A body language expert has weighed in on the moments everyone is talking about from President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Judi James decoded everything from Trump’s ‘alpha mode’ arrival to St John’s Church in Washington DC , to Jill Biden’s subtle shun to Joe.
James told Paddy Power Trump’s arrival was a display of ‘alpha mode at full throttle’.
‘The chest? Inflated and splayed like a cockerel in a power pose. The spine? Upright enough to make a Buckingham guard jealous,’ she said.
‘The expression? A lip-clamp and raised jaw combo that screamed, ‘I’m in charge. Again’.’
Pointing to him and wife Melania watching a firework display on Sunday night, James said his whole persona screamed ‘serious business’.
On Monday morning, while in St John’s church as they kickstarted the inauguration ceremony, she said there a subtle ‘power play’ offered by Melania.
James said: ‘Trump held Melania’s hand, but this time, it was Melania who made the first move, offering hers in a subtle ‘power play.’
‘Trump took it after a moment, suggesting an agreement between the two: her status and profile this time around were part of the show.
‘Even their outfits were perfectly coordinated. It was a power couple display, but made it fashion.’
James said the Trumps gave ‘a more pronounced display of unity’ as they left the church.
‘Trump lifts the clasp (their held hands) higher a few times, almost waving it as they walk towards their car, as though signaling both pride in his wife and a gentlemanly concern for her as they step off the curb.
‘Trump continues his ‘putting his wife first’ performance as they reach the car, placing a guiding hand on her back,’ she added.
‘It’s a gesture that blends care and choreography, completing their polished departure.’
Speaking about President Biden and his wife Jill, James noted there was an awkwardness in the way the couple posed for the cameras.
‘While Joe, Kamala, and her husband cluster together to suggest unity, Jill creates a noticeable social gap between herself and the others – a gesture that hints at partial dissociation,’ James said.
‘When Joe extends his hand to Jill to lead her into the White House, she leans subtly back, her arms remaining firmly by her sides as if rejecting the gesture.
‘Behind Joe’s back, her facial expression briefly drops, offering a fleeting glimpse of tension.’
James said Biden appeared ‘keen to display cheerful good spirits’ so made adjustments to deflect focus from any awkwardness.
‘When his wife declines to hold his hand, he shifts his focus to Kamala,’ James said.
‘But as he attempts to hold hers, she takes her husband’s hand instead, leaving Joe to retreat and walk alongside Jill once more.
‘It’s a moment that seems to suggest he’s searching for support, but no such reassurance appears to be forthcoming.’
James said outgoing vice president Harris also showed ‘subtle signs of unease’ through her body language.
During the vice president handover, she ‘rolled her shoulders slightly, as though squaring up to the moment, while her hands fidget at her sides, clasping and unclasping as she stands,’ James said.
‘Doug, in contrast, appears far more sociable, leaning into handshakes and making light contact with the Vances.’
James said Emhoff’s ‘friendly’ demeanor contrasted sharply with Harris’ ‘fixed, almost rigid smile’.
Trump was sworn in as the 47th president on Monday, returning to power with a promise to end America’s decline and to ‘completely and totally reverse’ the actions of the man who drove him from office four years ago.
The incoming president overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, and he planned to act swiftly after the ceremony.
Dozens of executive orders were prepared for his signature to clamp down on border crossings, increase fossil fuel development and end diversity and inclusion programs across the federal government.
The orders from the incoming Republican president will begin the process of unraveling the Democratic agenda of Joe Biden, whose term ended at noon, moments before Trump took the oath of office.
Declaring that government faces a ‘crisis of trust,’ Trump said in his inaugural address that under his administration, ‘our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced.’
Trump claimed ‘a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal,’ promising to ‘give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom.’
‘From this moment on,’ he added as Biden watched from the front row, ‘America’s decline is over.’
