9 body language tells from the presidential debate

Joe Navarro is author of the international bestseller What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People and The Dictionary of Body Language: A Field Guide to Human Behavior.

Three months ago, President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump upended politics and ultimately toppled him from his place as the presumptive Democratic nominee. Tonight, Americans got their first real look at the surprise matchup he left behind, when Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris met for the first time on a debate stage in Philadelphia.

It was a chance for each candidate to outline the shape of this unprecedented race and make their case to the American people. But for me, it was their body language — even more than their words — that really revealed who they are.

For over 50 years, 25 of them with the FBI, I’ve studied the infinitely nuanced language of nonverbal communication. Particularly in politics, words have a way of bending the truth. But the messages we communicate with our bodies — a raised eyebrow, pursed lips, a too-tight smile — speak with an authenticity rarely found in a stump speech. Here’s what I noticed on the debate stage tonight:

Harris Got Her Handshake

Trump and Biden did not shake hands at the beginning of their debate, and some pundits expected the candidates would again decline to shake hands tonight. But Harris wouldn’t let Trump go without greeting him with a handshake. Trump seemed reluctant, taking his position behind his podium. But Harris marched across the stage, extended her hand and introduced herself. A handshake is more than just a greeting: It communicates politeness, civility, a basic level of respect both to the other person and, in the case of a debate, to the American people. When Harris initiated the handshake, she embodied her message of unity over divisiveness, and demonstrated that she wasn’t afraid to take Trump on. It took him off guard. As she walked back to her side of the stage, she had a big grin on her face. She got what she wanted, and she knew it.

Harris Wore Her Tension in Her Neck

Harris took the first question, and you could see a lot of tension in her throat — hard swallows, tense neck muscles, a lot of motion in the laryngeal thyroid cartilage. From a nonverbal standpoint, that kind of nervous tension detracts from the appearance of confidence. It was subtle, but undeniable to the trained eye, and it took longer than one would expect for that tension to dissipate. Trump by comparison seemed more poised, less nervous in the beginning, though Harris recovered as the debate went on.

Trump Would Not Look Her in the Eye

You would be hard pressed to find a time when Trump looked at Harris directly. When she spoke, he stared straight ahead, as if looking at her was his kryptonite. Good leadership requires us to confront our opponent head on. Trump’s refusal to lock eyes over 90-some minutes could be read in many ways: as a form of indifference, of disrespect, or even fear that looking at her would somehow put him on tilt.

In contrast, Harris looked right at Trump when he spoke. When she addressed him, she gestured toward him, even when he wouldn’t meet her gaze. She demonstrated that she had no fear of locking eyes with him, of reaching out to him, of challenging him directly.

Harris’ Chin Showed Her Disbelief

When Trump accused Harris of being a “Marxist” because of her father’s academic career (he has been described as a “Marxist scholar”) she looked at him with her hand posed on her chin — a look of absolute incredulity. It was a deliberately eye-catching way to silently say, “I cannot even believe what you’re saying.” This was her go-to behavior several times when Trump said something that she perceived as outrageous. I cannot remember another presidential debate in 50 years where we have seen that behavior, and it says something about Harris and her willingness to convey her sentiments directly and overtly, without fear, looking at Trump with laser-like focus.

Trump’s Uncomfortable Tell: Pursed Lips

Trump often displays an idiosyncratic behavior that makes it abundantly clear when he hears something he doesn’t like: He purses his lips forward, like a smooch. This behavior is commonly associated with dislike or disagreement, and it has become ubiquitous for Trump. We saw it when he was confronted with how many of his former employees — including his former chief of staff — no longer support him.

Harris Openly Laughed at Him

Sometimes something is so outrageous that it deserves no immediate answer other than laughter. When Trump claimed without evidence that immigrants are eating people’s pets, Harris openly laughed at him — a stark contrast to the grave tone he’d taken. That use of emotional contrast undercut Trump’s argument. I’ve seen this same technique in court, when lawyers use humor to deflate an ultra-serious (and misleading) claim. Perhaps Harris learned the technique in her time as a prosecutor.

Trump Pulled a ‘Joker Face’

When Trump heard something that really got under his skin — like when Harris criticized him over his actions on Jan. 6 — he pulled his lips into a tight, over-dramatized smile and raised his eyebrows high, a bit like the Joker. It was meant as a dismissive gesture, dripping with sarcasm or contempt. In a true smile, also called a Duchenne smile, the eyes naturally crinkle as the zygomaticus major muscle pulls the corners of the mouth into an easy grin. But with Trump, the firmness of his lips betrayed the fakeness of the expression. It’s a behavior he’s displayed in previous debates as well, and it’s unique to him — I’ve never seen it in another political candidate before.

Blink and You’ll Diss It

Harris and Trump clearly share very little in common. The one thing they do seem to have in common, interestingly enough, is that they both blink a lot when they hear something they find absurd. We often use repeated blinks to display disagreement or incredulity. It’s an effective communicative behavior because it’s highly visual: Observers notice it right away, and it doesn’t disrupt the flow of communication. Both candidates displayed that behavior tonight. Harris notably did it when Trump accused her of copying Biden’s policy plans, when he said, “It’s like four sentences, like, ‘Run, Spot, run.’” It was a way of nonverbally dismissing his argument as unserious.

We Started With a Handshake — But Didn’t End With One

Harris forced a handshake at the beginning of the debate, but it certainly didn’t end that way. As soon as they were done, Trump immediately walked off the stage before Harris had even gathered up her notes. There was no attempt to shake hands or socialize whatsoever. It showed that Trump was clearly not in the mood for any niceties with the vice president. She might have gotten a handshake out of him at the start, but by the end, an abrupt walk-off was the best we could hope for.