Trump and Harris Presidential Debate 2024: Behavior and Body Language

hey everybody Dr G here I'm a clinical and forensic psychologist as well as a body language expert and today we're going to be analyzing the behavior and body language of both Donald Trump and kamla Harris during their first debate before we get started with this analysis a couple of quick things ju I wanted to make sure you know this is not a psychological evaluation of any kind these are just my opinions in addition to that the goal of this is not to be persuasive regarding one candidate or the other I don't really care who you vote for and the goal of this is to be politically neutral last thing before we get started is I do want to remind you like And subscribe if you want to see more content just like this all right let's go so I was raised as a middle class kid and I am actually the only person on this stage who has a plan that is about lifting up the middle class and working people of America now you're already noticing that she's looking at the camera so basically her strategy is to try to talk directly to people at home now that's going to contrast with how Donald Trump does it I'm going to get into that in just a minute I believe in the Ambitions the aspirations the dreams of the American people and that is why I imagine and have actually a plan to build what I call an opportunity economy cuz here's the thing and you may already notice that she's talking a lot with her hands now what research shows is that people that talk with their hands tend to be believed more so doing this during something like a debate is an attempt to be persuasive it's attempt to be open she's not blocking off the middle of her body and she's talking with her hands that means that she's being very visible so the goal in that is to become more persuasive Donald Trump often times does this but this debate's a little bit different we'll get into that first of all I have no sales tax that's an incorrect statement she knows that uh we're doing tariffs on other countries other countries are going to finally after 75 years pay us back for all that we've done for the world and the now you're already noticing that he is looking at the moderator rather than looking at the audience now this is an interesting strategy but it's also very typical of the way that Donald Trump is is that he tries to interact and be persuasive with a person sitting in front of him so he sees this as him talking to the moderators whereas Kam haris seems to be talking to the audience obviously they both know that the goal is to be persuasive to everybody listening but the way that they try to interact is very very different the way that they try to connect 75 years pay us back for all that we've done for the world and the Tariff will be substantial in some cases I took in billions and billions of dollars as you know from China so you can see her touching her cheek stroking her hair that's something we often times do is a way to help manage our emotions help us feel calmer so when you see things like that you should pay attention to what the opponent is saying because that might be something that bothers the one who's reacting in fact they never took the Tariff off because it was so much money they can't all right now watch Harris right here as he continues to talk about this you're going to see her eyes squinting we often times squint our eyes when we hear things that we don't like so as he's talking about this you're going to see her squinting repeatedly as you know from China in fact they never took the Tariff off because it was so much money they can't it would totally destroy everything that they've set out to do they're taking in billions of dollars from China and other places they've left the tariffs on when I had it so as you can see she's squinting her blink rate's picking up there's probably some degree of stress going on right now as she's formulating response we were at 21% but that's being generous because many things are 50 60 70 and 80% higher than they were just so you can also see right now that KLA Harris is smiling now she often times does this as a way to mask what she's feeling and it's not just her politicians across the board generally do this as a way to mask how feeling so when they start feeling frustrated or when they get annoyed they smile instead because that blocks that makes it so you can't really read how they're actually feeling a few years ago this has been a disaster for people for the middle class but for every class on top of that we have millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails from mental institutions and insane asylums and they're coming in and they're taking jobs that are occupied right now by African-Americans and Hispanics and also unions unions are going to be affected very soon and you see what's happening you see what's happening with towns throughout the United so you'll notice after Donald Trump said that which I presume that Harris interprets is something that might alienate some people that gave her more confidence you see her chin go up you see her exposing her neck more we often times do this when we're feeling more comfortable when we don't feel threatened because this is a very vulnerable part of our body so as you can see her position changed once he started talking about race and once he started talking about subjects that were not specific to the economy so as he navigated away from the economy as he starts talking about more things like this it seems to give her confidence States you look at Springfield Ohio you look at Aurora in Colorado they are taking over the towns they're taking over buildings they're going in violently these are the people that she and Biden led into our country and they're destroying our country they're dangerous they're at the highest you see even though she has a slight smile it's a lot more subtle than the one we saw a minute ago