Barron Trump Avoiding 'Looking Like Dad Donald,' Body Language Expert Claims
Barron Trump has gotten over his shyness and awkwardness, according to a body language expert.
A photo of Donald Trump and Melania Trump's 18-year-old son went viral. The snap was taken when Barron joined his dad at a fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago in Florida earlier this week, and it showed him towering over the other men in his dark blue suit and electric blue tie.
Judi James, a leading communication and body language expert who has appeared regularly on BBC News, Sky News, GB News and CNN, weighed in on the viral photo. According to her, based on the teenager's stance, he seemed desperate to disassociate himself from his dad's persona.
"Barron looks keen to avoid looking like a chip off the old block in terms of his father," James told the Mirror.
"Melania is often said to be promoting a more presidential look for her husband and that's what Barron seems to have adopted with this more serious look. He stands with a foot splay that signals steady confidence and some suggestion of power, with his hands clasped in front of his torso. His gaze to [the] camera looks steady and uncompromising and he apparently feels no pressure to smile or to showboat like his dad is doing."
James also pointed out the lack of mirroring gestures between the father and son. She noticed that, unlike the former president, Barron wasn't pressured to put on a smile for the camera.
"The lack of mimicry or mirroring here suggests he is becoming his own man with his own opinions and taking his own decisions. Failing to buckle to group pressure to grin like the others or even offer a thumbs-up like his father takes considerable resolve," James explained.
James described the change in Barron's body language as "fascinating." The expert said that Donald and Melania's son has already gotten over his shyness and awkwardness in public and is now more calm and collected.
"He stands in the center of one group like the high-status hub, and when he poses alongside his father, he makes no visual concession to Trump's alpha status or presidential power pose," she added.
Mike Tyson, who dined with the Trumps last year and had a close encounter with Barron, previously said the youngest Trump was "very intelligent." According to the former professional boxer, Barron seemed "on top of his game intellectually."
