Body Language Analysis No. 4256: President Trump's Reaction to FBI Raid on Michael Cohen - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Yesterday the FBI raided the office of Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. A few hours later, while meeting with senior military leadership, the President commented on this event - as well as on the recent mass-poisoning of civilians by Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of Donald Trump during this statement.

The President begins the meeting by saying, "So I just heard that - they broke into the office of one of  - my personal attorneys — Ω good man. And, ah, it’s a disgraceful situation. It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time. I’ve wanted to keep it down. We’ve given, ah, I believe, over a million pages’ worth of documents to the Special Counsel."

Just before he says, "... a good man ...", Donald Trump elevates his both of his eyebrows - however, his right eyebrow elevates much more than his left. Such asymmetrical (or unilateral) eyebrow elevation indicates doubt/disbelief. Importantly, this nonverbal signal also occurred right after he said, "So I just heard that they broke into the office of one of my personal attorneys". Thus Donald Trump's disbelief could be directed toward either one of these statements (e.g., doubting Cohen is a good man, or in disbelief that the FBI raided Cohen's office).

From a paralanguage/statement analysis perspective, Trump's use of the words, "broke into" is inaccurate and hyperbolic - as it was, of course, a legal act by the FBI.

Additionally, notice that the President didn't say "FBI" - rather he used the nonspecific plural pronoun, "they". Use of the word "they" in this context, without at least first saying "FBI" - indicates the President's low confidence/emotional discomfort in his position.

Moreover, it's difficult to interpret the President's statement of, "I’ve wanted to keep it down" - as anything other than a personal desire to Obstruct Justice.

In the early portions of this video, the President exhibits several displays of what is known as a Lip Curl. A good example occurs during 1:02 and is captured in the above image (during the sentence, "So when I saw this and when I heard it - I heard it like you did - I said, that is really now on a whole - new level of unfairness.")

A Lip Curl involves the lips protruding outward - which primarily happens while speaking. The lips acquire a momentarily and characteristic flaring-outward morphology as they extend away from the teeth in a brief exaggerated motion. A lip curl indicates the alpha emotions of False Bravado, Hubris, Hyperbole, and Braggadocio. Additionally, there's often a component of Sarcasm present.

Now jump ahead to 6:35 - when President Trump displays a characteristic, hyper-alpha mid-level steeple. But this only lasts about three seconds...

He immediately crosses his arms (6:38) - and importantly, with his hands forming fists. Additionally, the fists are hidden beneath his arms. This dynamic occurs immediately as he's asked two simultaneous questions:

• "Mr. President, did you have an affair with Stormy Daniels?"
• "Why don't you just fire Mueller?"

The President uses this same posture throughout a large portion of the video. Crossing the arms - and crucially with one's hands in fists and hidden - is a profound and classic sign of defensiveness-related anxiety. This projects a highly beta emotional tone of low confidence and insecurity.

In the context of public appearances, it's extremely rare for any President to cross their arms - (On 17 November 1973, President Nixon crossed his arms just after he said, "Well, I am not a crook. I've earned everything I've got!"). Yet President Trump displays this body language frequently. Thus, it's not unreasonable to consider the very real possibility that Donald Trump has a movement disorder or a tremor-like condition (either a medical condition of the Central Nervous System or a secondary side-effect from a drug).

Intriguingly, his arms remained crossed - but his right hand becomes partially exposed when he begins talking about Syria and American Military 4:37. This display demonstrates that his relative comfort level has momentarily increased.

And although his right-hand retreats back to cover - with his arms remaining crossed - his index finger remains extended (4:47 - 4:49) as he says, "... and we’re making a decision as to what we do with respect to the horrible attack that was made near Damascus."

In this moment, the President was essentially pointing his right index finger at Bashar al-Assad.

At 5:34, President Trump again slips into a more comfortable mental state - with his right hand again being exposed as he says, "... so - we're going to make a decision tonight, or shortly thereafter..." (with respect to military action on Syria).

Beginning at 7:12, Trump continues, "One of the things they said, 'I fired Comey'. Well, I turned out to do the right thing, because you look at all of the things that he’s done and the lies, and you look at what’s gone on at the FBI with the insurance policy and all of the things that happened - turned out I did the right thing. Ah, But he signed - as you know, he also signed the FISA warrant. So Rod Rosenstein, who’s in charge of this, signed a FISA warrant, and he also, he also f- [stutter] signed a letter that was - essentially saying to fire James Comey. And he was right about that. He was absolutely right."

During 7:23 - 7:30, just after the President said, "... and you look at what’s gone on at the FBI ...", for about 7 seconds, the President displays a nonverbal signal which is very rare for him: He grasps his right index and middle finger with his left hand. This nonverbal signal indicates a very high level of anxiety.


Summary: Nonverbal and paralanguage analysis of President Trump's statement yesterday indicate:

• The FBI raid on Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, has the President extremely worried.

