Donald Trump's expressions and gestures during Thursday's presidential debate were score carded by a notable body language expert who drew comparisons to a comic book villain and policed him for fibbing and conveying guilt.
Dr. Jack Brown, a renowned expert who has been featured on CNN and ABC News, among others, and has analyzed the 45th president along with previous GOP presidential primary candidates — found several troublesome moments when he rematched President Joe Biden.
"A false smile with the mouth with no eye-smiling is always a red-lights-flashing, sirens-blaring signal," writes Brown in his Twitter/X thread. "This facial expression should remind you of 'The Joker' (à la Batman). If it creeps you out – good (it should!)."
When Biden tried to make it personal and challenged Trump's morals for bedding porn star Stormy Daniels (though he didn't refer to her by name) — Trump retorted: "I didn't have sex with a porn star."
But Brown spotted a "partially-suppressed smile" on behalf of Trump which he refers to as "Duping Delight."
It's in this moment that he accuses Trump of "taking pleasure in his belief that he's fooling people" and also serves as "an admission of guilt."
There were other Trump tells.
"Trump also nods his head deeply, up-and-down (yes), closes his eyes, and 'turtles' his neck as Biden recounts that 159 presidential scholars voted Trump the worst president in US history," Brown writes in his assessment.
And when Trump was posed by Biden to be a danger to the economy should he be reelected for a second term, Trump cowers.
Brown details how "Trump retracts his neck, elevates his shoulders (aka 'turtling'), closes his eyelids, and nods up-and-down" when Biden brings up the fact that 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists foresee a recession based on his policies.
Apparently world affairs don't inspire Trump's poker face either.
"When Biden asks Trump, 'Ya gonna stay in NATO?'" Brown said Trump responds with a "pseudo-pout (Mussolini-esque) expression of false consideration, with a suppressed smile, elevated forehead/eyebrows and closed eyelids."
