Trump 'pumped up in battle mode' as he sizes up Nikki Haley in 'line of fire'
Donald Trump is reportedly "in full battle mode" for a showdown with Nikki Haley in the race to become the Republican presidential candidate, according to a body language expert.
This comes as Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor, stepped down from the race ahead of the New Hampshire primary with the race for Republican presidential candidate between Trump and former UN Ambassador Haley. Body language expert Judi James analysed Trump's recent appearances and shared her insights with The Mirror.
"There are several key body language clues that Trump is now going into full battle mode now the ground is cleared and only Haley stands in his line of fire," she explained. "First, the loud growling voice is back, sounding alarming when the vocal and tonal emphasis is placed on key words or phrases. This comes peppered between long sections of 'purring' where he sounds happy and smug."
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Trump has gone on the attack as the Republican primary field has narrowed (Getty Images)Judi continued: "Then there is the return of the signature hand gesture rituals Trump was using on a consistent and regular basis during his first campaign for the White House. His rigid, upward-pointing index finger is back, followed by the forming of an 'O' shape with his thumb and index finger.
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"The message from this ritual is clear: 'Do what I say and everything will be ok'. The rigid index is a command-and-control gesture of authority and the 'O' is a precision gesture that also signals 'OK'.
"It looks like a powerful and unequivocal signal that, like many of his grandiose claims to end wars and lock down borders etc, suggests his voters can just relax and leave it with him and not worry about questioning the detail. In business this used to be called the 'Just show me the baby' effect, as in 'Don't talk about the labouvr pains, just show me the baby'. He is also using a one-hand downward chop gesture with the hand then moving from side to side like a priest giving his blessing."
Trump appears to be sizing Nikki Haley up, though one expert has noted he hasn't gone after her with the same vigour as other opponents (Getty Images)Judi also explained how Trump's gestures and way of speaking show a "pumped up" ego now the field has narrowed. She explained: "His repeated verbal use of the third person in Manchester, as in his 'Thank you very much President Trump' and 'A man named Trump' etc show pumped up levels of ego.
"At Manchester his smug signals went off the scale as he stood wearing a clamped-lip smile, rotating slowly as, like a rock star, he allowed his audience to do most of the work with the chanting and cheering. In Rochester, he used a similar effect to deal with a heckler."
A heckler was booed out by those gathered to listen to Trump in Rochdale, New Hampshire (Getty Images)At a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday, Trump was labelled a "dictator" by a protester whom the former President swiftly had removed, telling security "Get him out". He then joked that he would only be a dictator for "one day" if re-elected.
During another rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, Trump was heckled again. This time, he remained silent as the crowd's cheers drowned out the heckler, said Judi. She added: "One small tongue-poke from Trump revealed his disgust at being interrupted but his 'he looks like a nice person' suggested external calm."
While Trump may appear calm, Judi warned that the ex-President might not be as composed as he seems. She explained: "There's also the signals of barely-suppressed anger.
Trump's strong hand gestures made a reappearance during his recent rallies (Getty Images)"When he goes on the attack for enemies like the 'Washington swamp' or the 'fake news media' his top lip tightens in anger and his lips form the small round shape that displays his lower teeth in an animal sign of attack. Telling his audience he got 'Indicted more times than Alphonse Capone' he tucks his elbows into his sides and throws his hands out in a gesture of mimed innocence."
Trump has also been using his rallies to poke fun at his Democrat counterpart. Judi said: "Biden gets the full force of his insults, from his 'Crooked Joe' to the way he now has a small comedy routine of mimicking Biden as he walks off a stage."
Trump appears to have gone full attack mode as the Republican primary race heats up (Getty Images)Meanwhile, she shared that when it comes to his Republican rival Nikki Haley: "His mentions of Haley actually appear muted. There's no name-calling or insults and he actually swerved off from her to Hilary Clinton at one point, who he still seems to see as a bigger target. His body language as he speaks of Haley looks neutral, either as though she is not worth the effort or that he might actually be seeing her as a potential running mate."
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Judi isn't the only expert to pick up on the notion of Haley becoming Trump's running mate for the 60th presidential elections. David Dunn, Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham, told The Mirror: "In New Hampshire, it's a case of whether Haley picks up the cudgel and goes after Trump, recognizing that it's now between him and her who comes first in New Hampshire."
Adding: "There's a reluctance to do that because she [might be] keeping open the prospect of being vice president, that's one thing. Or she also doesn't want to alienate the Trumpian base, the fanatical cult-like support for Trump within that section of the Republican party.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump addresses a campaign rally at the Rochester Opera House (Getty Images)"She has a narrow path to tread there, but it may well be the case that it's now or never in terms of actually putting the boot into Trump in a way that actually makes a material difference to his standing by taking him on."
He added: "She remains an outsider at this stage, it has to be said, but there is still a pathway for her to come through and to be there in the background as the number two candidate long into the primary process, enough for Trump to stumble through the legal processes in New York and elsewhere."
Looking at Trump's former competitors, DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, who are now supporting the outspoken Republican, Judi said: "[Trump's] references to Ramaswamy and DeSantis in New Hampshire were much more powerfully, if subtly, damning. When he mentioned DeSantis his worst were favourable but he also performed a poker face and played with the mic in an act of distraction as though not really interested and Ramaswamy was described in Manchester as having 'A lot to say and saying it fast'."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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