Trump’s Grimace & Power: New Study Reveals Surprising Findings

Christopher Hart, professor of philology at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom, noticed little early on in how US President Donald Trump communicates: the man or To point out, and it serves a surprisingly powerful purpose on its followers. (More on that later).

Unlike many politicians, Trump (always a bit of a showman, given his reality TV background) connects with his supporters at political rallies with a mix of rhetoric. y gestures. It’s not just during speeches that he will strategically point fingers; he’ll point to a political friend after being introduced on the campaign trail, or to an agency insider he wants to boost, as he did here at the White House in 2018 with outgoing spokeswoman Hope Hicks.

He also takes aim at his enemies by pointing, as he did in the final presidential debate against Hillary Clinton in 2016, as shown below. It’s kind of a “can you believe this person?” imputation with the index finger.

He also likes to point at himself, or at the brand of a Trump cap.

And if there is a solar decline, he definitelyPoint and stare at that little baddie, even if scientists warn against doing so without protective pince-nez.

Hart, the aforementioned researcher, is intrigued by Trump’s penchant for signaling because, while a fair amount of research has been devoted to how politicians use their words to influence their followers, few have studied the ways in which nonverbal signals can cultivate followers.

“I’m specifically interested in the gestural performances of right-wing populists, so Trump was an obvious position to start with,” Hart told HuffPost.

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In a new study published in the journal Social Semiotics, Hart analyzed a campaign rally and found that Trump defaults to making a pointing face more than once a minute, which is a lot.

“Trump is not the only politician who makes pointing gestures, but I was surprised by how often he points,” he said. “There is little in the live campaign rally scene that seems to invite a density of signaling gestures around it.”

To complete his study, Hart watched a 60-minute video clip of a presidential campaign rally held in Buffalo, New York, on April 18, 2016. The high-energy rally, which can be viewed on YouTube, was attended by more than 11,000 people in Trump’s home state.

When Trump points around the outside, beyond his body, he is referring directly to the audience (“you”) or to enemy third parties (“they,” “them,” or specific individuals or groups such as the media or protesters).

When the president points to his followers, he is interacting with them, drawing them further into the fold. When he points out his critics (the media in the stands or the protesters who have entered the event) he is “differentiating them from others,” singling them out as objects of contempt.

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Hart found that Trump always points, even without speaking: “He does it with great purpose, whether as a show of appreciation around individual audience members or as part of theatrical routines, such as pointing to the top of an imaginary border wall.”

And when he points, his followers eat it up, Hart said.

Of course, Trump’s statement reflects his experience in entertainment: Before “The Apprentice” made him a reality TV fortune, he was a frequent guest on the WWE, where wild gesticulations and other theatrics (head licking, head shaving) are common.

“The way he points out and highlights audience members is definitely characteristic of live entertainment,” Hart said. “He includes himself among the known, as a man of the people.”

As for Trump’s habit of pointing at himself, Hart believes he does it to demonstrate sincerity or build a quick emotional relationship with his audience. Similarly, point around below when leaving a position (“this country” or “Buffalo”) to connect a broader political message to the specific rally position: Don’t worry, you (or your city) will directly benefit from this political memo.

Because any of this matter? Because little as simple as pointing fingers is how Trump gained an unprecedented populist following.

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“The way Trump uses gestures to point breaks with the way politicians normally communicate, creating a high-energy, barraganic performance,” Hart said. “That’s a big part of its appeal.”

Previous studies have shown that politicians traditionally rely on a “restricted mimic code” (a small, stable set of gestures), presumably after being told that a tiny movement conveys confidence, assertiveness or intellectual precision, Hart said.

“An example of this is the ‘this,’ where the thumb is placed horizontally over a closed fist,” Hart said. “Other gestures are avoided perhaps for fear that they will distract the public from the main message.”

However, in the wrong hands, all of that can feel rigid and overly rehearsed. At worst, it distances the politician from the way the rest of us communicate, Hart said. Think about how stilted Richard Nixon seemed when juxtaposed with John F. Kennedy’s cool, collected, body-speak during the 1960 presidential debate. (Kennedy, of course, would win.)

The rigid body language “is not the case with populist politicians whose gestures appear to be more spontaneous, conversational in style and genuinely charismatic,” Hart said. “They often reflect, albeit exaggeratedly, the way ordinary people interact. It’s part of the populist playbook.”

Another populist indicator of high profile, according to Hart? Boris Johnson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It is not known if the rebellious and super blonde hair is also part of the populist manual.

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Read the eye-catcher on HuffPost