There is more to the story of Trump not knowing the words to the anthem at last night’s championship football game , at least according to one body language expert. Indeed, in comments here this morning people noticed how odd his behavior seemed, with the strange chest patting and fidgeting like a child who can't stand still. He didn't know when to raise his arm or when to start singing and needed cues from a soldier next to him.
According to a body language expert his gestures show a lack of respect, and a loss of alpha confidence he has exhibited in the past. Hmmm, I wonder what could be causing that?
[Trump’s] nonverbal cues failed to fall into alignment with the feelings of reverence he has expressed in the past, body language expert Patti Wood noted.
Still, she said, it was clear that Trump wasn't 'present' enough to realize when the anthem actually started.
'He doesn't put his hand up until the soldier next to him puts his hand up to salute,' Wood said. 'That is interesting, because he should be awake and aware enough to do that, and yet he doesn't do it.'
Trump's failure to know when to start, she added, is even more noticeable because as a leader, he shouldn't be following others but initiating the movement instead.
The president, as many noticed, didn't sing the whole song, which Wood found especially interesting given how many times Trump has expressed his belief that the anthem is to be respected and honored.
One of his mistakes, she said, was to go back and forth between singing a little and not at all, when he should have settled for either complete stillness or exhaustive singing.
The expert also noticed self-comfort cues on the part of Trump, which suggest he was feeling anxious and attempted to soothe that feeling.
One of these cues manifested itself when the president started swinging back and forth during the anthem.
He should be standing still and be grounded, and instead he's swinging back and forth.'
The movement, she said, typically comes when people find themselves in uncomfortable situations, and can also be performed by children when they get impatient.
'You don't see it in somebody who's in political office, because they would have had to get rid of it to get there,' Wood added.
At the beginning of the anthem, Wood pointed out, Trump patted himself on the chest, in what she described as a 'very unusual' move.
'He uses his hand across his heart to pat himself,' she said. 'He pats with the whole hand and with just the fingers moving to pat.'
Trump's gesture, according to Wood, shows 'a need to comfort himself even during the National
Trump's facial expressions denoted a lack of sincerity, according to the expert.
'He has a look on his face through most of the anthem—his eyes are squinted and I see a scowl on his face.'
The president's smile, which Wood said used to be 'the most beautiful, charismatic, large, magnanimous smile' during his presidential run, and to which she partly attributes his victory, appears to have lost its 'alpha confidence', she added.
'What I see now in this anthem is he puts a smile on but it's plastic, it stays frozen on his face
'That tells me he knows he needs to smile at the end but he's not genuine.
Overall, Wood believes the president was 'tense' during the anthem, and that his behavior was 'not normal'.
'I'm seeing a desire to comfort himself and an anxiety level in a situation where I've seen him be fine before, but not now,' she said.
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Granted I've avoided looking at Trump but I've never seen him smile, ever, so those comments are interesting.
Coming from someone who constantly harangues others for supposed lack of respect for the anthem, his own behavior comes across as quite hypocritical. And it only adds to the irony that Junior thinks this is the model for how it should be done.
This is just more evidence of Trump’s decline. It sounds like Bob Mueller is weighing heavily on his mind. Let's hope