WASHINGTON – The two front-runners in the Republican presidential debate appear to have learned from criticism of their past performances, while the laggards are coming back with equal energy and strategy, body language expert Greg Hartley told The Post.
Nikki Haley won the debate on Wednesday, at least when it came to body language, experts said as the former UN ambassador appeared calm, cool and composed while on the debate stage – a marked change from past performances where she was more “reactive” to the attack of his challenger.
“He did better overall than everyone else,” he said. “But it’s not because he’s brilliant. This is because he is under control.”
While in previous debates, the former South Carolina governor had a heated reaction to attacks, especially from rival Vivek Ramaswamy, he held firm in the fourth debate.
Not just with his words, but with his actions, Hartley said.
“He was very emotional about the people who attacked him,” said a former Army investigator. “I think maybe he had to take some of that under advisement and say, ‘Hey, don’t react so aggressively when someone attacks you.'”
“Who knows why? Did Trump call him and say, ‘Be nice and I’ll take care of you.’ Who knows with those people,” he added.
The four remaining GOP candidates took the stage on Wednesday night. Getty Images
Haley took the stage after a steady increase in her poll numbers since the last debate, and with that came a more confident — if less enthusiastic — approach, Hartley said.
Going into the debate, he was polling third with about 10%, placing him in third place behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis polled at about 13.5% heading into the debate, but that could change after his performance on Wednesday.
“The train wreck on stage for me — and I hate to say this — was DeSantis,” Hartley said. “He doesn’t know what to do, and he’s not a stupid guy, but he’s not comfortable in his own skin.”
Nikki Haley won the debate on Wednesday, at least when it came to body language, the expert said as the former UN ambassador appeared calm, cool and composed on the debate stage. AP
Hartley noticed DeSantis’ “constant squirming,” indicating that he often rubbed his thighs during debates, which he said was a key indicator of “nervous energy.”
The governor also continued his habit of punctuating his words with head movements, although he seemed to be trying to avoid a strange tendency in the early moments of the debate.
“If you notice, most people when they draw their hands are somewhere between their chin and their navel and they move their hands a lot,” Hartley said. “He does a lot of things until he gets the points he’s really interested in, and then he comes back to this main thing.”
Comparing him to “a dove because he moved his head,” Hartley said the move betrayed the image of a strong, strong leader his campaign had projected.
The governor also continued his habit of punctuating his words with head movements, although he seemed to be trying to avoid a strange tendency in the early moments of the debate. Reuters
“It’s hard to see [like an] an authoritarian leader, powerful when you look up like him,” Hartley said. “He really needs a coach. People win and lose elections based on their appearance.”
As for entrepreneur Ramaswamy and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, they performed very similarly to their previous performances since July, Hartley said.
For Ramaswamy, that means he appears confident when delivering his campaign message but weak when attacking fellow candidates.
As he delivered his message on his main issue, Ramaswamy’s “fingers and thumbs were separated,” which Hartley said showed confidence.
When Ramaswamy returned to his pattern of attacking fellow candidates on stage, Hartley noticed a change in the way he held his hand that could be attributed to nerves or weakness. AFP via Getty Images
“It shows he sends forward [a message] that he’s not worried about how it’s perceived,” he said.
But when Ramaswamy returned to his pattern of attacking fellow candidates on stage, Hartley noticed a change in the way he held his hand that could be attributed to nerves or weakness.
“When you see him attacking Nikki Haley, his fingers are close, his hands are up,” he said. “So he knows what might be perceived as poor either consciously or unconsciously his body is sending a message.”
Harley said Ramaswamy may have been aware of how his attacks struck the audience, noting that the youngest candidate was “Trump without entertainment.”
“I mean, he has all the same little attacks, but whatever his message is, it’s missing the Trump entertainment factor,” he said. “So Trump is the same guy, he’s offensive — but he’s funny to people who are attracted to that.”
“Ramaswamy missed that. There is no humor at all, so it seems cruel,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chris Christie continued his habit of slumping on the podium while speaking, the expert said, only giving off “energy” when he attacked Trump, who did not appear for the debate.
“Christie is old, and I don’t mean that by age. He’s an old politician,” said Hartley. “I don’t think he knows what’s going on just by looking at his behavior on the podium.”
Christie’s stooping and leaning on the lectern may be partly “because he’s a big guy,” Hartley said, “but the only time I saw any real energy from him was when he was criticizing Trump.”
Hartley said he also saw “good enthusiasm” from Christie when he defended Haley against Ramaswamy’s attacks, another indicator of his “old politics,” Hartley said.
Meanwhile, Chris Christie continued his habit of slumping on the podium while speaking, the expert said, only giving off “energy” when he attacked Trump, who did not appear for the debate. Reuters
A long-time politician and debater, Christie’s body language showed little nervousness, though he would occasionally press his finger to his face, which Hartley said was an indicator of stress.
“The only time I’ve seen him press his face, is when Nikki Haley is being attacked or when people are yelling at each other,” he said. “It felt like there was a reach for him to try to gain some sort of control.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
