Body Language Expert Says Trump Is Acting "Submissive" Around Musk (Futurism) [View all]

[highplainsdem]

https://futurism.com/the-byte/trump-body-language

A body language expert assessed Elon Musk and Donald Trump's behavior around each other and concluded that the future president is acting uncharacteristically deferential around his star-crossed friend.

Former police officer Darren Stanton analyzed a video of the pair at Musk's latest flatlined SpaceX rocket launch for The Telegraph, establishing that "only other figure with whom the president-elect is so submissive is Vladimir Putin."

"Trump was very uneasy," Stanton said. "Usually, he comes over as this alpha male, the most empowered, most powerful person in the room." But on that blustery November day in Texas, Trump was "out of his depth — his hands were just by his side like a mannequin."

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"He was playing with his pockets, but he didn't put his hands in his pockets," Stanton told The Telegraph about the video of Musk and Trump. "It’s the anxiety of not knowing what to do with [his] hands."

More, from that Telegraph article:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2024/11/20/musk-trump-body-language-awkward-spacex/

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As Mr Musk gestured across to Starship, which at some 400-foot tall is the largest rocket ever built, the Republican buttoned up his jacket before checking each of his pockets, which Mr Stanton said suggested he was “a little intimidated”.

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Mr Trump did not perform any of the gestures he typically uses to assert himself, such as his “accordion hand” or placing his fingers together to form a “steeple”. The only other figure with whom the president-elect is so submissive is Vladimir Putin, Mr Stanton believes.

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When Mr Musk spoke, it was with his palms open and arms outstretched in a display of openness and confidence.

By contrast, Mr Trump, who looked out of his element despite his trademark “Make America Great Again” cap, kept his hands down and nodded stiffly.

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I'm guessing part of this is that Trump knew he couldn't sound very impressive talking about rockets.

Musk does seem to be dominating him. I've seen a lot of videos of the two of them together elsewhere in which Musk was doing 90% of the talking, with Trump just nodding occasionally.

But Trump doesn't seem nearly as submissive around Musk as he was with Putin at Helsinki, when he looked like frightened puppy after their private talk.