𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Tuesday marks one year since Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second Presidential term. The Republican, who is only the second President in USA history to serve two, non-consecutive terms, was re-elected to the role he had previously held from 2017 until 2021 in November 2024, and walked back into the Oval Office on January 20, 2025.

And now one body language expert has lifted the lid on the three “unethical” tricks Trump uses to exert his control over his allies, and dominance over his opponents. The expert, who posts on social media as Do More Stuff, explained the approach in a video on TikTok. Referencing writing by communications expert Vanessa Van Edwards, he said: “There is a secret psychological hack that Trump uses to mug everyone around him in every single public appearance, and most people completely miss it, but it’s literally hidden in plain sight, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it.”

The wide-legged seated stance and ‘reverse steeple’

First of these is what Van Edwards called “the ultimate power pose combination.” The presenter said: “When Trump sits, he doesn’t just sit normally like everyone else.

“He spreads his legs wide, he takes up maximum space, and he does this reverse steeple thing with his hands. This is basically his brain’s way of saying ‘I own this room’.”

Handshake dominance

Calling this “the kicker for maximum domination”, he continued: “Van Edwards identified handshakes as literal power negotiations, and Trump has mastered what she calls spatial control. He pulls people towards him during the handshakes.

“You’ve obviously all seen that, he violates everyone’s personal space boundaries and he holds the handshakes for longer than normal. And if you watch his hand positioning, he always tries to get his hand on top, which again is so immature, but Van Edwards says this is a classic vertical power display.”

Power pout

Third is what the presenter called “the power pout”. He said: “Trump has this signature power move: when he hears something he doesn’t like, he purses his lips forward. It’s like he’s about to give someone a kiss.

“Here he’s basically signalling disapproval and rejection non-verbally. So, even before he speaks, his face is already telling you exactly how he feels.

“This can be perceived as a power play, because, instead of interrupting like he usually does, he can just sit there in the background with this face on, and, whether consciously or subconsciously, he’s mugging the other person in front of all of the audience.”

However, he added Van Edwards had said this could also be seen as an expression of uncomfortableness, or what she called “stress leakage”. “Basically, your body is betraying what you’re really thinking,” he said. “Lots of people have nervous twitches, some people fidget, some people scratch somewhere, Trump’s is the pout.”