THREAD: Body Language Analysis No. 4368: Donald's and Melania's Kiss in Iraq - #Nonverbal #EmotionalIntelligence #DonaldTrump #MelaniaTrump #Kiss #Hug #Iraq #BodyLanguage #BodyLanguageExpert #EQ #EmotionalIntelligence #Expert #BehaviorAnalysis #Analysis 
1/ Donald Trump and Melania visited the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq on Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018. It was the President's first visit to a military base in a war zone. While there, the President and First Lady shared a rare public kiss.
2/ What follows is a nonverbal analysis of that kiss as captured in the accompanying photograph (and the cropped close-up included below).
3/ Most children can probably tell you that Donald's and Melania's kiss-embrace does not look to be at all affectionate.
4/ Note that Donald Trump is leaning quite far into the kiss. He is leaning forward 20º - 25º, while Melania is leaning in only about 5º.
5/ Whenever affection is lacking or diminished - and one still feels socially obligated to kiss or hug another person - one or both people will virtually always lean forward.
6/ The President is a fair amount taller than his wife (His true height is about 6' 0.5" [add another 1" with his shoes], while Melania's actual height is about 5' 6" [and with about 2.5 inches more in her boot heels]).
7/ Thus, although both can lean-into a kiss, with all other factors being equal (which may or may not be), the taller person typically leans further into a kiss or hug.
8/ Notice too, the angle of their heads and necks - each of their heads are tilted backward, away from each other.
9/ Moreover, affectionate embraces will have very frequently exhibit contact of the forehead, temple, and/or region around the eye with these same regions on the other person's face/head.
10/ You may have also noticed that Donald Trump's torso is twisted a bit toward the audience. While Melania's torso and stomach are pointed directly at her husband, his are rotated to his left.
11/ Full body pointing is a signal of affection and/or respect - while not doing so indicates a lack of thereof.
12/ Full body pointing (eyes, face, chest, stomach, pelvis, etc.), of course, also includes the feet.
13/ And, while we can't see them directly (and therefore, cannot discern where they're pointed), we can infer with fairly high accuracy, that her feet are directly beneath her center of mass - while his left foot is considerably further back compared with his body.
14/ Leaning into a hug or kiss allows the lower body to be further away from the other person - insulating them from intimacy. In such pseudo displays of affection - the further two people's feet are from their hugger, the less affection is present.
15/ Note that Donald's and Melania's pelvic regions and chests are far apart. Holding each other's upper arms, as they each are doing, ensures such body distancing.
16/ It's interesting to notice that both of their hands are not relaxed. His grip appears to be relatively tight - and this is, in part, due to his center-of-mass being considerably forward (he's a bit off-balance).
17/ Sometimes gripping another person's arm in the midst of a hug or kiss is not at all affectionate and can be even a signal the presence of objectifying and/or narcissistic personality traits. There is not enough information in this one image to draw those conclusions, however.
18/ The First Lady's fingers and thumb are all quite widely splayed. This finger position signals a high adrenaline state - and while, kissing on camera with all the world watching (albeit, tape-delayed) ...
19/ ...is not the perfect environment for intimacy, the First Lady's fingers are not what we would, at all, expect to see amidst even a mild affection display. Her fingers betray her anxiety.
20/ Thus, while his hand-fingers are contracted - hers are widely extended and splayed. Neither of their hands are relaxed - but configured oppositely. Fascinatingly, when one's hands are tense, the face - particularly the mouth - is almost always tense too.
21/ Kissing styles (whether a peck, a longer lips-only kiss, a French kiss, etc.), vary from person to person, but it's also quite true that, like the leaning-in of the body, the further the lips protrude forward, the less affection exists.
22/ Another obvious (nay, glaring) characteristic of this kiss's lack of affection is Melania's turned cheek. This kiss is not even a lip peck. Between spouses, this simply screams.
23/ This nonverbal signal is so overt and ingrained in our culture that this dynamic is a millennia-old metaphor for dissing, distancing, disrespect - signaling an absence of affection.
24/ The President's eyes (eyelids) appear to be slightly open - his lower eyelids are relaxed which strongly suggests such lack of closure.
25/ Melania's right eye may also be a bit open, although given her head rotation, this is impossible to tell. When affection is present, there is a strong tendency toward eyelid closure - although, in such public settings, many will also keep their peepers partially open.
26/ SUMMARY: Donald Trump's and Melania's recent kiss-embrace in Iraq is profoundly lacking in affection. And although very few us will ever kiss with the world watching, this display was light-years away from what one would expect of loving and affectionate spouses.
END
END