because she feels a lot less threatened by what he's saying now like I said I imagine that she sees this as potentially alienating people so she probably doesn't mind him talking about these kinds of things because she's going to have plenty to say about it Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression so as you can see she's putting her hands out with her Palms up now often times this is associated with somebody trying to say what I'm about to tell you is the truth so that doesn't necessarily mean it always is but that's the attempt so as you see this with her hands up like this this is a way of her saying what I'm about to tell you is really really important Donald Trump left us the worst unemployment since the Great Depression Donald Trump left us the worst all right so watch Donald Trump's reaction to this employment since the Great Depression Donald Trump left us the wor so closes his eyes purses his lips as I talked about before when KLA Harris was squinting her eyes because she was hearing things she didn't like this is also something Donald Trump does not like what she's saying right now not only does he squint his eyes he closes his eyes entirely because it seems to probably bother him to hear this from her country where the economy and where the stock market was higher than it was before the pandemic came in nobody's ever seen anything like it we made ventilators for the entire world we got gowns we got masks so you're noticing right now Donald Trump starting to talk with his hands when he gets in his flow and he really gets into when he what he wants people to hear you're going to see him speaking very emphatically with his hands like this this is very typical for him we did things that nobody thought possible and people give me credit for rebuilding the military they give me credit for a lot of things but not enough credit for the great job we did with the pandemic but the only jobs they got were bounceback jobs these were jobs bounced back and it bounced back and it went to their benefit so once again when he feels like he's got a point that going to land with people he's really going to get emphatic with it he's really going to use his hands a lot and this is this the way he's doing it right now is very typical of the way that he talks but I was the one that created them they know it and so does everybody else vice president Harris I'll let you respond part of the reason I focus on hands is because hands draw attention to us and so when people lie they tend to try to not bring too much attention to themselves because they don't want people to pay that much attention to what they're saying so the more emphasis you see with their hands tonight typically is things that they really want want you to listen to would make the economy worse mine would strengthen the economy what the Wharton School has said is Donald Trump's plan would actually explode the deficit 16 Nobel laurates have described his economic plan as something that would now if you'll watch this right here watch Trump's body language when she starts talking about the warden School the Worst mine would strengthen the economy what the Wharton School has said is Donald Trump's plan would actually explode the deficit 16 Nobel laurates have described his so you can see she starts talking about the Wharton School he scoots his body back we do that to gain emotional distance when we get frustrated by something or when we want to get away from somebody we do tend to move back subtly even though they're actually next to each other not facing each other it doesn't change the fact that body language wise that's what we tend to do we tend to back up good solid money for our for our country and just to finish off uh she doesn't have a plan she copied Biden's plan and it's like four sentences like Run Spot Run four sentences that are just so watch KLA Harris's reaction to this he doesn't have a plan she copied Biden's plan and it's like four so after he said that you saw that her chin goes down that's a defensive maneuver sentences like Run Spot Run four then he said the thing about Run Spot Run and her chin goes up now we often times turn our nose up to people when we think we're better than them or when we think that something that they say is stupid or something like that so clearly when he said that that made her feel more confident because she thought it was ridiculous these the people of our country are absolutely dying with what they've done they've destroyed the economy and all you have to do is look at a poll the polls say 80 and 85 and even 90% now this look from Harris right here you can see that her lip is pulled up on one side now all emotions are on both sides of the face real emotions if you fake an emotion it might not be on one on both sides of the face might just be on one so right now what this looks like is contempt when we put tend to put one corner of our mouth up that is a contemptuous look so as he's talking about this as he's talking about inflation it could be that she's trying to Fain a smile and it's not a real one or it could be that she's experiencing contempt right now the polls say 80 and 85 and even 90% that the Trump economy was great that their economy was terrible well let's be clear that the Trump Administration resulted in a trade deficit one of the highest we've ever seen in the history of America he invited trade War all right there was a lot right there watch this right hereit one of the highest we've ever seen in the history of America so he shook his head no he invite raised his eyebrows because he wants to make sure you're looking at his face that's what we do we raise our eyebrows to bring attention to ourselves so he's saying no he wants you to to pay attention to that did trade Wars and then there's contempt right there on the corner of his mouth watch this all again it's a very interesting sequence of the highest we've ever seen in