DONALD Trump displayed a rarely-seen side of himself during his first public appearance after surviving Saturday’s assassination attempt, a body language expert has said.
The former president took to the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday just 48 hours after he was injured in a shooting.
Trump was shot at during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday night with one bullet clipping his ear, leaving his face covered in blood as his security detail got him to the floor.
The gunman who was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired eight shots, killing one spectator and injuring two others before he was “neutralized” by snipers.
Just moments after being hit, Trump put on a display of defiance as he stood back up, surrounded by security, and raised his fist in the air shouting “fight” as he was ushered away.
However, there was little of this behavior at his first public appearance since the attack, according to body language expert Judi James.
Trump was met with cheers and applause as he arrived at the Fiserv Forum, tightly surrounded by security and wearing a bandage on his right ear.
Onlookers are used to Trump’s “show-boating and peacocking” James explained, but at the RNC event, he showed a different side, revealing the emotional toll the attack had on the presidential candidate.
However, despite this, the former president still exuded an image of “physical strength” she said.
“He could have made this first appearance in Milwaukee a body language display of the kind of chest-banging power and alpha strength he performed outside the various courtrooms during his trials but instead we are shown a much more nuanced, emotional, and sentimental-looking response from the ex-president here,” James explained.
“He strides in alone with his arms hanging at his sides to register ongoing physical strength despite the large bandage on his ear.”
The former president was uncharacteristically quiet, choosing not to address the crowd at the event as he arrived for the final hour of speeches.
However, he is expected to take to the stage on the fourth day of the convention on Thursday as initially planned.
Subtle behavioral tics highlighted the Republican nominee’s inner turmoil, James said after Trump admitted the attempt on his life had “an impact” on him.
“I don’t like to think about that, but, yes, I think has an impact,” Trump, 78, told ABC’s Jonathan Karl when asked if the bullet had “changed him.”
James noted a “micro-wince” that Trump did as he made his entrance to the convention.
This minute detail was “the smallest of clues about the emotional effort required,” the body language expert explained, noting that the former president appeared to be “bracing himself internally.”
“His initial sad eye expression gives away more clues to how touched he seems to be felt and as he hears the first cheers his lips close in a smile of acknowledgment while one brow puckers up to retain that air of a self-reflective, sentimental mood.”
She added that in the mere 48 hours before his first public appearance, Trump “will have had to face the ‘What ifs?'” and “the reality of what might have been.”
Former president Donald Trump provided an update on Truth Social after the shooting that took place at his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
“I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.
“Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”
In a moment that echoed the defining moment of the assassination attempt where Trump raised his fist in defiance, the same gesture was made with a very different message at the RNC event, James said.
The image from the shooting “showed him frozen in a moment of heroic, air-punching defiance, anger, and determination,” she said.
However, in Milwaukee, he showed a “micro-flicker of fear” with his eyes before raising his fist, “not in a peacocking or defiant gesture but more a look of gratitude to the supportive fans,” the expert noted.
“We see a rare display of low-key modesty from the man who is known for his show-boating and peacocking style of body language,” she said of the moment Trump joined his tearful family at the event.
The rare display from the former president appeared to show the more emotional and human side that his wife Melania spoke about in a statement after the shooting.
“A monster who recognized my husband as an inhuman political machine attempted to ring out Donald’s passion – his laughter, ingenuity, love of music, and inspiration,” the former first lady said.
“The core facets of my husband’s life – his human side – were buried below the political machine.
“Donald, the generous and caring man who I have been with through the best of times and the worst of times.”
Security at the RNC event was ramped up after the shooting with barricades, steel fences, armed law enforcement, and checkpoints.
Meanwhile, Trump has confirmed his running mate for the presidential election, as he shows no signs of slowing down after the shooting.
