Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, News
A body language expert has spoken about President Donald Trump's hand gestures, revealing some of the clues about what they mean.
Trump is known for being expressive while delivering speeches, often using an array of different hand gestures to emphasize the message he is trying to portray.
One body language expert, Andy Harrington, has broken down some of Trump's most infamous gestures, including one very specific hand signal.
Speaking to The Independent, Andy explained that there's one gesture Trump uses frequently to deliver precision during his speeches.
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"He's got certain gestures that he uses," explained Andy.
"There's one very specific one that he uses all the time, like finish the job."
Andy demonstrated Trump's 'O-shaped gesture' which is where the thumb and the index finger meet.
"He uses that a number of times, which is one he uses to accentuate. This one is essentially called the soft warrior," Andy continued.
"It's where it's a warrior-like gesture. What he really wants to do is to do this, which is the sword pointed up like a finger pointed up like a sword.
"But, a lot of politicians would avoid that because it's a bit too overly authoritative.
"So this little gesture provides precision, but at the same time punches out his message which is finish the job.
"All politicians have had some sort of media training there's no doubt, however, Trump bucks the trend with everything he does.
"He tends to speak without thinking it through because I think he's just at that stage where he kind of believes he's invincible... there's very little body language that he's hiding."
Andy also spoke about the consistency of Trump's body language, explaining that he uses gestures that are 'classic authoritarian'.
"He's got the choppy hand, he often does this one when explaining, which means he's expanding an idea," said Andy, referring to Trump separating both hands before bringing them back together.
"He only puts his arms out whenever he knows the audience, he knows they're gonna' respond well to him and he's opening himself up."
Andy also explained that there's one gesture that could indicate Trump is feeling self-conscious in the moment, adding: "Gripping both wrists which is like classic cuffing, holding the wrists is like holding yourself back. You can't express through the hands, it's more 'keep it in' kind of gesture, suggesting he felt slightly self conscious."