• The President's personal feelings are strongly influencing his military decision making. Donald Trump is more comfortable talking about an act of war, than he is regarding Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels, James Comey, Robert Mueller, or the FBI.

• President Trump very directly admitted his desire to Obstruct Justice when he said, "It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time. I’ve wanted to keep it down."


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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4255: Roger Stone and Julian Assange 

Body Language Analysis No. 4253: Tiger Woods at The 2018 Masters - Nonverbal Biofeedback, Sport psychology, and Emotional Intelligence 

Body Language Analysis No. 4251: Cristiano Ronaldo's Bicycle Kick vs. Juventus F.C. 

Body Language Analysis No. 4249: Will Smith, Sophia the Robot, Robot-Empathy, and Responding in Context 

Body Language Analysis No. 3642 (Reposting): Did Donald Trump Know Vladimir Putin Prior to The 2016 Election?

Body Language Analysis No. 4220: President Trump's Reaction to Governor Jay Inslee ("We need a little less tweeting here and a little more listening")

Body Language Analysis No. 4205: Chloe Kim, Albert Einstein, and Creativity

Body Language Analysis No. 4167: Gary Oldman, Hugh Jackman, and Compliments

Body Language Analysis No. 4087: Harrison Ford Accidentally Punches Ryan Gosling in the Face - Blade Runner 2049

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3267: Jeb Bush, Emotional Dissonance and Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Some critics of Jeb Bush say that he projects "low energy" and he's "not exciting enough". When they make this observation, whether they realize it or not, most of what these people are seeing is his body language.

In most (can you cite the exceptions?) of these five accompanying images, the former two-term Florida Governor's hand-arm positions are configured either relatively alpha or in a more neutral, yet still assertive alpha-beta hybrid stance.

However Jeb Bush negates these positive body language components with two similar and overlapping high-beta nonverbals.

Mr. Bush has a strong tendency to hunch his shoulders. Similarly he also foreshortens his neck and shift it forward (termed the "Turtle" or "Turtle Retreat"). Sometimes one is more prominent than the other, yet he displays both of these nonverbals fairly often. Taken in isolation, either of these body language signs send beta, low-energy and relatively weaker signals. When these are coexistent with hand-arm signals which are stronger or more alpha-beta balanced - the entire cluster then projects a level of emotional dissonance.



Of course his thoracic and cervical spine are not what they were when he was 25, yet this hunching and neck foreshortening are primarily NOT medical in nature - rather they are due to his collective emotional state.

Flashback to when Jeb made his formal declaration of his candidacy: This image was taken just before he went on stage. At this moment he was speaking to his father and the 41st President of the United States - George H.W. Bush. Note his straight back and squared shoulders. There is no hunching - or foreshortening of his neck. His left arm is at a 45 degree angle to his chest and his right arm is being held moderately away from his torso. His feet are slightly less than shoulder width apart. This posture is projecting strength and confidence. You can feel it. Yet this same feeling of strength is substantially lacking in many other moments.









The vast majority of people, certainly the middle 40% of the electorate, do NOT vote with their heads - they vote with their hearts. Of course these same people will dress up their emotions and rationalization with logic and facts - and then proceed to give you (as well as their own silent self-talk) a lot of intellectual reasons why they're voting one way or another.

While you may or may be voting for Mr. Bush or agree with him on any given issue - or you may be a staunch democrat - his body language sends signal to your psyche of a man who is less than full strength. This is NOT a political statement. It's certainly not to say he cannot govern, or perhaps become a good - or even great president. Yet if he is to win the republican nomination and then the White House, he has got to both elevate and project more confidence, assertiveness, energy and strength. As silly as it may sound to some, it is simple strong biology - we all want a leader who - not only is strong - but one who looks strong too. This is also how we choose a life partner - we are pre-programmed to pick a person who projects health and vigor - not age and wither.

Human beings are primarily emotional - and far too many "leaders" - elected or otherwise ignore this at their peril.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3265: Donald Trump, Exaggerated Mouth Movements and Narcissistic, Hyper-Alpha Personalities

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3264: Hillary Clinton, Likability, Perceived Trustworthiness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3197: FIFA, Sepp Blatter and the Pseudo-Prayer

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2749: President Obama, Ukraine's Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and an Alpha-Beta Hybrid  

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2947: Governor Rick Perry - Beta Body Language 


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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2746: John Kerry and Hugh Robertson - Eye Rub, Mouth Covering - Body Language (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

This image shows U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (left) and British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hugh Robertson at a meeting in Rome, Italy on 6 March 2014, during the Conference on International Support for Libya. John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also spoke in depth about the crisis in Ukraine.

Secretary Kerry is displaying a bilateral eye rub. While this of course can be performed when one is tired or suffering from allergies, by far and away the most common reason a person rubs both eyes simultaneously - it is a signal of emotional processing. This lets us know that that the person configured in this body language has an intellect that knows what has/is/must/will transpire - yet their emotional mind is still grappling and coming to terms.