the history of America he invited trade Wars you want to talk about his deal with China what he ended up doing is under Donald Trump's presidency he ended up selling American chips to China to help them improve and modernize their military basically sold us out when a policy about China should be so watch his chin position right here to China to help them improve and modernize their military basically sold us out so as soon as she said sold us out chin moves down he goes into a defensive position he didn't like hearing that uh philosophies like they have and policies like they have I don't say her because she has no policy everything that she believed three years ago and four years ago is out the window she's going to My Philosophy now in fact I was going to send her a Maga hat so as soon as he said she's on to My Philosophy now now you saw her literally scoot back once again that's a way to gain distance to show somebody you disapprove to show somebody you want to disconnect as they're saying something or that you disagree with it ago is out the window she's going to My Philosophy now in fact I was going to send her a Maga hat she's gone to My Philosophy but so obviously she's not going to agree with something like that but the involuntary aspect of it she couldn't help but move her body backward because she had such a visceral response to it if she ever got elected she' change it and it will be the end of our country she's a Marxist everybody knows she's a Marxist so watch her face right here when he says she's a Marxist it will be the end of our country she's a Marxist everybody now see she now I talk about bringing attention to our face when we raise our eyebrows there is another situation where we do that and that's shock I think she's actually quite surprised he said that and she also looks amused that he said that so her she seems to be having a very genuine reaction right here when she when he referred to her as a Marxist so she seems to be shocked she seems to be amused change it and it will be the end of our country she's a Marxist everybody knows she's a Marxist criminals many of these people coming in are criminals and that's bad for our economy too you know you mentioned before we'll talk all right now let's pay some attention to what Donald Trump is doing right here State pouring in and just look at what they're doing to our country they're criminals many of these people coming in are criminals and all right now you see him pointing like this I know it's a little bit obscured but as he's talking about this as he is pointing the moderator once again she talks to the camera so she's trying to talk to the people at home Donald Trump builds relationships differently so he's talking to the person who's literally talking to him and as he's pointing to him as he's pointing like that that's an aggressive gesture not that he's mad at the moderator but he is making a point that is aggressive one where he feels irritated as he's talking about it so he can't help but show that type of body language and that's bad for our economy too you know you mentioned before we'll talk about immigration later well bad immigration is the worst thing that can happen to our economy now we're going to watch a minute of K Harris responding to Trump about abortion bans let's understand how we got here Donald Trump hand selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of roie Wade and they did exactly as he intended so one thing you're noticing right there so you notice that swallow as she's talking about this that probably means that her mouth is drying up somewhat I think that this part right here is one where you're getting a very genuine reaction because often times with politicians they have these practiced reactions they have little speeches that they give they have certain things or sound bites that they want to say in a lot of ways what she's saying right here even if it is prepared there seems to be a lot of genuine emotion behind it we're going to go through that as we watch this and now in over 20 states there are Trump abortion bans all right so you see the eyebrows go up there Trump abortion bans she wants people to hear that to her that's very important for people to hear which make it criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide help and now she's leaving her eyebrows up so she's saying it's criminal for a doctor or nurse to provide these services so she really wants people to hear this leaving her eyebrows up means I want you to listen to everything I'm saying right now heal care in one state it provides prison for life Trump abortion bans that make no exception even for rape and incest which understand what that means a survivor of a crime of violation to their body does not have the right to make a decision about what happens to their body next that is immoral and one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman so you saw the anger in her eyes right there agree the government and Donald Trump certainly should that is a real reaction of anger as she's talking about this I do genuinely believe she is actually getting quite mad let's watch Donald Trump's reaction to some of what I was just pointing out with har or deeply held beliefs to agree the government and Donald Trump certainly should not be telling a woman what to do with her body I have talked with so that is a stereotypical look of contempt right there on Trump's face so her saying that Donald Trump should have should not be telling a woman what to do with her body he didn't like that women around our country you want to talk about this is what people wanted and then there was a strong swallow afterward so he's doing a pretty good job of sitting still but it's clear that there's a lot of emotions bubbling up for him as well during this pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term suffering from a miscarriage being denied care in an emergency one thing