As you know by now, I'm a speech and language person, and I've written extensively on these pages about the Berder King's disordered speech and language, as well as his dangerous rhetoric. But they say that up to 93% of communication is non-verbal. Let's pivot to the more subtle, but still incredibly powerful, non-verbal communication. What is SCROTUS is communicating with his body language?
Interpreting body language is arguably more subjective than speech and language. The "morphology" of body language is more subtle, more fleeting, and many non-verbal aspects are combined, such as: body posture, facial expressions, eye movement, use of space, hand gestures, touching, as well as "tone of voice," which itself is a mishmash of intonation, vocal volume, tempo, and pitch. Despite the subtleties, most of us can interpret the nonverbal message.
Today I look at the purely non-verbal, leaving out the voice characteristics. What is his body telling us?
IN GENERAL
In general – is it a surprise? – 45's body language portrays confidence, large ego, spotlight-loving, and wanting power and control. This is evidenced by the puffed out chest, the hand gestures, the taking up space (looming behind Hillary Clinton, for example, and spread-leg sitting posture), his resting bitch face. There's a lot of analysis out there: here's a summary from The Sun and another one from CNN.
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| puffed out chest: power, confidence |
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| Looming, taking up space, and close proximity: power, dominance, intimidation |
Shoving someone out of the way to be front and center: power, ego, dominance. And, may I add, pure asshole-ness:
THE STEEPLE, HIGHLIGHTING HIS MAN-SPREAD
His go-to posture, especially in photo-ops with world leaders, is a "steeple" combined with man-spreading. We see it over and over. The steeple has been explained as a power gesture, indicating confidence and leadership. The man-spreading is an overt display of dominance. It's a way of both exerting power by taking up space, and displaying sexuality. Baby Fingers really sits no other way.
Here he is winking at Putin and using the "steeple" hand position signals power and confidence.
Dr. Jack Brown* asserts that the "president" uses steepling so much and for such prolonged times that "it backfires and very rapidly becomes hyper-alpha, arrogant, condescending and overlaps with some components of disgust and contempt."
Given that the steepling is almost always combined with man-spreading and is always near his crotch, I have my own theory of the meaning he wants to convey. Given 45's excessive overt sexuality, i.e., proclivity for sexual assault meant to dominate women, I think he is broadcasting his junk. He forms his hands as a target, or a telescope, and places them just there -- over and over and over again. You won't see him sitting with a world leader, or really anyone, without steepling as he is man-spreading.
Man-spreading indicates power and dominance, asserting his role as alpha male. Whenever he is steepling, he is man-spreading, as you can see above. But in the photos below, he really spreads 'em.
I noticed that in a recent meeting with Emmanuel Macron, they seemed to be trying to out-spread each other.
But even his man-spreading and steepling belie a small, small man. Here's this gem of TRUMP and Emmanuel Macron. A picture is worth a thousand words.
And let's contrast Obama sitting with world leaders. What message is he sending? *sigh* I miss Obama!
HIS BABY HANDS
Here's a little on the tiny-hand gestures that he uses. Again, most of his hand gestures try to signal confidence, power, and control.
Here's a little hand-gesture body language midterm exam for you, from a Columbia University grad student!
And speaking of hands.....
THE HANDSHAKE
His trademark grab-and-yank handshake portrays dominance and power. Watch:
There are more handshake videos here and here.
He's obviously trying to – literally – get the upper hand. He just comes off as an asshole. He practically yanks their arm off, and then adds that little condescending hand pat. Ick. I'd go wash up right away. But I love it when leaders come prepared and don't let him get away with it.
THE SNIFFS
He sniffs a lot! Hardly a speech goes by when he isn't sniffing or at least inhaling sharply thorough his nose.
Sniffing as a body-language tell is not easy to decipher.
It could indicate disgust or displeasure. This communication blogger asserts that a person sniffs when he is being deceitful, as the blood vessels of the nose dilate, making them itch. This body language expert from Denver asserts that sniffing is a form of aggression and is a sign that an attack is going to happen (physical or verbal). Could be all of the above with SCROTUS. Or something else, perhaps physiological. A chronic allergy? Or, could be drug use such as cocaine. This last would help explain a lot of his other behaviors.
JOURNALISTS
TЯUMP's body language -- as well as his verbal language -- telegraphs his contempt and disrespect for journalists, especially women of color. We don't need him to telegraph his contempt, however. His verbal language very clearly – and dangerously – conveys his hatred and contempt for the press. Here is an excellent analysis by Dr. Jack Brown* on 45's interactions with journalists.
FAMILY
His body language with Melania tells an interesting story. In the beginning, they both looked happy and relaxed with each other. They lean in to each other, and there is obviously intimacy illustrated by their body positions and touching. Later on, it's her body language that tells the story of their marriage.
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| 1999, before his divorce from Marla was final |
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| Year 2000 |
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| 2003 |
Then, Melania starts looking uncomfortable. (2004)
and fast forward to the last three years:
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| At a rally, 2016. WTF kind of "kiss" is this? |
As they arrived at the White House for the peaceful transition of power, he broadcast a clear message to his wife and the world:
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| At the inauguration ceremony, January 20, 2017 |
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| 2017 |
and here's Stephen Colbert and the Late Show's take on it:
Read more about the non-verbals between Don the Con and Melania here.
Though the body language is pretty clear, his words gave away a little more when he said, in remembering the shooting that injured Rep. Steve Scalise, "[Scalise’s wife] cried her eyes out when I met her at the hospital that fateful day … I mean not many wives would react that way to tragedy, I know mine wouldn’t.”
IVANKA
Probably the most disturbing body-language evidence comes from photos of Donny and his daughter Ivanka. There is no shortage of evidence of the Molester-in-Chief communicating lust and desire toward Ivanka, both in words and body language. I am really uncomfortable seeing these photos. I apologize if they are upsetting to my readers.
Add the creepy words he has used to describe his desire for her, and you have a very disturbing picture indeed. Here's a video that reviews some of this.
And then there was this photo last June, taken on a tour of Winston Churchill's war rooms. It looks like something from a horror film.
You don't need to be an expert in body language to read this creepy photo, but self-proclaimed expert Jack Brown* breaks it down on Medium.com.
THAT WHICH IS MISSING
What is missing from his body language: genuine joy. His smiles look as though he is forcing a dookie. I don't think I've seen him genuinely happy in the last three years, except maybe at the Nationals World Series game, when he was genuinely happy. Until he wasn't.
In the end, we have a tiny man trying to be a big man. Seems all of his body language is just an attempt at power and intimidation. He imagines that this is how a powerful man looks and acts, and he tries to act that way. In reality he's a shadow of a man, trying desperately to be admired and feared. He's become a caricature of himself. He's just a small, small man. Sad.
*A note: I research extensively for my blog. I try to quote to least-biased, factual sources. Dr. Jack Brown is a self-proclaimed body language expert. He has written online extensively, and what he writes makes sense, but I don't see any credentials for him, except that his "Doctor" honorific reflects his being an ophthalmologist. He publishes on Twitter and is quoted in left-biased sites, some with questionable accuracy, so I’m wary of using him. Take his stuff with a grain of salt.
I want to protect the integrity of my blog. I may be as biased as hell but I use factual sources.
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Now go.... #Resist!
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