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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAnalysis of Merkel & _____'s body language
[The ______ is because I still can't figure out what to call him and can't bear to write or utter his name.}
President Trump Didn't Shake Angela Merkel's Hand and Twitter Noticed it
One world leader on Friday was spared of President Donald Trump's much-maligned handshake, and an expert has broken down the body language behind this interaction to help better understand what really happened between the two in the much-talked about moment.
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ATTN: spoke with Joel Silberman, a media strategist, to get his take on the awkward meeting, uncomfortable body language, and lack of handshake.
"It isn't whether he ignored her or not," Silberman told ATTN:, "it's the discomfort of the situation. Look at her body language first. Look at what her body is saying. As you see the picture of her, and as she sits there I haven't seen legs that tightly crossed and a body so firmly sitting over the genitals so that no possibility of any part of them would be exposed."
<snip>
"And so he was getting smaller and infantile that was a child, with his hands hanging in between his legs, leaning way over his private parts, no chin out like he normally does, no thumbs-up, no Trump grin, no throwing his shoulders back the way he can there was none of that. He looked like 'I'm suffering through this moment and I look weak next to her and I know it,'" Silberman explained."
More with tweets at link:
http://www.attn.com/stories/15733/trump-didnt-shake-angela-merkels-hand?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=direct-share&utm_campaign=shares
QED
(2,753 posts)I can't figure out what to call him and can't bear to type or speak his name.
It's short and to the point.
I just wish I'd though of it first. I didn't.
Jonny Appleseed
(960 posts)From the bbc article on the meeting and 1 other source that I can't remember.
The steeple he made, and direction he faced indicated that the cameras were more important than her. And his ignoring of her kept her as the one who is feeding off his behavior. He also manhandled her by putting his arm on her back occasionally.
Pretty much the typical boorish machismo vs smart woman aggressive overcompensation.
Warpy
(111,417 posts)They did shake hands once as he greeted her. Her arm was close to her body, probably waiting for the macho grab and jerk, while his was extended.
More and more it looked like a swaggering bully and class disrupter had been hauled into the principal's office by one ear and the principal had taken all the bluster out of him. He looked juvenile and completely beaten.
And he is.
Arkansas Granny
(31,538 posts)Warpy
(111,417 posts)who isn't a starlet or model he's trying to hustle. Listening doesn't occur to him.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)That right there explains everything.