The above image was captured on 28 May 2024 just prior to the beginning of proceedings on the final day of Donald Trump's election interference trial.
The expression on Trump's face in this image is, surprisingly, relatively neutral, however ...
... Trump's left-hand-over-his-right-fist configuration was a common behavior exhibited by him during the trial:
Trump is right-handed. Covering one's dominant hand, clenched in a fist – with the non-dominant hand is classic body language behavior indicative of trying to cover, sequester, and control one's temper.
Todd Blanche's fingers are interlaced – indicative of frustration, impatience, and sometimes anger. While it's important to not interpret body language in isolation, people often adopt this hand pose when they're trying to appear 'leaderly' and composed:
Todd Blanche's facial expression tells us much more. Note his eyelids are closed. This is a still image, so this could be simply coincidence (caught during a normal blink) but most likely it's not:
Closing one's eyelids frequently and/or for 'extended blinks' in this context indicates impatience, frustration, disbelief, and possibly anger.
Now look at Blanche's mid and lower face – it displays an amalgam of:
• Frustration ** • Impatience ** • Disbelief **
• Regret *****
In particular, note his mouth and cheek asymmetry – with more expression on Blanche's right side – 'hiding' on the side away from Trump.
Also note the 'bunching up' of the area above his upper lip, together with his flared nostrils, and moderately clenched jaw.
SUMMARY: This image of Todd Blanche shows a good nonverbal encapsulation of much of his overall experience as Donald Trump's attorney:
• Regret
• Disbelief
• Frustration
• Impatience
Trump displays diminished impulse control – covering his right (dominant hand) fist with his left hand. A thin veil of restraint.
Inquiries regarding teaching (one-on-one or groups), keynotes, consulting, and press: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com
On Tuesday 8 January 2019, President Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office regarding his proposed Wall at the US-Mexico border. What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of this event.
As he began his Oval Office address, Donald Trump intertwined his fingers (0:06). For him, this hand/arm configuration is rare. He was probably following the advice of a speech coach. Some adopt this pose because they believe it looks strong and/or confident (which was Trump's intent in this moment).
However, depending on the other accompanying (simultaneous or nearly simultaneous) nonverbal signals - this hand configuration often transmits patronizing, condescending, and arrogant emotional tones - or it may signal frustration and/or anger.
This particular hand-over-hand dynamic (0:12) projects feelings of clandestine plotting and a hidden agenda.
Thus, it's no accident that Mr. Burns from The Simpsons also displays this same nonverbal behavior.
Donald Trump uses this Mid-level Steeple far too often (as well as the Low Steeple when he's sitting in a chair with no desk or table in front of him). When used this frequently, this (conventional) steeple strongly projects arrogance and an authoritarian emotional-tone (0:23).
Like all hyper-alpha nonverbal behaviors, anything more than a very little bit is far too much. Trump dramatically over-uses this body language. If he were well advised, the President would have been coached to display this signal for (at most) only about a half a second (if at all) - as he spoke (what he felt was) the most important word - of the most important sentence - of the entire address. Instead, this is very often the President's default hand position.
"While a pinch of garlic is just right, even a little bit more ruins the recipe." Piper Anne Twain
Trump displays an amalgam of Disgust and Anger is during 1:19 as he says, "Vietnam" ("... more Americans will die from drugs this year than were killed in the entire Vietnam War ...").
As he is saying, "... assaults, thirty thousand sex crimes, and four thousand violent ...", note the President is clasping his hands while he's rubbing his right thumb against his left thumb (1:34 - 1:40). This is another nonverbal dynamic rarely used by Trump - and indicates significantly elevated anxiety.
At numerous times during this address, the President raised one eyebrow (his left) indicating his disbelief in his own words. A particularly telling example is shown here (4:12) as he says the word, "request" ("... at the request of Democrats, it will be a steel barrier ...").
During 6:16, just after he says, "Hopefully we can rise above partisan politics in order to support national security", Donald Trump displays a classic Loose Tongue Jut indicating the thought-emotions of:
• I've been bad
• I've been caught
• I've done a stupid thing
Many people noted (and Tweeted) about The President's Dilated Pupils during his Oval Office address (image above was a screenshot from 6:08). Everyone who has been monitoring Donald Trump's pupils closely would have observed these to be Dilated:
• Intermittently
• Equally (or very nearly so)
• Often Extremely (at other times they have been dilated even larger than shown here)
• In a pattern repeated many times over years
Of course, with bright camera lights (or even routine, ambient, indoor lighting), we would expect anyone's pupils to be much smaller.
Note how dilated Trump's pupils are in this image from 2017.
At numerous times the President also exhibited deep nasal inhalations (e.g., 9:15).
