President Donald Trump hosted fairly a singular joint press conference alongside billionaire Elon Musk on the Oval Workplace on Tuesday, and physique language consultants suppose the occasion revealed quite a bit.
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Trump started the convention by giving Musk, his strongest adviser, the ground to talk about efforts to downsize the federal government by way of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), an initiative the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is main.
Trump claimed in the course of the convention that DOGE has discovered “billions and billions of {dollars} of waste, fraud and abuse” in authorities spending — although neither Trump nor Musk supplied specifics.
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The president signed an executive order later that day to proceed downsizing the federal workforce and to develop authorities hiring energy for DOGE. The Musk-led initiative has already faced several lawsuits and court orders because it was established final month.
However the one-of-a-kind convention spurred lots of reactions on social media. Trump was seated on the Resolute Desk all through the dialogue, whereas Musk — who was not elected to workplace by American voters, and who has been criticized for the lack of transparency into DOGE operations — stood close by along with his 4-year-old son. Clips of the preschooler’s typical 4-year-old conduct in the course of the convention, such as picking his nose, made rounds on the web.
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MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell said on Tuesday night that Trump’s convention with Musk — the richest man on this planet and now a “particular authorities worker” — displayed “essentially the most powerless picture of a president of the US ever created by a digicam.”
Learn on to listen to what consultants must say about Trump’s physique language in the course of the convention, and what it may imply.
Trump was seated in the course of the convention whereas Musk stood close by. What would possibly these completely different positions show?
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Patti Wood, a physique language and nonverbal communication knowledgeable and creator of SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions, Physique Language, and Charisma, instructed HuffPost that she thinks Musk’s standing “exhibits a sure degree of energy over Trump, who’s sitting.”
Wooden additionally identified that Musk’s informal apparel (he sported a black “Make America Nice Once more” cap) in comparison with Trump’s extra formal apparel additionally despatched a message.
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“Musk sporting a T-shirt, coat and a cap exhibits he doesn’t really feel a necessity to decorate up or honor Trump by sporting skilled clothes,” she mentioned.
Karen Donaldson, a communication and physique language knowledgeable, instructed HuffPost that she believes Trump and Musk’s completely different positions confirmed the “belief and respect” that the president has for the billionaire X proprietor.
It conveyed that Trump has no must “pronounce his authority or place” over Musk.
Denise M. Dudley, a psychologist and creator of Making Relationships Final, instructed HuffPost that the standing vs. sitting positions may have been deliberate with the intention to indicate Trump in a extra dominant place with Musk standing a number of toes behind him.
What do consultants make of Trump’s total physique language whereas Musk was talking to reporters?
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Dudley thinks the president appeared “bored” whereas Musk spoke.
“He nods his head in settlement at semi-appropriate moments, however he largely simply sits there along with his arms folded,” she mentioned, including that she thinks Trump was in an “unnatural” place having to sit down quietly whereas another person talked — and with out having the “limelight directed towards him.”
She added that Trump’s physique language confirmed that he was “faux listening” as a result of his nods had been “completely random” and he sported a “imprecise, mounted” facial features whereas Musk was talking.
Donaldson pointed to the temporary moments during which Trump gave a slight smile at Musk, saying it presumably conveys considerably of a “proud papa second.”
Mark Bowden, physique language knowledgeable and creator, mentioned that when Trump smiled and laughed whereas Musk shared various claims about Social Security fraud, it confirmed that the president loved Musk’s remarks and that “he is aware of that these exaggerated examples will resonate most with the general public.”
Bowden instructed HuffPost that he thinks the president exhibited a “protecting gesture” — wanting away, inspecting his arms, masking his knuckles and pursing his lips — when Musk mentioned, “Clearly, we need to ensure that individuals who deserve Social Safety do obtain it.”
There have been “mistimed and miscommunicated regulatory indicators between them,” he mentioned, including that “Regulator indicators are gestures that assist us perceive who ought to converse when.”
“Sadly, the optics of this might counsel that Trump essentially disagrees with Musk — or at finest, is visibly detached to Individuals receiving the Social Safety they deserve,” Bowden mentioned.
Wooden thinks that Trump and Musk’s completely different standing/sitting positions put the president within the much less highly effective place — and Trump, in consequence, exhibited stress.
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“Musk standing behind him, making Trump have to show round awkwardly to work together, instantly reduces Trump’s energy,” she mentioned. “You possibly can see Trump’s stress by the best way he holds his personal hand.”
