Body language expert analyzes Trump's 'face-shove' interaction

Daily Mail​

28-05-2025

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Emmanuel Macron and his wife will be 'desperate to pretend all is well' and bury news of the 'face shove' footage circulating the world's media, a body language expert revealed. The French president said he was just playfighting with his wife, Brigitte, after she was seen pushing him away with both hands on his face before they disembarked from their plane to start a tour of Southeast Asia this weekend. The moment quickly made headlines in France , with media trying to decipher the interaction that cameras spotted through the just-opened door of the plane. In France, Le Parisien asked: 'Slap or "squabble"?'
Judi James, a body language expert, told MailOnline that as the French first couple continue on their tour via Hanoi, their body language rituals would overcorrect with a 'litter tray' response, burying the bad 'under some shovels-full of "good" behaviour in what looks like a bid to prove nothing is wrong'. 'Their non-verbal signals here border on the "overkill", suggesting some levels of panic and a desperation to pretend all is well and to maybe tie in with the ridiculous claims of 'playing' together on the plane,' she said. 'Their response' to the resulting media frenzy, she said, is body language that looks like 'a bride and groom on their wedding day'. 'Macron's chest is puffed to suggest his favored alpha state and his arm is crooked in a gesture of old-fashioned gentlemanliness.'
Pictured at the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi, Vietnam, today, the French first lady held onto her husband's arm as they walked among reporters and flanking students. Both were all smiles for the cameras, Ms Macron keeping close to her husband and leaning in slightly. 'Brigitte is suddenly in a more sweetly submissive pose with her hand hooked into her husband's arm to suggest he is the dominant one in the relationship while she is more "surrendered wife",' Ms James assessed. 'It's over-performed and unlikely to throw enough 'litter' over the shocking scene that was shown around the world.' The pair will be conscious of their public appearance after Sunday's 'playfighting' footage was met with scrutiny.
In Hanoi today, the French president also addressed students, presenting the next generation with hopes of a 'third way' between the United States and China to a region caught up in a confrontation between the two. 'The conflict between China and the United States of America is a geopolitical fact that casts the shadow of risk of a much larger conflict in this important region,' he told a group of around 150 students at the university. Macron took a swipe at the United States, which he described as 'imposing tariffs according to the side of the bed on which he woke up', before presenting France as a reliable alternative. His address comes a day after he visited a Hanoi war memorial to those who fought against French colonial occupation, which ended in 1954 following a bloody uprising by Vietnamese pro-independence forces.
Vietnam has been careful to follow a balancing act between China and the United States. 'Macron's speech to students produces some body language cues that suggest tension or inner anxiety and he appears to struggle getting into his stride here,' said Ms James. 'As he approaches the lectern he bites at his lower lip in a "self-attack" gesture associated with regret. 'There is a long, six second pause at the lectern when he reaches for the water and drinks it before trying to start. He grabs the stem of one mic to straighten it unnecessarily, suggesting anxiety and he does the same with the other.'
She suggested his rocking from foot to foot potentially showed 'awkwardness', and a rub of the nose could be a comfort gesture and partial barrier, 'suggesting a desire to hide'. Mr Macron has been careful to manage the fallout from Sunday's 'push', with all eyes on the French first couple. He told reporters that they were simply joking around. 'We are squabbling and, rather, joking with my wife,' he said, adding that the incident was being overblown into 'a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe'.
In video taken by The Associated Press as the Macrons arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday, a uniformed man can be seen pulling open the plane door and revealing the president standing inside, dressed in a suit and talking to someone who wasn't visible. Brigitte Macron's arms - in red - were seen reaching out and pushing Macron away, with one hand covering his mouth and part of his nose while the other was on his jaw. The French leader recoiled, turning his head away. Then, apparently realising that he was on camera, he broke into a smile and gave a little wave. Meanwhile Brigitte remains concealed by the aircraft body, making it impossible to see her facial expression or body language.
Ms James told MailOnline that the interaction was far from a 'playful' moment of teasing between a husband and wife, as Macron and his inner circle had attempted to portray it. 'I would not describe the gesture we saw from inside the plane as one of "play" as has been claimed,' she said. 'Pushing your partner in the face with your hand so hard their head reels to the side and they need to put a hand out to keep balance, especially with what looks like an extra "shove" at the end of the contact, should not be normalized by calling it "fun" just to save political face.'
On Monday, an Elysee official said of the latest video: 'It was a moment when the president and his wife were relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh... It was a moment of closeness.' The clip of the couple rowing on the jet was at first described as inauthentic by Macron's office, before it was quickly confirmed to be genuine. This is the third time this month that Macron has been the subject of viral video footage at a time when France says it is being targeted by repeated disinformation campaigns as Russia steps up attacks on Ukraine.