SUMMARY: Simple fact-checking of Tuesday's Oval Office address reveals numerous examples of deception. In addition, President Trump's nonverbal behavior indicates he was experiencing the thought-emotions of frustration, anger, disgust, and a high level of anxiety.
Moreover, the President's pupils were significantly dilated. From a medical standpoint, his long-term pattern of bilateral, intermittent pupillary dilation is profound. It's not at all subtle or to be easily dismissed - on the contrary, it is glaring. Sirens Blaring. Red flashing lights.
While there are rare diseases/conditions which may cause such an intermittent, extreme, pupillary dilation, and I have not examined the President directly, any qualified ophthalmologist will tell you that a patient exemplifying these characteristics would be highly suspected of illicit drug abuse (I invite everyone to refute or confirm these medical findings - particularly those physicians with neuro-ophthalmology expertise). This medical principle stands on its own, however when coexisting with the President's prevalent and repeated deep inhalations, Occam's razor leads us - and the safety of the world necessitates us - to demand immediate action. A full and public medical evaluation of the President must be undertaken.
Here's the Rub: when someone we like and/or trust - exhibits similar
nonverbal behavior (e.g., in everyday scenarios) - if we fall victim to
our confirmation bias - would most people then be able to spot the lie?
His insincerity? Her manipulation? The Answer: Most of the time, No - we would be blind to it. Objectivity matters. Critical thinking
matters. Beware of confirmation bias - when evaluating your own, your
adversaries', or your friends' actions, proposals, and opinions.
On Tuesday, President Trump met with South Korean President, Moon Jae-in at the White House. During a question and answer session in the Oval Office, the American President spoke about his scheduled upcoming Summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un. What follows is a partial body language analysis of a portion of this video.
JOHN (Journalist, beginning at 1:31): Can you give us an update Sir, just on where things stand with - with The Summit? Ah, President Moon's National Security Advisor, on the way here, seemed to think that things are on-track, and that - this will indeed happen.
PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, we're moving along and, we'll see what happens. Ah, there 're certain conditions that we want, and I'll think we'll get those conditions - and if we don't - we don't have the meeting - and frankly, it has a chance to be a great, great meeting for North Korea - and a great meeting for the World. Ah, if it doesn't happen - ahnn, maybe it will happen later. Maybe it will happen at a different time. But, we will see. Ah, but we are - a-, talking - ah, thee meeting's scheduled as you know on June twelfth in Singapore - and, ah whether or not it happens you'll be knowing pretty soon - but we're talking right now.∑
During 1:37 - 1:38, as the journalist says, "... National Security Advisor, on the way here, seemed to think ...", President Trump displays a classic mild disgust display.
There are two crucial times during this short statement when the President Shrugs his Shoulders - during 1:47 as he says "... conditions ...", (shown in the photo immediately above) and again, during 2:01 as he says, "... happen ..."
A shoulder shrug is a signal for the thought emotions of:
• I don't know
• I don't care
• What does it matter?
Notice Donald Trump is also looking down as he's shrugging. In this context, this action is a significant adjunct nonverbal.
Of course, a shrug is a dynamic act - and thus is not captured adequately in a still image. Please watch this segment of the video several times to view these gestures in-context.
During 2:13, as the President says, "... ah ...", he displays an expression with significant Regret - and more specifically, that of Sheepish Regret.
At the very end of this particular answer (2:18), just after he says, "... but we're talking right now", The President displays an expression primarily of Frustration (with a secondary component of Regret). This is notated by the ∑ symbol in the above dialog.
SUMMARY: Confident leaders don't shrug. Whether a person's overall personality is alpha, beta, or (like most) somewhere in between - shrugging is a significant signal of low confidence.
Those who closely follow Donald Trump's behavior aren't surprised to hear that many experts are now are saying it's a good bit less likely the Summit with North Korea will go on as planned.
President Trump's body language displayed here - that of regret, sheepishness, frustration, apathy, and low confidence - all indicate that Trump believes he probably won't be meeting with Kim Jong-un on 12 June 2018.
Once it became publicly known that Michael Flynn had lied to Vice President Pence, President Trump asked Flynn to resign. Seven days later Donald Trump named General H.R. McMaster in his place.
The above image (and close-up below) of General McMaster was taken at Mar-a-Lago on 20
February 2017 - on the National Security Advisor's first day on the
job.
