Body Language Expert Shreds Media's Entire 'Putin Was in Charge' Narrative
Was Vladimir Putin the one in charge at Monday’s press conference with President Donald Trump at their Monday summit in Helsinki? Many people would say yes. But one body language expert says that may not have been the case.
Regarding the opening press conference between the two leaders, the U.K. Express reached out to someone to read the tea leaves (so to speak) in Trump and Putin’s posture — and it’s something that’s going to have a lot of Democrats furious.
“Judi James, author and body language expert, told Express.co.uk the duo are not as friendly as the warm words from Trump would have you believe,” the paper reported.
“If the May/Trump summit looked chilly, this Trump/Putin meeting looked buried under a thick layer of perma-frost,” James said.
“Both men arrived performing the kind of alpha posturing you normally see in a boxing ring, swaggering with puffed chests and in Trump’s case a mouth clamp plus what was bordering on a scowl to camera as both pulled at their jackets in what is commonly a ‘prepare to fight’ ritual,” James said.
“In the room for the photo-call though they looked more like a sullen, divorcing couple at crisis counseling.
“Putin was especially sphinx-like, returning little of the sparse eye contact he received from Trump and maintaining a poker face even after Trump’s ‘soccer’ flattery was being translated for him,” she added.
“Trump sat in his usual ‘Trump Slump’ pose with his legs splayed and his fingers in ‘downward steeple’ position to register macho dominance but this time his fingertips tapped together throughout which is a sign of impatience.
“Putin adopted a more elegant power pose, sitting upright with one elbow on the arm of the chair but as Trump spoke Putin’s other hands clasped the lower strut of the chair arm as though irritation could have been making him keen to go.
Trump, she said, “also performed some impatience rituals like scratching up his cuff and finger-fiddling.
“Trump instigated the handshake at the end and it was performed from their seats with a long distance arm-stretch and no patting or prolonging additions to give any clues away about their feelings.
James said that both men “looked annoyed.”
“When they last met their body language was cool and slightly awkward, but in dramatic fashion Putin leaned right out of his chair to whisper and chat to Trump with a smile on his face once the cameras were finished to signal a more off-screen friendship bond,” James said.
“This time the two men sat rigid in their seats with absolutely no eye contact or communication when the lights were turned off.
“This could be a ploy. It could be about pre-meeting posturing and the men could emerge showing friendship signals suggesting they’d each fought hard before allowing themselves to bond.”
But, she said, “if they do emerge in the same frosty style it could imply it might have been better had this meeting never happened.”
Of course, James’ opinions on the press conference to follow weren’t included. That’s the one that most of the media has gone apoplectic over. However, at least when it came to the first round, it looks like it may not have been Putin who was in control — at least if you believe this expert’s years of experience.
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