Kamala Harris took the lead before the debate began with her firm handshake with Trump and managed to maintain the momentum for the rest of the night, a body language expert concluded.
Donald Trump insisted in advance that the diminutive Democrat not be allowed a pedestal behind his podium, hoping his own 6-foot-3 frame would project an imposing presence on the debate stage.
But it was Harris who dominated from the opening seconds after spending days holed up in her Philadelphia hotel room honing her techniques with a trusted group of advisers, according to body language expert Judi James.
“His ritual greeting of Trump allowed him to take instant control and higher status,” James said.
Donald Trump appeared surprised by the vigorous handshake his opponent offered him at the start of the debate, body expert Judi James concluded.
Kamala Harris made good use of Trump’s speaking time to project clear messages with her body language and facial expressions, James believes
Walking across the stage with energy and intent, he offered Trump his hand and introduced himself.
‘The attribution effect involves the lasting impact of creating an impression of leadership or power in the first few seconds of the meeting and the handshake rule means that the host is the one who instigates it.
‘Trump looked taken aback. His power moves are legendary, but his reaction was weak.’
The British body language expert has studied public encounters in depth for decades.
The former president may have spent four years in the White House and 13 as a star of The Apprentice, but it was his rival who seemed to have the better performance on television, with his “direct and often intimate conversation and address to the viewer,” James said.
‘Looking directly into the camera while speaking and introducing his words with catchy, personalized phrases like ‘Let’s talk about,’ ‘Get this…’ and ‘Get it.’
“She commanded our attention and made her points personal and relevant,” the analyst said.
‘His was a conversation with the viewer, which allowed him to change minds and electoral tendencies by flattering them.’
Trump, meanwhile, struggled to adjust to the studio environment without an audience after weeks of speaking at campaign events.
“While Harris kept her tone conversational and intimate, Trump began yelling as if he were on stage,” James said.
‘This technique might work with large live audiences, but in an empty studio it looked and sounded bad and outdated.
‘He also used the same familiar lines he uses at his rallies, making Harris look and sound like the fresh message.’
The candidates’ microphones were muted while the other spoke, but cameras remained on both, and Harris used her downtime on air to project clear messages with her body language.
‘His raised chin and eyebrows, head bob and knowing smiles or pursed lips gave the impression of intelligent, mocking assessment,’ James concluded.
“Trump looked taken aback,” James said. “His power moves are legendary, but his reaction was weak.”
“His was a conversation with the audience, allowing him to change minds and voting tendencies by flattering them,” James said.
James praised the Democrat’s practiced range of facial expressions: “She narrowed her eyes to emphasize her disbelief at his words. At one point she looked at him with a pitying expression.”
Trump, who had thrived in the debate against Joe Biden, appeared “shocked” by his younger opponent and at one point appeared “visibly hurt,” according to the expert.
‘But his coup de grace was his pose with one hand placed on his chin.
‘She made this gesture twice when she turned to listen to Trump and conveyed the message of superiority and evaluation.
‘She narrowed her eyes to emphasize her disbelief at his words. At one point she looked at him with a pitying expression.
‘His split-screen responses seemed too still.
Shake it off: The greeting that sets the tone
“He seemed to have been instructed not to attack too directly, but his smug, tight-lipped, narrow-eyed grin worked better on Biden than on the much sharper, more animated Harris.”
Harris knows the race for the White House is hanging in the balance and that one of her best opportunities to change things is to get under his skin.
Trump, who had thrived in the debate against Joe Biden, appeared “shocked” by his younger opponent and at one point seemed “visibly hurt” by some of Harris’ well-crafted taunts.
“She said people at her rallies get bored and leave early and used the word ‘fired,’ her TV catchphrase, to say that 81 million people fired him during the last election,” James noted.
‘Trump’s blinking frequency increased and he became visibly angry. His pitch rose to a scream, his lower jaw jutted out, showing his teeth, and at one point he even had saliva on his lower lip.
‘That also made him go off topic verbally, including different topics in his answers.
‘During his debate with Biden, Trump came across as the younger man mocking a president who could barely articulate his words. His was the voice you wanted to hear.
‘Here, however, he seemed to have nothing new to offer, allowing Harris to bring the fresh energy and voice that stimulated interest.
“Harris’s training and planning paid off tonight as she scored winning points in nearly every aspect of her performance in this debate,” James concluded.
Trump, on the other hand, had difficulty adjusting to the studio environment without an audience after weeks of speaking at campaign rallies, he added.
‘His low point came when, after Harris repeatedly talked about her plans, Trump responded to the host who accused him of not having a plan: ‘I have the concept of a plan.’
“His assertion that people ‘are eating pets in Springfield’ allowed Harris to burst into laughter before turning to show her pitying expression.”
Trump had won the toss before the debate to decide who would deliver the closing remarks.
But that allowed Harris to occupy the psychologically more prominent podium to the right of the viewer’s screen.
And despite losing the opportunity to have the last word, the current vice president made the most of her farewell to the audience.
‘As Harris summed up her speech alone, she shot Trump two looks of utter contempt, turning in his direction with the ‘amused’ smile no longer in her eyes, and looking him up and down as if she thought she was done with him.
“Harris’s training and planning paid off tonight as she scored winning points in nearly every aspect of her performance in this debate,” James concluded.