From a nonverbal perspective, the components of General McMaster's facial expression in this moment include:
• Mild-moderate Jaw Jut
• Thinned, horizontal-oriented lips
• Mouth corners are laterally-vectored
• Tension in the region above upper lip/below the nose (aka mustache area)
• Nostril Flaring
• Tense/contracted Lower Eyelids
• Upper Eyelids opened significantly wider than baseline
• Forehead elevation (full width)
This nonverbal cluster indicates an amalgam of the emotions:
• Anger
• Frustration
• Regret
Summary: Since his first day as National Security Advisor, more than any other single emotional expression, it's this particular and classic cluster of Anger, Frustration, and Regret which General H.R. McMaster has most frequently displayed throughout his tenure.
On Friday morning, via Twitter, President Trump denied making such a derogatory statement. Note Trump's lack of the word "I" in each of the first two sentences of denial. Such an omission of the singular first-person pronoun is a classic statement analysis pattern consistent with deception.
Senator Dick Durbin, who was in the Oval Office when the President allegedly made the statement regarding the incident. This is featured in the above video.
From a nonverbal behavior perspective, Senator Durbin sincerity quotient is high. More specifically - he shows no signals of deception.
Note the expression in the image immediately above - which was captured during 1:44 in the video (notated by Ω) as Senator Durbin says, "The most disheartening thing to me isΩ my belief that that was the first time words that hateful had been spoken in the Oval Office of the White House ..."
This expression, which was very evanescent (and thus classified as "microexpression") - is indicative of an amalgam of the emotions:
• Regret
• Frustration
• Sadness
Summary: Senator Dick Durban was in the Oval Office when President Donald Trump allegedly made his a statement referring to African countries and Haiti as "shithole countries". Senator Durbin's nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage behavior in the above video are all consistent with sincerity. More specifically, Senator Durbin displayed no signals of deception.
Additionally, President Trump's lack of the use of the word, "I" in each of his sentences of Twitter denial are classic statement analysis findings consistent with deception.
Although Senator Franken said he remembered the details of the skit rehearsal differently, he quickly apologized to Ms. Tweeden. His apology was made in the form of a written statement - initially a brief one which was met with criticism - and a few hours later, a
lengthier statement - which Ms. Tweeden accepted. Senator Franken also said he would cooperate fully with a Senate Ethics Committee inquiry.
While Senator Franken may, in fact, be truly sorry for his actions - from an emotional intelligence perspective, a written apology will never begin to have the level of sincerity and impact that an in-person apology would.
No one believes or wants to hear an apology written by anyone - particularly something that sounds like it was written by an attorney. Sincere apologies are spoken from the heart - not read from a script.
From a crisis management, public relations, and political point of view - an in-person apology, provided it is sincere, is also, with rare exception, the best course of action. In fact, it would be wisest for Senator Franken to apologize first to Ms. Tweeden in-person - and then to his electorate on camera.
The images shown above were not taken during this apology - but they do show Senator Franken with a facial expression which is extremely common
during public apologies.
His jaw is clenched - indicating an adrenaline surge. His lips are rolled inward (an Inward Lip Roll aka ILR) - demonstrating an attempt at suppressing strong emotions. The corners of his mouth are pulled laterally and down - and the tissue around his lips is "bunched up". Along with his downward gaze, this facial expression cluster is classic primarily for that of Strong Regret - and secondarily for Frustration.
This Bitter-Regret + Frustration expression is often referred to as a Mea Culpa Face.
Intriguingly, when in private, the same individuals tend to display facial expressions with increased elements of sadness, shame, and empathy.
Yesterday, US Secretary of StateRex Tillerson made a statement and answered a few questions regarding conflicts which some have alleged he has had with President Trump. Along with specifically denying he has considered resigning, Secretary Tillerson also very notably refused to answer a question as to whether or not he called President Trump, "A Moron".
SENATOR CORKER (beginning at 0:00): I, I think, ah, Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Mattis, Ω∫ [lip smack] and, ah, Chief of Staff Kelly, ahum Ω∫ , are - those people that help separate our country from chaos. And, ah, Ω∫ [lip smack] I, ah, support them very much. Ahum Ω∫ [lip smack], and I, I don't know what he may have said after the briefing. Ahum [lip smack]. I watch from, I, I mean look - I see what's happening here - I deal with people throughout the administration - and, ahum I, he, he, from my perspective is in an incredibly frustrating place - where Ω∆ - ahum Ω∫ [lip smack] - as I watch, okay - and I can watch very closely on many occasions - I mean, I, you know, Ω he ends up not being supported in the way that I would hope a Secretary of State would be supported.
[video omission/splice at 0:50]
SENATOR CORKER: I, I, think he's in a very trying situation - trying to Ω, Ω∫ [lip smack] to ah Ω, solve many of the World's problems Ω, ahum, a lot of times without the kind of support and help that I'd like to see him have Ω∫ .
JOURNALIST A: Does he ever think about resigning at any point in time?
