The above image was captured on January 6th 2024 in Newton, Iowa – three years to the day after the insurrection.
It demonstrates an expression that Trump displays relatively rarely – and in light of his legal troubles, its evaluation is particularly important.
Note Trump's jaw is extended forward. This is a manifestation of an Adrenaline Surge (which, in isolation, could indicate a number of different thought-feelings – but read on for the full analysis).
This jaw jutting is photographically highlighted by the evanescent empty space/temporary cavity behind Trump's jaw and below his ear (tissue stretching forward). The shading from the angle of the light in this moment makes it especially easy to see.
Next look at Trump's mouth – the corners are pulled laterally w/ an additional downward vectoring. Due to the angle of this image, we're unable to evaluate the symmetry of this dynamic, however it appears to be more prominent on his left.
This is a mouth expression indicative of fear.
Now observe the direction of Trump's gaze. He's looking down to his right. Although there could very well be an unrelated and valid reason to otherwise look in this direction, it's also the quadrant we tend to look toward during highly emotional moments.
Crucially, pay close attention to Trump's neck. Although he's not a thin individual (making it more difficult to visualize), we can see his neck muscles (sternocleidomastoids ['ropy' muscles] and his platysma [nearly thin paper-thin muscle just below neck skin] TIGHTEN).
This dynamic is a 'Neck of Fear'.
SUMMARY: This expression of Donald Trump is highly-indicative of FEAR, particularly his:
• Neck of Fear • Mouth of Fear • Jaw Jut
All individuals, professionals, and businesses/organizations who want to (need to) dramatically improve their Body Language skills and nuance their understanding of Emotional Intelligence please email me: Jack@BodyLanguageSuccess.com Group and individual sessions available.
Earlier today, Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters - his first since 2005. Woods has not been victorious in a Major since the 2008 US Open.
Tiger, has who has fifteen Majors wins to his credit - is second only to Jack Nicklaus' eighteen. Some are already calling Tiger's comeback the greatest in sports history.
The image above (and the accompanying close-up) taken shortly after his win, captures some crucial nonverbal tells.
Note Tiger's lips are turned inward and held between his teeth. This display is known as an Inward Lip Roll (ILR). It's an extremely common signal of the suppression of strong emotions - good, bad, and bittersweet. Although it's not always successful, an inward lip roll will often prevent our thought-emotions from spiraling out of control - and it also helps to muzzle our full facial expressions. As with 99.99+ % of nonverbal behavior, the inward lip roll is almost always subconsciously driven.
Woods' mandible is momentarily thrusting forward. This dynamic is a Jaw Jut - a signal of an adrenaline surge. Holding one's arms high - along with the formation of fists are also manifestations of a rise in adrenaline. Intriguingly, if you adopt this configuration - right now - your adrenaline will also ascend (Go ahead, try it - Stanislavski in your living room).
Tiger's mid-facial area is highly contracted too. Specifically, his cheek muscles are tightened and pulled laterally (not upward as they would be if he were smiling). Moreover, his mustache area (the area above the upper lip and below the nose) is also quite taut (more so than with the majority of inward lip rolls). In addition, Woods' nostrils are also widely flared.
Whenever assessing body language, one should never overlook the eyes (most people are profoundly unaware of what nuance their own eyes are projecting in real time). Tiger's eyes are partially closed. This closure is active, not passive - with his lower eyelids showing significant tension.
You may notice that Tiger Woods' face is also reddened. In this context, it's a signal of both peripheral vasodilation (blood vessels increasing in diameter just beneath the skin, a form of blushing) - as well as decreased venous return secondary to an (unconscious) relative Valsalva maneuver.
SUMMARY: Captured shortly after his 2019 Masters victory, this image of Tiger Woods shows him in an understandably emotional moment - in the midst of an adrenaline surge - whilst also suppressing tears.
On Monday 14 January 2019, President Trump addressed a press gaggle on the South Lawn of the White House prior to his travel to New Orleans. What follows is a partial nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage analysis of a crucial portion of this event.
KRISTEN WELKER (beginning at 3:15): Mr. President, yes or no, have you or are you now, have you ever worked for Russia? Yes or no?
DONALD TRUMP: I never worked for Russia. And you know that answer better than anybody. I never worked for Russia. Not only did I never work for Russia, I think it's a disgrace that you even asked that question - because it's a whole big fat hoax. It's just a hoax.
During 3:20, just as he says, "I" ("I never worked for Russia"), he closes both of his eyes. When people are denying an accusation - and they close their eyes while saying the pivotal word "I", it's highly correlative with deception. It's an attempt by the subconscious to distance itself from the lie.