Minister Robertson shows a nonverbal cluster of intertwined fingers, clenched hands in front of mouth, thumbs in front of mouth and touching nose, gaze down to his right, shoulders and neck forward, shoulders hunched and neck retracted (Turtle Neck aka Turtle Retreat), one (right) eyebrow raised. This cluster-context indicates that Hugh Robertson has a very low degree of confidence/low emotional comfort, high anxiety and a high level of incredulity towards that whatever proposal(s) being discussed will succeed.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2745: Vladimir Putin Deception regarding Crimea - Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2647: Vladimir Putin regarding Edward Snowden, What Does the Russian Leader Think?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1705:  François Hollande & the French Presidential Election  The Pistol Steeple and Emotional Dissonance

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2646: Does Barack Obama Want to Go to the Sochi (Russia) Winter Olympics? What His Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2743: Liz Wahl Resigns on air from RT-America ("Russia Today") News Network - Body Language

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 913:  Low Confidence, Low Trust and Demure

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 481:  Interlaced fingers, Brief Thumbs and Hand Elevation - Vladimir Putin


 

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2702: Barack Obama - Anxiety and Non-engagement; Body Language Signals (PHOTO, VIDEO)

Tomorrow night Barack Obama will give his fifth State of the Union Address. Like most second-term U.S. Presidents, his most recent job approval rating (Gallup) is low at 42 percent. So it's not surprising that in moments of the relative privacy of the Oval Office, President Obama displays body language consistent with this diminished public approval.

Touching one's neck, with rare exception (depending on the other nonverbal signs with which it is clustered), signals significant anxiety. This is but one example of what is termed a Manipulator, Adaptor or Pacifier (MAP). The president's full palmar contact with the neck is acts as a signal-amplifier.

Take note of the position of Mr. Obama's left hand. Despite the "Hollywood-ization" of men posing with hands in their pockets, it sends messages of withdraw. It's a significant beta signal of lowered confidence and lowered emotional comfort. A useful metaphor to characterize this body language is a turtle going in it's shell (aka "Turtle Retreat").

Pick up any other subtleties which up-regulate or down-regulate POTUS's anxiety level?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2602: Barack Obama at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2595: Barack Obama's Emotional Dissonance, Low Confidence and the "Turtle Retreat" - He Does Not Want To Be There

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2620: President Obama Tells a Couple Fibs - "Norming" Barack's Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2681: What Did Barack Obama Really think of Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2646: Does Barack Obama Want to Go to the Sochi (Russia) Winter Olympics? What His Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2593: Barack Obama, Insurance Cancellations and Signals of Low Confidence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2511:  Barack Obama & Vladimir Putin  Handshake at 2013 G20 Meeting




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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2595: Barack Obama's Emotional Dissonance, Low Confidence and the "Turtle Retreat" - He Does Not Want To Be There (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Barack Obama was at the Port of New Orleans yesterday. During a speech there he committed several major body language and Presidential faux pas.

This article's subject matter overlaps partially with a recent previous post, however Barack makes even more nonverbal mistakes here.

Throughout much of this appearance here the President uses his right - and non-dominant hand (Mr. Obama is left-handed). This is a strong body language sign of a relative lack of confidence. In addition there were several negative nonverbal amplifiers present.

Mr. Obama's right upper arm and elbow are held close to his torso - a significant demure emotional sign. Moreover his right forearm & wrist are resting on the lectern. This sends further messages of low energy, low confidence and low comfort.

As if this weren't enough, the President places his dominant, left hand in his pocket throughout significant portions of this talk. Barack Obama is far better than most in his body language, however with all the problems recently regarding health insurance cancellations, Obamacare website design flaws and fellow democrats jumping ship - he has of late broadcasted significant signals of a beta emotional tone, and this was surely one of those times. A hand hidden in a pocket, particularly a dominant hand, is a strong signal that the President really doesn't want to be there - thus a part of his dominance is hiding. This nonverbal phenomenon has been termed the "Turtle Retreat".

Barack Obama's act of leaning on the lectern is also quite problematic. Not only does he "turns his back on" a good portion of the audience, which disrespects them and helps to destroy rapport - but this also sends signals of low energy and a lackadaisical attitude that any president, on any day, in any speech, on any subject should not want to send.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2593: Barack Obama, Insurance Cancellations and Signals of Low Confidence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2568: Barack Obama Catches Near-Fainting, Pregnant Woman (Karmel Allison) During Speech

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2560: A Debt Default is (for now) Averted - President Obama's Microexpression of ....

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2541: Barack Obama, Permanent U.N. Security Council Members, Syria's Chemical Weapon Disarmament and a Presidential Gaffe - Body Language in the Oval Office

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2511:  Barack Obama & Vladimir Putin  Handshake at 2013 G20 Meeting

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2519:  Vladimir Putin Speaks Syria,  Chemical Weapons and Disarmament -  Body Language just after his New York Times Op-Ed

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2318:  John Boehner at Rosa Parks Statue Unveiling  A Body Language Signal of Squelching Tears

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