Melania Trump was 'impenetrable' in FLOTUS farewell speech, says body language expert: 'It was a dry desert'
Melania Trump ghave her farewell message as first lady of the United States recently, and a body language expert has said that her final speech as FLOTUS was a "masterclass in non-movement." Melania's body movements and language were analyzed by Judi James, who said the first lady likely saw herself in a maternal role model during her time at the White House.
Melania in her speech, which drew drew both praise and criticism, said, "As Donald and I conclude our time in the White House, I think of all the people I have taken home in my heart and their incredible stories of love, patriotism, and determination." She also thanked service members, saying, "I see the faces of brave young soldiers who have told me with pride in their eyes how much they love serving this country. To every service member and to our incredible military families: You are heroes, and you will always be in my thoughts and prayers."
She then thanked healthcare workers, saying, "As the world continues to confront the Covid-19 pandemic, I thank all the nurses, doctors, healthcare professionals, manufacturing workers, truck drivers, and so many others who are working to save lives. We grieve for the families who have lost a loved one due to the pandemic. Every life is precious, and I ask all Americans to use caution and common sense to protect the vulnerable as millions of vaccines are now being delivered."
James spoke to express.co.uk on the first lady's speech, saying that she did not give much away on how she was feeling. James said, "Seventy very faint movements of the head, turning to the left, but not turning far enough to risk creating any ripples in her perfectly-groomed hair. Twelve subtle narrowing of the eyes. One ghost of a smile. At least one hundred tiny pelvic thrusts. A few blinks. Melania’s last speech as FLOTUS was another masterclass in non-movement."
James added, "It was a dry desert for anyone thirsty for clues about her true feelings or anyone trying to second-guess what Melania will do next." James suggested that Melania kept her emotions and what she may have felt private during the speech.
James said, "Turn the sound up slightly and you hear the word ‘children’ repeated several times with slightly more tonal emphasis than her other words. Plus the word ‘love’ thrown in for good measure." She continued, "Beautiful, Sphinx-like and impenetrable in terms of displays of emotion right to the (possibly bitter) end, Melania was still the FLOTUS as designed and styled by Disney."
She stated of Melania's appearance in the video, "Married to a man suffering from non-verbal incontinence, the gift that went on giving in terms of facial expressions, alpha posturing, over-congruent gesticulation, and those unbelievable power-prompted greeting rituals, Melania was always the adept poker-face, allowing the public to project their own assumption of her inner thoughts onto her graceful and elegant counterbalance to her husband’s spontaneity."
James did turn to her words and speech to extract something else - that the first lady takes her role of a mother very seriously and may have seen her role in the White House as "maternal." She said, "Melania thanks soldiers, law enforcement officers and covid workers during this farewell speech but her keyword during throughout is ‘children’, suggesting she saw herself as a very maternal role-model as First Lady. She pronounces it carefully and says it 10 times, pinning it up as a recurring and important theme for her."
She continued, "She links the word children with words like ‘love’ and ‘joy’ and describes herself as coming to the White House as a ‘mother’ and as ‘parents’. Even her references to the US ‘heroes’ come with words like ‘kindness, courage and love’. She places herself in the frame as protector of children, championing causes like educating them about being the best and keeping them safe online."