Of profound importance is Trump's vocal emphasis as he says the word, "work" (during 3:26, "Not only did I never WORK for Russia"). Listen to him speak. An innocent person would have put the emphasis on the word, "Not" as well as "never". And also, importantly, an innocent person would have first answered, "No" - after all, the question was, "Mr. President, yes or no, have you or are you now, have you ever worked for Russia? Yes or no?"
Trump's emphasis on the word "work" is an example of his rationalization - e.g., Trump is trying to rationalize that he was/is not working for Russia - but doing something else - perhaps partnering with or conducting business.
Trump also may very well believe that he was not at all working with Russia - but with one man only - Vladimir Putin. Thus, he can deny the accusation.
Moreover, another crucial statement analysis tell is the word "for" ("I never worked for Russia" [twice], and "Not only did I never work for Russia"). In his rationalizing mind, Trump is saying, "I worked with Russia (Putin), but not for Russia (Putin) - I don't work for anyone except myself".
When, in the act of refuting a lie, if the
accused gestures with a Finger-Point-Hand-Chop - it's a nonverbal signal
which is highly correlative with guilt. This body language is exactly what President Trump displayed when responding to Kristen Welker's question.
There's even further nuance embedded in Trump's gesturing. Note how his elbow, shoulder, and wrist all remain bent. During his finger-point-hand-chop at Ms. Welker, none of the joints achieve anywhere near full extension. If Trump had believed his own words, he would have straightened his arm much further in this moment. Instead, the President, lacking confidence in his retort, keeps his arm close to his torso. The President often exhibits such camouflaged acquiescing behavior.
(Did you notice his eyes were again closed at this key moment?)
Another telling nonverbal display (seen during 3:34) is what is known as a Lip Curl as Trump says, "hoax" ("It's just a hoax"). Note how his lips are flaring and curled outward in this instant (captured in the image above).
He then Thrusts his Jaw outward, tilts his head-neck back, while rotating his head away from Ms. Welker, to his left and then back again to his right while staring into the middle-distance (3:35).
Like any person who is guilty, but attempting to look strong and
in-control, Trump is oscillating back-and-forth between alpha and beta
emotions.
Jaw-Thrusting-Head-Tilting is a sign of an adrenaline surge and indicates the thought-emotion of defiance. Intriguingly, this dynamic is extremely common in mug shots (e.g., "I'm going to beat the rap").
Trump then looks back to Ms. Welker as he displays a Loose Tongue Jut (3:37). This microexpression/near-microexpression tongue movement signals Trump's thought-emotions of:
• I've been caught
• I've been bad
• I've done a stupid thing
A split-second later (also during 3:37), Trump's chin again extends outward, but this time his head does not tilt back. This is also associated with an adrenaline surge, however, this indicates Anger (Did you notice the increased tension in his lower eyelids?).
Mr. Trump then displays strong Contempt toward Ms. Welker as his right mid-face contracts dramatically - while his jaw is still jutting forward (still during 3:37).
Another key feature of this entire exchange, is that President Trump
never turns fully toward (he never Body Points) to Kristen Welker. While
his head and eyes are turned toward the journalist - his shoulders and torso do not (and by inference - neither do his hips or feet). This is another sign of his beta behavior - and that the President does NOT have the
confidence to fully confront this question/his accuser.
Moreover, two days earlier, during a phone interview on Fox News - when Jeanine Pirro asked Donald Trump, "Are you now or have you ever worked for Russia, Mr. President?", the President never answered the question. His failure to directly deny such accusations - even on a network that is extremely Trump-friendly, is particularly telling.
SUMMARY: Donald Trump's nonverbal, verbal, and paralanguage behavior displayed during this key moment earlier this week, all indicate that the President is lying - and that he did indeed "work for Russia" (Putin).
President Trump routinely retreats into beta mode while wearing an alpha facade. He's an ostrich pretending to be a T-Rex.
On Saturday morning at the G7 Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec - Donald Trump arrived
late to the Gender Equality Advisory Council meeting. Trump missed
Justin Trudeau's opening statement and interrupted Isabelle Hudon's
statement (the council's co-chair - and Canada's ambassador to France)
during his arrival.
Christine Lagarde (Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
[IMF]) is seated immediately to his right while Canadian Lieutenant
General Christine Whitecross (currently the commandant of the NATO
Defense College in Rome) is sitting immediately to Trump's left.
The image immediately above (and the cropped, close-up below) shows President Trump later during this same meeting.
