A body language expert has suggested Melania Trump feels more secure in her shoes as she becomes first lady for the second time next month.
Melania appeared with newly elected President Donald Trump on Thursday to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, as part of the celebration of his win as Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
The former and future first lady wore a chic gray pinstripe pantsuit and placed her hands on her husband several times during the performance alongside Trump’s daughters Ivanka and Tiffany.
“There’s a hint that Melania is embracing her powerful role as FLOTUS this time around in a way she didn’t before,” body language expert Judi James told DailyMail.com.
James said President-elect Trump was in “Mount Rushmore mode” here.
‘His peacocking, showboating body language signals were limited to a few smug smiles and a tie pointing at individuals in the audience, but his overall demeanor was one of carved-in-stone, statesmanlike gravitas, a living tribute to the magazine’s highly flattering cover photo TIME that hung on the wall behind him at the fair,” she said.
But Trump’s “solider appearance” allowed Melania to “be more active and use body language signals of a more relaxed sociability.”
“Here she produced some very natural-looking smiles, sparked some conversations and even cheekily took a selfie that Trump was asked to pose for,” James said.
Melania Trump (left) accompanied President-elect Donald Trump (right) to the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, where he rang the bell to celebrate winning Time Magazine’s Person of the Year title
A body language expert told DailyMail.com that Melania Trump was able to show ‘a more relaxed sociability’ because the president-elect was in ‘Mount Rushmore mode’.
James also noted how the couple showed off their “more tangible side.”
“Trump placed a guiding, supportive hand on her back and touched it as they left the balcony, even leaving her hand on his upper arm to register a level of affection and perhaps even pride,” she said.
It’s a far cry from when Melania smacked the president’s hand away in the early months of his administration.
“Aside from the more tactile behavior and the hand clasp, she performed the rook gesture with her hands facing forward and fingertips touching,” James said. “This is a gesture that implies status and authority, plus some hints of distance between great powers.”
A tower gesture is when someone presses their fingertips together and positions their hands like a church steeple.
James also commented on Melania’s interactions with Ivanka, who spent even less time on the campaign trail than the first lady this cycle.
Ivanka — who worked in the first Trump White House with her husband Jared Kushner — spent election night at Mar-a-Lago with the entire Trump crew.
James said the smile between the two Trump women was “nothing more than a social flash of recognition.”
Melania is seen with her hands in a so-called tower gesture – which is when someone presses their fingertips together and positions their hands like a church steeple. “This is a gesture that implies status and authority, plus some hints of distancing oneself from great power,” expert Judi James told DailyMail.com
The Trumps also showed their “more tangible side,” which in Melania’s case could mean showing “affection and maybe even pride”
“Ivanka, however, seemed to be working her way back to the top of the Trump dynasty, standing closer to her father and chatting animatedly with Vance, who first leaned on the railing in a boisterous pose and then shoved his hands in his pockets. though flattered by Ivanka’s attention here,” James noted.
James also pointed out that “Melania and Ivanka have often engaged in both conscious and unconscious mirroring.”
She continued “here it seemed subconscious but also powerful as Melania performed an anticipatory handlock and was then mimicked by Ivanka.”
“This echo or mirroring usually suggests some admiration or like-mindedness,” James said.