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05th Feb 2017

Body language expert explains why Trump avoids holding his wife’s hand in public

It's not germaphobia this time.

Rich Cooper

President Donald Trump comes across as a man obsessed with himself.

It’s hard to think of another public figure who dedicates quite so much time talking about themselves, their achievements, and why The Apprentice is so much worse with Arnold Schwarzenegger hosting.

He is the President, though, and you have to look the part. You’ve got to look strong. You’ve got to look decisive. You’ve got to look caring. Actually, scratch that last part. Trump is not known for his compassion, not when it comes to refugees at least.

But even his own wife?

Video has emerged of the President and the First Lady heading out for a weekend break at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, in which Trump appears to reject holding his wife Melania’s hand.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywPuZgbWld0

 

It’s odd, and more than a little awkward, but why would Trump not want to be seen holding his wife’s hand, a thing that most couples wouldn’t think twice about doing?

Patti Wood, a body language expert, told Mail Online that it’s a power play, an attempt to be seen as a presidential alpha.

“Typically a hand-hold shows a couple as a unit,’ Wood said. “But to me, I think he’s been saying, ‘I want to be seen as the president on my own’, which is very much alpha. ‘I want to be just the powerful me.’ And it’s clear that that’s his choice.”

“Holding hands can communicate so much about an individual and a couple, depending on the position of the hands, who reaches in first, who breaks it first,” Wood added.

“They hold hands in private, so we know that there’s a coupleness that we weren’t seeing in public or at the inauguration.

“What’s fascinating, I think to all of us, is that they’re holding hands at all. They hold hands in private, so we know that there’s a coupleness that we weren’t seeing in public or at the inauguration.”

We weren’t aware that ‘coupleness’ is a word, but with Trump in charge, every day’s a school day.

Feature: Joe Raedle / Getty Images