Trump's 'power move' to fly bomber over China's President Xi backfires after he did it to Putin

Donald Trump welcomed a visit from China’s President, however, the welcoming event above ground didn’t seem to go as planned.

The red-carpet welcome occurred as Trump greeted President Xi Jinping and his wife, Madame Peng Liyuan, when a screaming flyover roared overhead as bomber jets flew above Joint Base Andrews.

The meeting yesterday (September 23) was the first one to go off with a military band performance since former POTUS Barack Obama greeted Pope Francis at JBA, according to C-SPAN.

When it came to Trump and Xi, the pair could be seen in footage shared to social media of the pair standing as the jets got louder above.

But while Trump seemed to be shocked by the volume of the engine sound, Xi seemed totally unfazed.

This has since been labeled as a failure to produce an apparent 'power move' says social media users, after he was seen in a similar position when flying a nuclear bomber jet over Russian President Vladimir Putin's head last year.

The meeting between Trump and Putin is took place in Anchorage, Alaska on August 15 where the two attempted to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

But while Trump was seen going in for his trademark handshake upon greeting the Russian president, a famed American B-2 Bomber and four F-35 fighter jets, zoomed over his head as soon as he stepped off the plane.

Taking to X to talk about the moment, one user said: "Trump just flew a B-2 stealth bomber over Putin’s head… Absolutely incredible."

One commenter then typed: "Should have showed off the new B-21 instead."

"Power move lol," another wrote.

A third said: "Beast mode. The only thing powerful people respect…Power."

But according to Dr Beth Dawson, a body language expert, the 'power' is often decided by those who witness it.

She told UNILAD the leaders had two 'different external responses' and that Trump's 'wincing is one of the most interesting moments because the contrast is very striking.'

Dr Dawson added: "As the B-1 bombers fly overhead, Trump's reaction involves several behaviours: he winces, ducks, closes/squeezes his eyes, grits his teeth, turns towards the aircraft and temporarily lowers his salute. Xi turns his gaze towards the aircraft but shows little visible bodily reaction in comparison."

"From a body-language perspective, Trump's response is a startle/discomfort response. It doesn’t mean he was frightened and that’s an important distinction. A sudden, extremely loud noise can produce an involuntary response, particularly around the eyes, face, head and shoulders. It doesn’t mean the person is afraid," she explained. "What makes the footage interesting is Xi's contrasting display. He tracks the aircraft visually, so he's clearly noticing it but there isn’t much facial or postural movement from him."

However, she was quick to say that 'Xi's lack of a startle response doesn't prove that he wasn't startled, any more than Trump's wince proves that he was afraid.'

Calling the display a show of 'military symbolism', she added: "Trump's visible reaction alongside Xi's calm posture creates a strong visual contrast. And people on social media are already interpreting that contrast as Trump appearing 'weaker,' but that's an audience perspective and not something that we see in the body language."

She concluded: "The most revealing thing about this moment isn't that Trump winces, it's how quickly we, the audience, interpret the man who doesn't wince as the more powerful one! This says a lot about us and our assumptions about composure, emotion and power."

A jet flew overhead as the pair stood together (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)

But over on X this time around, people have had mixed feelings on the jets flying over the meeting, with one person stating it was an attempt to send a message to the leader.

While a user said: “Trump is still Your President. Lmao. Nothing y’all can do about it. Lmao."

Another said: “This is what those in the front line of war hears everyday . TRUMP cant even bear the sound of a jet engine yet he likes war .. so ironic.”

Someone else wrote: “Assumption much! Lmaooo. So you like communism. What a chump! The more you hate the more we win."

A fourth said: “We have all seen the military displays in China, so XI is not impressed by such a meager show of power and considers the convicted felon a fool (as do we all.)”

A user scathed: "But he still lives in your head rent free."

Then. someone joked: "That’s what the on/off button on the hearing aid is for!"

UNILAD reached out the the White House for comment.