Body language expert explains why Donald Trump struggled to kiss wife Melania in awkward inauguration moment
A body language expert has made a bold claim about Donald Trump's awkward interactions with his wife at his historical inauguration today.
The 45th and 47th President of the USA was sworn in today (20 January), and made a speech to lay out his promises as the leader of their nation, leading to an odd gesture by Elon Musk and a viral reaction from former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
But one other moment took the headlines, and it wasn't the absence of Michelle Obama... nope, it was Trump's attempt to kiss his wife, Melania, before the ceremony. Take a look here:
Advert
The 78-year-old leaned in to give his wife, 54, a kiss on the cheek, before seeming to back out at the last moment.
Though it could have been an air kiss, it looked like Melania's large black hat stopped her from getting a smooch from the 47th President of the United States.
Trump then went to shake the hand of 46th President Joe Biden, but people were still stunned by the weird exchange with Melania.
Now, a body language expert has weighed in on the situation.
Speaking to Covers.com, Inbaal Honigman said that Trump may have been 'unsure how to show affection to his wife' at the inauguration.
In fact, the expert claimed that his exchanges with Vice President JD Vance's wife appeared 'more personal'.
Trump could be seen resting a 'congratulating hand' on Usha, his Vice President's wife, following the ceremony, which led to Honigman to adopt this train of thought.
She added that this was 'more personal and kind' than what he did with his wife of almost 20 years.
Honigman added: "Trump may have wanted to demonstrate marital bliss in greeting his missus with a kiss when he walked in, but their uncertain interaction ended up showing that they don't respond naturally to another."
Speaking more about Melania' body language, she said that it was 'still and neutral', explaining: "She sits still in her model pose, her facial expression neutral, not drawing any attention to herself, letting all attention be on her husband."
She said that Melania in 2017, during his first inauguration, 'flashed smiles' and displayed 'a more friendly persona' to the public.
But as for the kiss, Honigman did attribute some of the awkwardness to Melania's unusually large hat.
"[Trump] is clearly unsure how to show affection towards his wife in the presence of her impressive hat, but neither of them attempts to solve the situation," she began.
"Melania could have angled her face to present her cheek to her husband. Donald could have bent a little lower to reach his wife's cheek. But neither of them did it."
Everything Trump has pledged to do as 47th US President
Delaying the TikTok ban
After TikTok went dark on January 19 in the US, it was bought back after mere hours with a message reading: "Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the US!"
Trump will reportedly sign an executive order to delay the ban saying he wants to 'make a deal to protect our national security'.
Immigration
In a statement during a rally at Madison Square Garden during his presidential race, he said: "On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.
"I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible."
Planning over 100 executive orders
It's been reported by AP that Trump plans on preparing over 100 executive orders on his first day in the White House. Trump's allies have reportedly spent time preparing documents that Trump can sign quickly, on issues such as deportation, school gender policies and vaccine mandates, without input from congress.
“There will be a substantial number,” said Senator John Hoeven, R-N.D.
Making hidden government files public
Including the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr., Trump promised at his recent rally in Washington D.C that, in a bid to increase government transparency, he will be making these disclosures in 'the coming days'.
“And in the coming days, we are going to make public remaining records relating to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
'Make Greenland Great Again Act'
In a bid that has not gone down well with Greenlanders, taking to his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.
“Greenland is an incredible place. The people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
January 6 pardons
Trump's loss in the 2020 election led to the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in turn resulting in the arrests of a number of Trump supporters.
In an interview with TIME, Trump said that looking into the cases of the rioters' will take place in 'the first nine minutes' of his time in office.
In a post shared on his social media channel, Trump said: "I am inclined to pardon many of them. I can't say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control."
Getting rid of birthright citizenship
Exactly as it sounds, Trump once declared he wanted to get rid of birthright citizenship, which immediately gives citizenship to anyone born in US. Noting that this may not be possible as it's written into the constitution, he said he wants to achieve this by executive order - bypassing congress again - 'if we can'.
Cut federal funding for schools educating on 'inappropriate' topics
Speaking early last year, Trump addressed a crowd in Iowa and made plans to 'save [the] country from destruction'.
"On day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity," he said, per NPR.
Trump also said he would target schools pushing 'any other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content on our children'.
Making the US the 'crypto capital'
Back in 2021, Trump called crypto a 'scam against the dollar.' But four years on, he's pulled a u-turn as he vowed to make the US the 'crypto capital of the planet'.
On social media, Trump claimed crypto would be 'mined, minted and made in the US'.
Both he and wife Melania released their own memecoins ahead of the inauguration, while experts previously predicted Bitcoin could reach up to $250,000 this year.
Be a 'dictator'
In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity last year, he referred to himself as a 'dictator' when asked if he was promising to 'never abuse power as retribution against anybody'.
In response, Trump said: "Except for Day 1. I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill. We're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I'm not a dictator."
End Green Deals
Trump has spoken previously about his plan to 'terminate the Green New Deal', which he dubbed the 'Green New Scam'.
The Green New Deal was pitched by Democrats Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, but it was never signed into law.
Addressing the policies in a speech in September, Trump said: "To further defeat inflation, my plan will terminate the Green New Deal, which I call the Green New Scam. Greatest scam in history, probably.
"We [will] rescind all unspent funds under the misnamed Inflation Reduction Act. I'm going to write it out in an executive order. It's going to end on Day 1."
Arrange green cards for college graduates
Despite making his stance on migration clear, Trump has advocated for non-US citizens to receive green cards to stay in the country if they graduate from college.
During an episode of the 'All In' podcast recorded this year, Trump said: "Anybody graduates from a college, you go in there for two years or four years, if you graduate, or you get a doctorate degree from a college, you should be able to stay in this country [...]
"Somebody graduates at the top of the class, they can't even make a deal with the company because they don't think they're going to be able to stay in the country. That is going to end on Day 1."
Scrap 'electric vehicle mandates'
Trump plans to scrap Biden administration’s so-called electric vehicle mandate, referring to new pollution standards that incentivize auto manufacturers to increase production of electric and lower-emission vehicles.
Despite vowing to get rid of the policy on his first day, Trump told podcaster Joe Rogan the move could take 'maybe two days, because it’s a little bit busy'.
Fire the man who indicted him
Trump faced two federal cases in relation to the 2020 election result from special counsel Jack Smith, and the future POTUS has no plans to work with him again.
Speaking on October 24, Trump told the Hugh Hewitt show he would fire Smith 'within two seconds': "He'll be one of the first things addressed."
Topics: Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Politics, US News
Joshua Nair