Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently traveled to Florida for a high-stakes dinner with President-elect Donald Trump — and body language experts think there’s a lot to be said about their much-talked-about meeting.
Trudeau and Trump’s dinner gathering last week at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which reportedly lasted three hours, took place days after the former president threatened in a social media post to impose a 25% tariff on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico when he takes office. The dinner drew international attention and spurred several headlines conjecturing about the meeting’s effectiveness. But it also produced several viral moments.
A photo featuring Trudeau and Trump seated together at a round table at dinner (and a child photobombing them in the back) made the rounds on the internet, reports that Trump took a jab at the Canadian prime minister during the sit-down made headlines, and a video clip of Trudeau after the dinner saying he had an “excellent conversation” with Trump sparked some curiosity about how their discussion went.
Both Trump’s and Trudeau’s offices have since released statements saying the politicians’ dinner was “productive.” And Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who also attended the dinner, has since clarified that Trump was just “teasing” after it was reported he joked to Trudeau that Canada should become the 51st state of America.
But as people continue to ponder the future relations between U.S. and Canada during Trump’s second term, it’s interesting to hear what body language experts have to say about the glimpses we’ve seen into Trump and Trudeau’s dinner — and the moments surrounding it — and not just what’s been said.
Denise M. Dudley, a psychologist and author of “Making Relationships Last,” told HuffPost that it’s important to evaluate one’s body language because people are “visual mammals,” and we will more likely respond to how someone “looked” when they said something, versus the words that were exchanged.
Below, they break down their thoughts on the meeting based on their body language and physical cues:
Body language experts picked up on Trudeau’s speedy movements before meeting Trump.
Dudley said that a video clip capturing Trudeau leaving a hotel in West Palm Beach, Florida, ahead of his dinner with Trump, showed the Canadian prime minister appearing as a “man on his way to do a job that he wasn’t anticipating that he was going to enjoy.”
Dudley said that Trudeau not stopping to talk to reporters on his way out of the hotel to meet Trump showed that he was “distracted.”
“Most politicians want any kind of photo op, and so he really didn’t take advantage of that,” she said, later pointing out that Trump has previously said “disparaging” things about Trudeau and that she didn’t think the Canadian prime minister was “looking forward” to their dinner event.
Patti Wood, a body language and nonverbal communication expert and author of “SNAP: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma,” said that someone’s nonverbal communication can reveal their “overall mood” and “energy,” and that Trudeau was moving “very, very quickly” in the video that showed him on his way to meet Trump.
“It’s beyond what he needs to do for security or anything like that,” she told HuffPost.
She said that as he walked his legs were bent in a “running motion,” and that his arms swinging “broadly at his side” showed “propulsion,” or forward movement.
“That’s your whole body wanting to move quickly,” she said. “It’s not showing necessarily tension, but just the desire to get through this.”
Karen Donaldson, a communication and body language expert, called Trudeau’s pacing before the dinner “intentional,” and that he “exuded confident readiness” by casually swinging his hands at his side.
Regarding the viral photo of the Trump-Trudeau dinner, experts think there were noteworthy contrasts in their smiles.
A photo of Trudeau seated next to Trump at a round table with other guests at dinner showed “slight discomfort,” Donaldson said.
“He appears to be making himself smaller — taking up less space (elbows tucked close to his torso) which can be a sign of lack of confidence or discomfort,” Donaldson said. “If you look at his hands, one is balled up in a fist-like fashion on the bottom while the other one sits on top.”
Donaldson explained that Trudeau’s balled-up fist could signal stress.
Dudley thinks Trudeau sported a “tentative” smile in the photo, versus Trump, who she said appeared “actually happy” and “in his element.” She said the Canadian prime minister is not showing his typical “broad smile,” in comparison to other photos and clips she’s seen of him.
Wood said she typically looks at hand gestures when evaluating people in high-stakes negotiations and meetings.
“Who’s alpha? Who thinks they’re in charge? Who thinks they have more power?” she said, adding that Trump’s hands at the round table were placed in somewhat of a “crown” position, which represents authority.
The former president thinks “he’s the king in this photo,” she said.
In contrast, Wood thinks Trudeau’s hands were placed in a more “protective” fashion, and that his head tilted slightly toward Trump in the photo signals that he wanted to be “seen as power-aligned with Trump.”
Author and body language expert Traci Brown, however, thinks Trump’s smile in the photo wasn’t “genuine.”
“His eyebrows point down in the middle towards the bridge of his nose, that says anger,” she said. “And his eyes are squinted. That can indicate scrutiny. So these signs tell us the smile isn’t genuine.”
Brown explained that we typically smile with our eyes and eyebrows, not our mouths.
“You’ll see these things in contrast to Trudeau whose eyes and eyebrows are relaxed, showing a genuine smile,” she added.
Blanca Cobb, a body language expert and speaker, said that Trump exhibited a “confident and authoritative presence” in the photo, through his “straight posture, wide smile, and the way he’s taking up space.”
Trudeau’s hand movements during his exit following the dinner were significant, according to experts.
The Canadian prime minister was seen leaving his West Palm Beach hotel after his dinner with Trump when a reporter asked him whether the meeting at Mar-a-Lago was productive. Trudeau briefly stopped and said it “was an excellent conversation.”
Wood thought his body language in that moment appeared “pressed down from the top,” as opposed to signaling an “upward” and “buoyant” appearance.
She described his facial expression as collapsed and squinted downward after he said he and Trump had an “excellent conversation.”
“That is not how he feels, it is contradictory,” Wood said.
Cobb added that Trudeau’s fingers on his left hand were folded as he left the hotel “at the second knuckle, which suggests a bit of tension.”
“Our hands are barometers of our emotional states,” she said, later adding that Trudeau’s choice to say “conversation” instead of “meeting” left some ambiguity about how the dinner went.
But Donaldson thought Trudeau’s decision to pause and face the reporter showed “easy confidence.”
Brown said that Trudeau swung his arms out from his body and showed his palms, which means he wasn’t “protecting himself” and being “open and honest.”
Time will tell how Trump’s presidency will impact America’s relationship with its northern neighbor, but body language tips can be useful for everyone.
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Body language “counts a lot,” Dudley said, adding that it’s important to always make eye contact, smile and have a good posture.
Donaldson said that for anyone preparing for an important dinner, it’s important to remember to “choose a powerful seat at the table.”
“Physically take up more space when at the dinner table. It’s a showcase and a declaration that you are an equal to everyone at the table and confidently know you should be there,” she said. “Literally and figuratively, claim your space.”