Although we don't know the complete context of this moment (who just spoke, what was said, who is currently speaking, etc.), President Trump's facial expression is quite telling and worthy of analysis. Here we see clear evidence of:
• Jaw Jut (forward displacement of mandible)
• Clenched Jaw
• Dimpling/wrinkling on Front of Chin
• Bottom Teeth Bared
• Considerable tightening in the "Mustache area"
• Flaring of Nostrils
• Eyelids partially closed
• Tension in lower eyelids
• Not looking directly at another person (e.g., as opposed to a full or partial rotation of the torso along with a greater rotation of the head/neck)
• Inner (medial) Eyebrows vectored downward
• Eyebrows drawn together
This nonverbal cluster is indicative of significant anger with elements of rage. Certainly, anger of any magnitude, let alone rage is completely out of context for any professional setting. Moreover, with high probability, it also signals the presence of underlying impulse control disorder.
SUMMARY: In this moment, while at the Gender Equality Advisory Council meeting at the 2018 G7 Summit, Donald Trump's facial expression exemplifies a classic expression of Elevated Anger bordering upon Rage.
On Wednesday 30 May, during a White House Press Briefing, Sarah Huckabee Sanders choked up in response to a question from a 13-year-old boy (Benjamin Choucroun). What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of this exchange.
BENJAMIN CHOUCROUN (beginning at 13:02): At my school, we recently had a lockdown drill. One thing that affects mine and other students’ mental health is the worry about the fact that we or our friends could get shot at school. Specifically, can you tell me what the administration has done and will do to prevent these senseless tragedies?
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS: I think that ahhh - as a kid, and certainly as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe. So I’m sorry that you feel that way. This administration takes it seriously, and the School Safety Commission that the President convened is meeting this week, again, an official meeting, ah, to discuss the best ways forward and how we can do every single thing within our power to protect kids in our schools and to make them feel safe and make their parents feel good about dropping them off.
During13:05, just after Benjamin Choucroun says, "We recently had a lockdown drill ...", Sarah Huckabee Sanders displays a cluster of:
During 13:08, just as Mr. Choucroun says the word, "... mental...", Ms. Sanders creates a relative vacuum in her mouth - thus sucking in her cheeks as she once again displays an extended blink.
This dynamic is indicative of anxiety.
Ms. Huckabee Sanders repeats this sucking-in cheek display once again during 13:09 - 13:10
Then during 13:18 - 13:19, Ms. Huckabee Sanders displays successive hard swallows - indicating additional heightened anxiety.
During 13:22, Ms. Huckabee Sanders displays a Jaw Confessional, just prior to saying, "... as a kid ..."
A Jaw Confessional is characterized by a brief sideways movement of the jaw and it indicates sincerity in what a person says immediately afterward (In this case, "... as a kid - and certainly, as a parent, there is nothing that could be more terrifying for a kid to go to school and not feel safe ...").
As she says, "... terrifying ...", Sarah Huckabee Sanders:
• Pulls away her torso and head away from the audience
• Her Voice cracks
• Voice grows higher in pitch
• Inner (medial) eyebrows vector downward
• Mouth takes on a sad configuration
A Jaw Jut betrays her surge in adrenaline, just after she says, "... terrifying ..."
As she says "... safe ..." (at the end of the sentence, "... for a kid to go to school and not feel safe ..."), her face grows sadder (note down-turned inner (medial) eyebrows - as well as her down-turned mouth corners).
Once again, her voice grows higher in pitch - and it cracks.
Yet less than a second later, the White House Press Secretary is trying to smile.
But during 13:28, as she says, "... I'm sorry ...", her facial expression again becomes more empathetically-sad.
And yet, she continues her sentence with, "... I'm sorry that you feel that way ...". From a statement analysis perspective, this phrase is not apologizing at all. It's as if she's saying, "You may feel that way, but your feelings aren't based on reality. Your feelings aren't objective". It invalidates his experience and perspective. This specific statement overlaps with emotions of contempt and refusal to admit any responsibility.
At the end of this same sentence, as she says the word, "...way ...", (13:30) she looks down to her right (the corner we most frequently look to [by far] when experiencing emotional pain) - as she is trying to smile.
SUMMARY: During this exchange, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is experiencing strong cognitive and emotional dissonance. There are nonverbal (as well as verbal and paralanguage) elements of both sincerity and insincerity. This is because she's experiencing the emotional tension between what she feels as an individual - and what she's required to think-feel-say as the White House Press Secretary. It's a truly Jekyll and Hyde moment. This is Sophocles' Antigone - but with the opposite ending.
