Body language expert reveals meaning behind Donald Trump's unusual behaviour during World Cup trophy presentation
Donald Trump made sure he was a big part of handing the World Cup trophy over to Spain following their 1-0 win over Argentina yesterday (19 July).
Typically, it's the FIFA president who hands over the World Cup trophy, but Trump and Gianni Infantino did it together and hung around on stage as the victorious Spanish players hoisted the golden idol aloft.
Eventually, after some pestering and pulling from Infantino, Trump left the podium, with Spain 'editing' him out of their pictures of the celebratory moment.
Body language expert Mark Bowden of Casino.ca shared what Trump was doing during the presentation and what it revealed about the US president in that moment.
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In addition to handing over the trophy alongside Infantino, Trump was also the one putting World Cup medals around the players' necks, and Bowden noted that he didn't do his signature pulling handshake to any of them this time.
"Trump makes no attempt to pull any of these players off balance, completely breaking from his purposeful, signature handshake routine," the body language expert noted.
"The absence of his usual handshake really illustrates how this signature Trump move to pull others off balance is a conscious choice for him."
It seems that Trump often likes to grab the hand of the person he's meeting and yank it hard towards him in an apparent display of dominance, but he didn't subject any of the World Cup players to that treatment on the night.
His behaviour around the trophy also drew commentary from Bowden, who said Trump actually showed 'great restraint' around the golden idol when he was handling it.
The body language expert noted that Trump was also presented with the World Cup trophy while he was spectating the game and gave a less than usual reaction for him.
The expert said: "He taps it twice as a gesture of 'I am here with it,' rather than holding it to signal any ownership.
"This shows great restraint from Trump, who we know has a strong personal predilection for ostentatious and baroque displays of gold."
Bowden said that Trump's behaviour throughout the final was a 'subdued performance', noting that 'he is not clapping after the national anthem along with Melania and the FIFA president'.
"This marks him out from them and others in the crowd, just as he marks himself out by saluting the USA national anthem rather than placing his right hand over his heart, as civilians should do according to the U.S. Flag Code," the body language expert added, noting that other presidents have done this as well.
As for the 'mixed and scattered reception' from the crowd at the final, Trump was noted to 'have no reaction' and the event was 'nothing like the negative reception he recently received at the smaller Knicks arena for the basketball game earlier this year'.
The expert said: "Today, he gave a subdued performance in the VIP box, marked by light conviviality and some of his standard gestures for the camera, like his 'fight' fist pump above his shoulder, some high, visible waves to the nearby crowd, and outstretched gesturing with his full hand to point out areas of the stadium to the FIFA president.
"Noticeably absent were the rhetorical, open gestures with his hands at chest height, like he is miming the playing of an accordion, that he frequently uses during speeches, such as earlier in the day at the FIFA ceremony where he was in a much more energetic and joking form."
Meanwhile, lip reader Nicola Hickling, of LipReader Ltd, told The Mirror that when he was handing over medals, Trump told the players 'you're a champ' and 'amazing player'.
So it looks like Trump couldn't help doing some of his usual gestures on the night and lingered on stage long after he should have left Spain to celebrate their win, but he managed to restrain himself from going full Trump.
His restraint around the World Cup trophy differs from his previous behaviour around it, where he said he'd quite like to keep it.
As a head of state, he is allowed to touch the trophy, an honour reserved for country leaders, FIFA officials and players who've previously won it.
World Cup winners by year
2022 - Argentina
Perhaps one of the most dramatic finals in World Cup history was France vs Argentina at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium in 2022.
Following a tense 3-3 draw after extra time, Argentina were ultimately crowned the champions after beating Didier Deschamps' side 4-2 on penalties.
2018 - France
A stellar performance at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium in 2018 led to France bagging their second World Cup title, triumphing 4-2 over Croatia.
2014 - Germany
An extra-time goal from Germany’s Mario Götze sealed his team's 1-0 victory over Argentina at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2014.
2010 - Spain
Spain defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in 2010’s final at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was all thanks to a late extra-time goal from midfielder Andrés Iniesta.
2006 - Italy
Italy won the 2006 World Cup at Olympiastadion Berlin, Germany, after beating France 5-3 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out following a 1-1 draw at extra time.
- 2002 - Brazil
- 1998 - France
- 1994 - Brazil
- 1990 - West Germany
- 1986 - Argentina
- 1982 - Italy
- 1978 - Argentina
- 1974 - West Germany
- 1970 - Brazil
- 1966 - England
- 1962 - Brazil
- 1958 - Brazil
- 1954 - West Germany
- 1950 - Uruguay
- 1938 - Italy
- 1934 - Italy
- 1930 - Uruguay
Topics: World Cup, Donald Trump, Sport, Football
Joe Harker