you're not seeing from him is him saying that's not true or shaking his head no which he often times does when he feels very strongly about something or when the what the other person says is factually incorrect he seems to have a hard time not showing that but right now you're not seeing anything like that understand in his project 25 there would be a National Abortion a monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies your miscarriages I think the now he's been sitting very still this whole time and as soon as she starts talking about project 2025 you're seeing him move around some so I think we're seeing some more irritated or anxious energy build up as she's talking about this and Donald Trump a monitor that would be monitoring your pregnancies your miscarriages I think the American people believe couples who pray and and and and dream of having a family are being denied IVF treatments what is happening in our country working PE so you see this hand sign right here so she's not pointing but she's sort of got a knuckle out this is something politician practice because pointing sometimes can make us feel like somebody's being aggressive towards us and people don't like that so they do retrain themselves in a sense to not point at people or to talk with an open hand you could do abortions the seventh month the eighth month the n9th month and probably after birth just look at the so he said and probably after birth watch this right here month the eth month the ninth month and probably after birth so earlier one of the moderators had said you can't get an abortion after a baby's born anywhere in the United States and now he's sort of disagreeing with that he's pointing at her he's calling her out so there is an aggressiveness about this birth just look at the and now he is using both hands so the idea that roie Wade wasn't a good thing is something that he seems to feel very strongly about and something that he feels very open about and wants people to hear more about so he is being very emphatic in a very genuine way about this Governor former governor of Virginia the governor of Virginia said we put the baby aside and then we determine what we want to do with the baby a lot of towns don't want to talk about it because they're so embarrassed by it in Springfield they're eating the dogs the people that came in they're eating the cats they're eating they're eating the pets of the people that live there so one thing that can be very difficult with politicians particularly in situations like this is telling whether or not they're being deceptive or whether or not they are lying intentionally now this is something that's fairly recent so this wouldn't be something that he's had a lot of time to practice saying over and over again and so that the emotion sort of goes out of it as he's talking about this right now the type of emphasis that he has his body language suggests that he actually believes what he's saying I think that he actually believes exactly what he's saying right now let's go back and hear this again there they're eating the dogs the people that came in they're eating the cats they're eating they're eating the pets of the people that live there he can probably hear Harris laughing and you can see his body recoil a little bit and now he's emphasizing more because he thinks this is a good point that people need to hear he seems to actually feel quite strongly about this and I think that he actually believes what he's saying right now pets of the people that live there and this is what's happening in our country and it's a shame as far as rallies are concerned as far as the reason they go is they like so now we're seeing both hands come out you know when he's talking about rallies he seems to feel a lot about this you're going to see both hands coming out he's emphasizing this a lot as far as rallies are concerned as far as the reason they go is they like what I say I just want to clarify here you bring up Springfield Ohio and ABC News did reach out to the city manager there uh he told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed injured or abused by individuals within the Immigrant Community all seen people on Tel let me just say here this is the people on television say my dog was taken and used for food so maybe he said that and maybe that's a good thing to say for a city manager so watch his shoulders right here used for food so maybe he said that and maybe so he's using both shoulders as he talks often times when people are lying or being deceptive they tend to use one shoulder so I really do think that Trump believes exactly what he's saying right here that's a good thing to say for a city manager I'm not taking this from telion dog was eaten by the people that went there all right let's go ahead and stop here hopefully this is helping you better understand some of the behavior in body language You observe during the debate now it's interesting they both have very different styles kamla Harris wants to talk directly to the people listening at home she would often times look directly at the camera almost as though she's looking at the people listening whereas Donald Trump talks to the moderators he looks directly at them addresses them directly talks about things that he disagrees with them about he's much more likely to talk to somebody that's sitting right in front of him and react that way rather than talk directly to people at home so it's a very different approach not right wrong or otherwise they're just very different hopefully this is helping you better understand some of what You observe today if you have other aspects of this debate that you want me to specifically take a look at please let me know in the comments below I'd be happy to do another video last thing before we get finished up is I do want to remind you like And subscribe if you want to see more content just like this all right thanks for watching