Epstein files" vs the 9/11 or the JFK files.

You don't need to be a body language expert or a behaviorist to know Trump is lying here – and that he's displaying consciousness of guilt. You merely have to have been following this story for several years. 

Here's the Rub: to note similar times, when someone who you like and trust, exhibits similar nonverbal behavior (e.g., in everyday scenarios).  

If we fall victim to confirmation bias - would most people then be able to spot the lie if we like the person to begin with? Insincerity? Manipulation?

Answer: Most of the time you wouldn't be able to spot it.

This is the opposite scenario - a person you do not like, but they're telling the truth. Objectivity matters. Science matters. Critical Thinking matters. Beware of Confirmation Bias - when evaluating your own, your adversaries', or your friends' actions/opinions.

SUMMARY: Donald Trump continues to distance himself from Jeffrey Epstein and his crimes/alleged crimes.

Trump was told by Fox News in advance that they were going to ask this question.

He will never "declassify the Epstein files". On the contrary, if he's not already done so – he'll destroy them.

Moreover, Donald Trump feels guilt (legal/culpability-guilt) associated with Jeffrey Epstein and his illicit "activities".

Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com  

Ω