A body language analyst has examined Donald Trump’s demeanor as he sharply criticized a reporter during an interview marking the 100-day milestone since his return to office as the Republican president.
The 47th President of the United States participated in a discussion with ABC News’ Terry Moran to observe the occasion, covering numerous topics.
Kilmar Armando Ábrego García was one of 250 individuals who were recently deported to the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT) in El Salvador, a facility often referred to as the ‘world’s worst prison’.
The Trump administration later acknowledged an ‘admin error’, resulting in García’s erroneous deportation to El Salvador.
On Truth Social, Trump previously posted an image of himself holding a picture purportedly of García’s hand.
The administration claims the symbols on García’s knuckles—marijuana, a smiley face, a cross, and a skull—represent MS-13, a notorious criminal gang.
In Trump’s shared image, the letters ‘M S 1 3’ were added in printed text above the symbols, presumably to illustrate the administration’s interpretation.
Accompanying the image was text labeling the symbols as ‘marijuana’, ‘smiley’, ‘cross’.
It is evident that these additional letters, numbers, and text are not actually tattooed on Kilmar’s hand with the symbols, as noted in a photo previously shared by the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele.
Trump’s post on Truth Social was a topic of discussion in the ABC interview, leading to a particularly tense segment.
“When we have criminals, murderers, criminals in this country we have to get them out, and we’re doing it. You’ll pick out one man but even the man that you picked out he said he wasn’t a member of a gang and then they looked and on his knuckles – he had MS-13,” Trump said.
In response to Moran’s disagreement, Trump persisted: “Wait a minute, wait a minute. He had MS-13 on his knuckles tattooed.”
Moran replied: “He had some tattoos that were interpreted that way, but let’s move on.”
“Wait a minute. Hey Terry, Terry, Terry. Don’t do that. It says MS-13,” Trump interjected.
The journalist contended the image was edited, which did not sit well with Trump.
The 78-year-old continued: “That was photoshopped? Terry you can’t do that. They’re giving you the big break of a lifetime.
“You know you’re doing the interview, I picked you because frankly I never heard of you but that’s OK. But I picked you.”
Body language specialist Darren Stanton analyzed Trump’s reaction during the questioning.
Speaking on behalf of Genting Casino, Stanton noted: “The reporter appears to be really riling him up. I think the flippancy of the reporter created some real anger and frustration.
“When Trump thinks he is not being listened to he tends to escalate things quite quickly, as he did in this situation. He was clearly very frustrated and angry.
“You see his brows furrow and his gestures start to become more erratic. He does that movement with his hands, I call it the ‘accordion gesture’, a lot when stressed and you can see the speed and frequency of those movements increasing.
“He also leans backwards and squints his eyes, almost turning his head from the reporter in disgust. This is a clear signal of the disdain and anger towards the reporter quickly and calmly shutting down his lie.”
There is debate over whether the symbols on Kilmar’s knuckles truly indicate affiliation with the MS-13 gang, as experts informed CBS that the tattoos were unlikely to signify gang membership.
It’s also uncertain if Trump genuinely believes ‘M S 1 3’ is tattooed on Kilmar’s hand above the symbols, or if he was simply asserting that the meaning of the symbols was evident.