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President Donald Trump's 'hand of friendship' to Andy Burnham on their first-ever meeting is a power gesture, claims a body language expert.
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expert → see → meeting
The US President and British Prime Minister came face-to-face for the first time on Tuesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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President → come → York
But as Trump launched into another extraordinary broadside against the media, Burnham appeared to perform a series of gestures which suggested discomfort and a desire to distance himself from the confrontation.
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which → launch → confrontation
Judi James, the body language expert, told the Daily Mail that Burnham appeared to become increasingly uncomfortable as Trump returned to his familiar attacks on the press.
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Trump → tell → press
'As Trump rolls into his "fake news" bête-noir here we can see Burnham begin to perform a series of gestures of disassociation and discomfort,' she said.
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she → roll → disassociation
'He unmeshes his fingers to run an anxious-looking hand through his hair in an overkill ritual that looks like a cut-off, i.e. an excuse to hide his facial expression.
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that → unmeshe → expression
His Churchillian mouth clamp suggests a desire to project power for a brief moment, but it is accompanied by an eye-dart that suggests he's inwardly looking for the exit.
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he → suggest → exit
Burnham's gaze goes off into the distance at this point as though he wants to place himself above this particular battle.
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he → go → battle
Trump reached out quickly to shake Burnham's hand, in a gesture which appeared outwardly friendly but which she said also carried a strong physical assertion
Ms James said the Prime Minister subsequently displayed several more gestures which she interpreted as signs of nervousness, including repeatedly touching his hair, fiddling with his fingers and playing with his wedding ring
Trump had been discussing his long-running grievances with the media, days after his administration banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over allegations of 'fake news'.
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administration → reach → news
The President continued his animated delivery as Burnham sat alongside him, with Ms James noting a marked contrast between Trump's physical confidence and the Prime Minister's more restrained posture.
'
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James → continue → confidence
Trump continues with a one shoulder shrug though and smirks as he says "They came", flapping his hand at Burnham as though spotting his desire to avoid joining in with an opinion,' Ms James added.
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James → continue → opinion
'At this point Burnham performs a rather odd act of almost childlike awkwardness as he begins to pull at one index finger with the other hand, listening while Trump adds "I won't stand for it" with a hard, authoritative blink.
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I → perform → blink
'
Yet it was the moment the two men greeted each other that Ms James identified as a particularly striking display of power.
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James → greet → power
Trump reached out quickly to shake Burnham's hand, in a gesture which appeared outwardly friendly but which she said also carried a strong physical assertion.
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she → reach → assertion
'Trump's "hand of friendship" to Burnham is a power gesture thanks to the speed and strength of the clasp,' she said.
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she → say → clasp
'He throws his hand out quickly, palm-up and we can hear the smack as the hands hit together.
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hands → throw → smack
'Burnham's response to this invitation to prove his alpha credentials is to then speak from a rather tense-looking crouch position with his hands clasped, fingers tightly meshed, in front of his torso in a protective barrier,' she said.
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she → prove → barrier
Ms James spotted an intriguing reaction from Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who she claims wished Trump's kind words were for him
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words → spot → him
Ms James said the Prime Minister subsequently displayed several more gestures which she interpreted as signs of nervousness, including repeatedly touching his hair, fiddling with his fingers and playing with his wedding ring.
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she → say → ring
'His word salad style of speech shows inner nervousness and he later ran through a shade chart of nervous rituals, running a hand through his hair, fiddling and picking at his fingers; pulling at his index finger with his other hand and even fiddling with his wedding ring to suggest a desire for emotional back-up from his family,' she said.
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she → show → family
The assessment comes against the backdrop of a meeting which was, on the surface, notably warm.
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which → come → surface
Trump praised Burnham as a 'natural business person' and said the US-UK relationship was stronger than it had been under his predecessor, Keir Starmer.
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it → praise → predecessor
'I think you're up.
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you → think → ?
Well they're more now than they were with your last prime minister, let me put it that way,' Trump said.
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Trump → let → it
'I think right now, based on my relationship with your Prime Minister, Andy, I think we're doing very well.'
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we → think → Minister
Ms James also noted that Trump appeared to make a deliberate effort to flatter his new British counterpart.
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Trump → note → counterpart
'Trump did appear to perform gestures of some warmth towards Burnham and there were some 'positive strokes' at the start in the way of flattery,' she said.
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she → appear → flattery
But she also spotted an intriguing reaction from Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who was sitting nearby as Trump lavished praise on the new Prime Minister.
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Trump → spot → Minister
'As Trump sang Burnham's praises though we could see Milliband's face in the nearest seat looking very much as though he was wishing those words were for him.
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words → sing → him
'
The friendliness was accompanied by a major political disagreement, however, as Trump used the meeting to launch another attack on Labour's controversial Chagos Islands deal.
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Trump → accompany → deal
The President said he did not support the agreement to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius while allowing Britain and the US to continue using the strategically important Diego Garcia military base.
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Britain → say → base
'I don't support it.
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I → support → it
I think it's a terrible deal,' Trump told reporters.
'
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Trump → think → reporters
They all of a sudden say they have ownership, somebody has ownership that never showed up before after decades and centuries.
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that → say → decades
I think it's ridiculous.'
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it → think → ?
Trump said he had discussed the issue with Burnham and suggested the Prime Minister would be 'looking at it'.
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Minister → say → it
He added: 'It's a very strategic location.
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It → add → ?
Under the agreement negotiated by the previous Labour government, Britain would transfer sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius while leasing Diego Garcia back for 99 years.
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Britain → negotiate → years
The Government has said the arrangement would involve payments averaging around £101million a year, with the total cost stated at around £3.4billion in net present value terms.
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cost → say → terms
The deal has faced fierce criticism from opponents, while its ratification has stalled amid objections from Washington.
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ratification → face → Washington
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