SENATOR CORKER: Ω I, I can't get into that.
JOURNALIST B: When you say that Tillerson, Mattis, and Kelly are separating this country from chaos - do you mean th-, from th-, President's chaos?
SENATOR CORKER: Well it's just they, they, they, they act in a very, ah, they work very well together to make sure that the policies that we put forth around the World Ω∆ are - you know ∆ - sound and coherent. There are other people Ω ah, ah, ah within the administration in my belief that don't Ω∆ - okay? I'm sorry.
This photo (immediately above) was captured during 0:09, just after the Senator says, "... Chief of Staff Kelly, ahum ..." and just prior to "... are - those people that help separate ..."
Notice the significant lateral vectoring of the corners of his mouth - this signifies Regret (Ω notates Regret displays in the dialog above). The Inward Lip Roll indicates a suppression of strong emotions - however, the outward bulging of the tissue below his lower lipprojects Frustration (∫ notates Frustration).
This image shows Senator Corker, momentarily expressing Regret, just after he says, "... where ..." and before he says, "... ahum - as I watch, okay..." (during 0:36). Here we see his mouth corners pulled directly laterally.
Another simultaneous emotion in this moment is that of Disgust. Do you see it? It's subtle. (Slight tightening of the tissue in his "mustache area" along with mild flaring of his nostrils). Disgust is notated by the ∆ sign in the above dialog.
This last picture is more of a pure regret expression - although it occurs more during speech - just as Senator Corker begins to say, "I, I can't get into that" (During 1:02 - In response to a question as to whether Secretary Tillerson had considered resigning).
Note how this image is a bit blurry due to the Senator's head moving away from the journalist as he begins his answer - another manifestation of regret.
It's important to stress that this is but a partial nonverbal analysis with only some of the more prominent signals notated.
Summary: Senator Bob Corker has significant regret, frustration, and disgust for President Trump. He also has knowledge that Secretary Tillerson has, in fact, considered resigning.
General McMaster displayed some particularly interesting nonverbal signals as the very first question was being asked (beginning at 6:00 in the above video):
Journalist: Thanks a lot. General McMaster, ah, you came out to the stakeout are yesterday and, ah, and coming out to the stakeout area, you said that the Washington Post story, which came out yesterday afternoon, was false. Do you stick by that assertion? Do you think that every element of that story is false and do you have anything to correct, in terms of what you said at the podium yesterday afternoon?
Now watch his face one more time in slow motion - paying close attention to McMaster's face as the journalist says the words which are color-coded below.
Journalist: Thanks a lot. General McMaster, ah, you came out to the stakeout are yesterday and, ah, and coming out to the stakeout areayou said that the Washington Post story, which came out yesterday afternoon, was false. Do you stick by that assertion? Do you thinkthat every element of that story is false and do you have anything to correct, in terms of what you said at the podium yesterday afternoon?
This first image was captured during 6:05, as McMaster was listening to the journalist's words, "... coming out ...". Note the general tilts his head downward (as he also gazes downward) and juts his jaw significantly forward. There are even portions of his lower teeth visible. This is significant for a sizable adrenaline surge. In this moment, he is experiencing the emotion of anger.
In the next instant (during 6:06), as the general was listening to the journalist say, "... the stakeout area...", we see an excellent example of an Inward Lip Roll (ILR). An inward lip roll is a signal of the psyche's attempt at suppressing the crescendo of strong emotion (both felt internally and displayed externally).
A spit second later, as the journalist spoke the words, "... you said ..." (6:07), General McMaster displays a clear primary expression of Contempt (note his left 'Mustache area tighten and elevate simultaneous with his left flared nostril) - and with a secondary component of Anger (His eyebrows are drawn downward and slightly closer together. There is also increased tension in his lower eyelids). This display is evanescent enough to classify it as a microexpression.
A few seconds later in the same question, as the Journalist says, "... assertion? Do you think ..." (6:15 - 6:16), General McMaster again both gazes and tilts his head downward - as he juts his jaw forward - this time exposing even a bit more of his lower teeth. Once again, this display indicates Anger.
With the very next words of, "... that every element of that ..." (6:16 - 6:17), H.R. McMaster clenches his jaw in Anger - as the tissue below his lower lip bulges up (Frustration) and his chin displays dimpling. This was a very common expression of Barack Obama during his presidency.
Summary: H.R. McMaster felt significant emotional dissonance during his press conference on 16 May 2017. The short segment above demonstrates anger, contempt, frustration - as well as a strong desire to suppress these feelings. It's not possible, with this limited sampling, to determine whether the general feels these emotions toward himself, the journalist asking the question, the Russians, President Trump, or some other person(s).
