Things may have looked amiable enough during President-elect Donald Trump and President Obama’s White House meeting Thursday, but two body language experts say things weren’t quite as they seemed.
Trump said the longer-than-expected meeting was “fantastic.”
Inside Edition asked body language expert Tonya Reiman to observe video from the ‘photo op’ portion of the meeting to see what messages she might have been able to pick up.Trump may have said things were “fantastic,” but that’s not what Reiman saw.
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She says the story is actually in their eyes.
“Neither one of them really makes eye contact,” Reiman said. “So you’ll notice that Trump is looking down and Obama’s looking down. So they give that mutual respect of a handshake but they don’t give that mutual respect with that eye contact. And they didn’t make a whole lot of it.”
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She says eye contact is far more important than a handshake.
“[E]ye contact is way more important than the handshake,” Reiman said. “These two are very uncomfortable around each other. You can tell by Trump’s stance, by how he sits.”Body language expert Patti Wood also analyzed the meeting.
She described Obama as “extremely fatigued, resigned and not hopeful” while Trump appeared “tentative, serious and perhaps fearful.”
Wood says the hand position suggests “he learned something he didn’t know before.”
Obama and Trump put on a united front and vowed to work together in what appeared to be a friendly meeting at the White House Thursday.
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Trump said he was “looking forward to dealing with the president in the future,” while Obama claimed he was “very encouraged by the interest in President-elect Trump to work with my team.”
But Wood said there was definite tension.
“If you look at the seating position — their lower legs,” Wood explained, “they are both in the male, alpha position saying ‘I am a man.'”
Wood said Trump’s hand position, which she calls “downward prayer position,” is not typical of the President-electWood said his hand position suggests he has learned something he didn’t know before
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However, she added that Obama’s legs are much further apart, which demonstrates strength and reveals he is subconsciously saying, “I’m still on top.”
“Trump holds his own hands as he begins speaking which is an indication he needs to comfort himself,” she added.
Wood pointed out that as Obama gestures, he rests his arms on his legs. “That’s not typical Obama which tells me he is weary.”
“I believe that it is important for all regardless of party and regardless of political preferences to now come together, work together to deal with the many challenges we face,” Obama said.
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But Wood isn’t convinced.
“There is a part where he says he has been encouraged,” she said. “As he says it, he closes his eyes. I call that an eye block. That tells me he doesn’t feel totally encouraged.”
Wood concluded, “Obama was extremely fatigued, resigned and not hopeful, but very presidential.”
“Trump was serious and showed indications he heard information that made him fearful,” she added.
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