‘Intimidated’ Trump’s ‘Joker-like’ smile during debate masked his true feelings but ‘tense’ Harris started off slow
DONALD Trump was 'intimidated' by Vice President Kamala Harris during their showdown on Tuesday night, a body language expert revealed.
Patti Wood, a body language and linguistic expert with over 25 years of experience, explained how Trump's showdown with Harris differed compared to other debates, highlighting his "Joker-like" smile and minimal eye contact.
Wood shared how Trump's mannerisms revealed a different side to his strong words last night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Harris and Trump faced each other in their first, and potentially only, debate before the November election.
The pair clashed on topics like abortion rights, immigration, and the economy.
Viewers were also keen to see how Harris performed in her first debate as the Democratic Party's nominee for The White House after Joe Biden's dramatic exit from the race.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Wood exclusively told The U.S. Sun how Harris could have impacted her performance within the first minute of the debate.
The pair awkwardly shook hands at the start of the night, with Trump towering over his 5ft4 rival .But despite the height and size difference, Wood said that Harris going up to Trump and initiating a handshake before the debate displayed confidence and fearlessness - especially since Trump has a history of avoiding handshakes with his opponents.
he body language expert said most viewers form their decision on who won within the first minute of a political clash, and that show of confidence and strength would likely impact how viewers see her going into the conversation.
“It showed that she was not afraid," said Wood.
Wood said both candidates appeared tense at the start but Harris' pace could have given away some of her emotions.
"She was speeding through some of her answers and she had a little bit of tension," Wood said.
Despite this, the body language expert said Harris got this under control throughout the hour-and-a-half-long debate.
SMILES ALL ROUND
Wood suggested Trump's smile, which she compared to "the Joker's" gave away his on-air frustrations.
She said his facial expressions seemed unnatural and disconnected from his eyes, almost as if it was "painted on" rather than a genuine smile.
“When you look at that smile, you know, it doesn't look right, it doesn't look normal," she suggested.
“Looking at somebody that's truly smiling, you feel good when you look at that expression, but we felt uncomfortable looking at that.”
Wood suggested this implied Trump's attempts to hide his genuine anger at some of Harris' comments about him.
She said the smile came out when the vice president mentioned Trump's six bankruptcies, dwindling rally crowd sizes, and his inheritance.
Wood added how his facial expressions also gave away this supposed anger.
“Sometimes somebody could have a facial expression, that is their personality or how we feel, how they feel energetically throughout the debate," she said.
“For the most part had that scowl on his face, that was what he did more often than any other expression.” The body language expert also suggested Trump seemed more uncomfortable and intimidated by Harris due to his lack of eye contact with her.
She said this was a change from his previous debates where he actively looked at and engaged with his opponents.
Wood suggested this avoidance could have shown his inability to confront her directly.
This supposedly manifested itself through Trump's refusal to make eye contact with Harris, even during personal attacks.
In contrast, Harris directed her answers at Trump and to the audience in the camera.
Wood explains that this shows Trump was intimidated by Harris during the debate.
SPEECH AND GESTURES
She said that Harris handled her answers with more confidence than Trump, quickly responding with open, positive body language and a calm demeanor.
Although both candidates occasionally avoided directly answering questions, Harris stayed within the same ballpark of topics while Trump jumped sporadically into unrelated issues, making him appear less organized and confident than the Vice President.
Harris often provided new information during her time speaking, which Wood explained is viewed as a sign of confidence and intelligence.
She said that Trump's frequent repeating of the same talking points, particularly around immigration, hurt him by making him appear less confident in what he was saying.
The expert, who has also served as a debate coach, explained that this repetition of certain phrases seemed to evoke an emotional response rather than genuine belief.
Harris also displayed a lack of belief during the debate, although her disbelief was directed more towards Trump.
Harris's reactions to Trump's statements, which included smiling or laughing, indicated incredulity rather than irritation, which later shifted from humorous to genuine concern as the debate progressed.
Wood said Harris would laugh and smile when she found Trump’s statements absurd, even in his personal attacks against her, which sometimes would cause her to look confused at what he was saying.
The look on Harris' face, along with her resting her chin in her hand, was her way of non-verbally saying, “I can't believe I'm listening to this right now," according to Wood.
She explained that her displays of disbelief could have affected how viewers interpreted Trump's statements.
BIZZARE CLAIMS
The TV debate raised a number of contentious points between the pair.
They went on to discuss their stances on the economy, abortion, immigration, and healthcare with both took personal jabs at each other throughout.
At one point, Trump said he "doesn't care" if Harris Black after being asked about previously questioning her race.
He also repeated debunked claims that Haitian migrants were stealing and eating people's cats and dogs from their homes in Ohio.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in," Trump said of the Haitian-immigrant population that migrated to the United States during the Biden administration.
"They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there."
Harris, whose mic was off, appeared to mouth "What?" while shaking her head.
ABC's David Muir, one of the debate's moderators, quickly fact-checked the former president, saying the city manager and police in Springfield determined there were "no credible reports" of pets being harmed by migrants in the city - which angered Trump.
"We'll see," the former president said, telling Muir that he saw people on TV in the area say so.
When Harris' mic turned back on, she just chuckled and said, "Talk about extreme."
Muir moderated the debate along with Linsey Davis, however, while Trump was pleased with his performance, he argued the pair ganged up on him during the heated clash.
"I thought that was my best Debate, EVER, especially since it was THREE ON ONE!" he said on Truth Social after the showdown.
