Body language and lip-reading experts have weighed in after footage of Donald Trump and First Lady Melania on a helicopter sparked speculation that the couple had been involved in a heated argument.
The video was filmed after the pair returned from the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday (September 24).
The US president and the first lady were seen speaking inside the Marine One helicopter as it landed on the South Lawn. In the viral clip, Trump can be seen pointing his finger at Melania, who responds by shaking her head.
Highlights
- Experts analyzed the helicopter exchange between Trump and Melania, during which they appeared to be arguing.
- Lip readers offered differing interpretations of the conversation aboard Marine One.
- The video, showing Trump pointing his finger at Melania, went viral, with one user suggesting he was “scolding” his wife “like a child.”
On X (formerly Twitter), one user remarked that it looked as if Trump was “scolding” Melania “like a child.”
Image credits: The White House
According to forensic lip-reader Jeremy Freeman, the animated exchange was actually about the escalator incident at the UN headquarters the previous day.
As soon as Trump and Melania stepped onto the escalator ahead of his address to the General Assembly, it suddenly stopped working, prompting the president to later claim the couple had been “sabotaged.”
“From my interpretation, I don’t think Donald Trump was having a go at Melania Trump — but at the shenanigans at the UN,” Freeman told The Daily Mail.
According to Freeman, Melania told her husband that he had “just continued” walking up the steps when the escalator suddenly stopped.
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
“It was unbelievable. How can you do that?” Freeman believes the president replied.
The former Slovenian model reportedly told her husband, “Donald, look at me” before they exited the helicopter and walked hand in hand.
Nicola Hickling, an additional lip-reader, offered a different interpretation of the exchange. She told The Daily Mail she believes Trump was comforting his wife after a group of people had tried to hurt her.
The footage was recorded after the pair returned from the United Nations General Assembly
Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
“I can’t forgive them, they tried to hurt you,” Trump told Melania aboard the helicopter, according to Hickling.
Melania seemingly replied, “We can’t do this, we should stay safe, you’re not safe.”
The president responded, “They’re done. We must challenge them.”
Meanwhile, body language expert Beth Dawson noted that pointing a finger at someone is “rarely seen as a gesture of affection,” since it’s often associated with “accusation, instruction, or command.” However, she emphasized that context is key when interpreting such gestures.
"Leaning forward, pointing a finger, or fist pumping his hand in victory, these are all hallmarks of his physical style, tools that he uses to underline his authority and make his presence felt,” she told Unilad.
In the clip, Trump points his finger at Melania while she shakes her head
Image credits: The White House
“In this exchange with Melania, familiar movements are on full display: he leans in, finger extended, his hand acting as a forceful illustrator of his speech, as he points at her.
"It might appear aggressive to outsiders but we know that these dominance signals are part of Trump’s baseline behavior and he may be reinforcing his ideas, as opposed to chastising Melania.”
Image credits: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty
Dawson also pointed out that the 55-year-old mom “meets [Trump's] eye steadily” and although she doesn’t mirror his body language, she still “matches his energy and is active, expressive, and fully engaged.” In other words, Melania is not a passive listener in the conversation.
"Trump uses expansive, emphatic movements, while Melania, though more contained, does not disengage,” the expert noted. “She matches him, not by mirroring his posture, but by meeting his energy with her own expressive hand movements and unwavering eye contact.”
Forensic lip-reader Jeremy Freeman said the exchange was about the escalator incident at the UN
An official at the Élysée Palace later addressed the incident, saying the president and his wife were “relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.”
Macron himself also downplayed the incident when asked about it in Vietnam, stating, “There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it.”
The president confirmed the videos were real but said people were “attributing all kinds of nonsense to them.”
Image credits: The White House
Trump and Melania’s relationship dynamics have long been the subject of public speculation.
Earlier this year, the New York Times published an article titled, A Most Sensitive Subject in the White House: Where is Melania?, reporting that during Trump’s first 108 days in office, his wife had spent “less than 14 days” in the White House.
Conspiracy theorists have even suggested that the couple employed a Melania “body double” to accompany the president at public events because they supposedly don’t get along.
The theory, which has been debunked by both parties, first emerged in October 2017 during Trump’s first term.
"It's actually abnormal not having arguments when you're married," one user commented
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