Following the ABC Presidential Debate on Tuesday, body language expert Susan Constantine told Newsmax that Vice President Kamala Harris was guilty of drawing former President Donald Trump out and baiting him into showing his frustration — which he did time after time.
That was the first time Harris and Trump shared a debate stage, though many commentators said that it had been perhaps a strong night for Harris but another in which Trump barely managed to keep his composure.
Others agreed with Constantine that Harris was able to rattle Trump.
“He fell for every one of her games; they were all tactics,” Constantine says. “So when she would poke the bear, he would growl back, and she would keep poking the bear and especially when it came to, of course, the crowds.”
Harris aimed at Trump’s ego, noting that people often walked out of his rallies partway through — in some cases seeming medicated. Harris had her own thoughtful response, pointing out that – like Trump’s — her rallies feature large crowds of people who are bused in and then paid to attend.
“She knew every single one of his weak points, and he would defend it instead of answering the question and just staying on task. He was spending most of his time hitting her back with the ball and also defending himself, which was not a good approach,” Constantine says.
“You could see that Trump was getting really, really upset about it. At one point, he dropped his shoulders, dropped his head, and he sunk. And then you see the upper lip [move upward] very quickly. It was a micro-expression of leakage, of hatred and disgust and scorn… he was really angry at her for saying that.”
Constantine told Harris that his strategy kept Trump on the defensive with “his voice inflection, his chest eyebrows pursed or slightly frowning lips,” signifying he was mad.
She explained: “His lips stayed sealed the majority of the time. He was bottling up a lot of his own emotions towards her, which were aggressive in nature.”
The dominant dynamic between the two candidates emerged in part due to Harris facial expressions. Constantine noted that all of Harris’ smiling throughout the interview meant she thought “she won.”
But Constantine labeled them as fake for the most part, only serving to annoy Trump: “No smile lingers beyond those four seconds lasting an eternity. Imagine chipper condescension wrapped in the perma-smile that then lingers on.”
The analyst noted that the contrast in styles for each candidate was stark; Trump came off as more level-headed, but agitated while Harris pulled this win looking much more relaxed and sure of herself. Harris had a “superiority stance,” Constantine said, during which she strained her head back and raised her nose in what the professor called both condescending and smug.
Harris was also lauded for employing effective hand gestures and talking directly to the camera, which they interpreted as a well-coached performance: “She talked straight at the American people. She musically hit it perfectly in so many ways with that card.”
But Constantine did note a weak moment for Harris, when she expressed that he was uncomfortable in her beliefs of abortion restrictions. This is when her eyes went down and she started to do the “bobblehead.” That, Constantine noted, was a web of deceit.
Having said that, Constantine liked Harris’ strategy during the handshake at the start of debate. “She paused for a minute. It was almost a bit hesitant, but then she did it… So OK I’ll throw that one in,” Anderson laughed.
In the end, Constantine said, “It was a boxing match for sure and I think Harris took advantage of it — and Donald Trump ran right into” that.