She mentioned that Trump holding his proper hand down in a comfortable fist whereas his higher hand clamped over it’s a “gesture that signifies he desires at some degree to struggle Musk (the fist) however is conserving himself from doing it.”
Wooden additionally identified that all through the convention, Trump made the trouble to nonverbally work together with Musk, and never essentially the opposite means round.
She mentioned that this stands out as a result of sometimes, when persons are talking to Trump, they flip to face him, and the president not often bodily turns his “physique home windows” — which implies, for instance, his coronary heart, neck, mouth and eyes — in direction of folks he’s interacting with, Wooden defined.
What can we take away from Musk bringing his 4-year-old son to the convention?
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Individuals on social media criticized Musk for bringing his youngster to the press convention, with some accusing the billionaire of using his son as a distraction.
Even the kid’s mom, Canadian pop singer Grimes, criticized Musk for taking their son to the Oval Workplace press convention, writing on X, previously Twitter: “He shouldn’t be in public like this.”
Bowden mentioned that he believes Musk’s son’s presence was clearly used as a “image” of Trump’s energy.
“In the event you can have the wealthiest particular person on the planet in a room, standing with their youngster, nonetheless sporting their coats and hat, then clearly, you’re the extra highly effective one,” he mentioned.
As for Musk, Bowden thinks the Tesla CEO used his son as a distraction, notably at one point, when he appeared to deflect a query by jokingly saying that his son, who was then on his shoulders, was sticking his fingers in his ears. A reporter had requested Musk to expose extra details about the fraud his DOGE workforce has claimed to have seen inside the Treasury Division.
“On this second, Musk makes use of his son as a automobile to justify his personal discomfort,” Bowden mentioned. “He takes off his hat, brushes his hair again, and swings back and forth — all nervous adaptive behaviors.”
Wooden known as the scenario weird, saying that Musk was attempting to include his preschooler whereas speaking about “making important, impactful modifications” like slashing federal budgets. She thinks Musk was seemingly suggested that having his son there would make him look “heat and fuzzy,” however that as a substitute it made him look “clownish” and “Trump ineffective by affiliation.”
She mentioned that Trump made “failed” efforts to work together with the 4-year-old at factors within the convention.
“Trump’s look of overt anger on his face, tilted shoulder placement that exhibits displeasure, whereas he appears to have to sit down there and take it,” she mentioned in regards to the president’s total demeanor.
Donaldson doesn’t suppose Trump appeared “overly bothered or involved” by the kid, and that when the 4-year-old grew to become extra vocal at first of the convention, Trump appeared to attempt to silence him in a “very calm, grandparent-like trend.”
Dudley believes Trump seemed irritated in the course of the occasion when Musk made a joke that “gravitas will be troublesome generally” after his son started talking.
“Nobody actually laughs,” she mentioned in regards to the response to Musk’s joke. “And Trump makes a really weak smile — virtually a smirk. I believe this second is necessary. I believe Trump is doing his finest to indicate approval of (and solidarity for) Musk’s resolution to incorporate his son within the convention.”
“Nevertheless, I believe Trump is irritated,” she added. “Trump retains his arms tightly clasped collectively on his desk and appears down for some time.”
“Trump’s physique language says that he was not in favor of getting a child attending his necessary press convention,” she later added.
What did Trump’s physique language convey when a reporter requested Musk about his potential conflicts of curiosity because the DOGE chief?
In the course of the convention, a reporter requested Musk whether or not he could be “policing” himself because of his potential conflicts of curiosity as head of DOGE, contemplating his corporations have received billions of dollars in federal government contracts through the years.
Dudley thinks Trump’s physique language confirmed quite a bit at that second.
“This is likely one of the few occasions when Trump appears on the digicam, intertwines his fingers, appears on the digicam once more, frowns, wiggles round somewhat, after which begins wanting again at Musk,” she mentioned. “He retains his fingers intertwined whereas frowning.”
She mentioned she initially thought Trump’s conduct revealed a nervousness because of the reporter’s query, however then puzzled if Trump was “attempting to wake himself up.”
“Perhaps it’s a little bit of each,” she mentioned. “The query in all probability did make him uncomfortable, and he in all probability grew to become very occupied with how Musk was going to reply it, however I additionally suppose that is the place Trump misplaced his focus and wished to be achieved with the convention.”
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With the rising energy given to Musk’s DOGE and ongoing requires extra transparency, it continues to be necessary to maintain up with Trump’s govt actions and any nonverbal cues that may reveal any details about Trump and Musk’s allyship.
This text initially appeared on HuffPost.
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