Donald Trump has been called many things – he has often been regarded as someone who is not smart enough, attractive enough, or graceful enough to be the President of the United States.
But still, he has soaring popularity among at least half of the Americans who look up to him, think of him as their hero and saviour and even compare him to Jesus Christ.
How does Donald Trump maintain such a charismatic hold on his supporters? It was hard to understand but the psychologists now have found an answer. The secret is in his seven faces and his body language.
#1. Alpha face
Psychologists say that while smiling men with wide eyes and raise eyebrows are seen as submissive, narrow eyes and firmly set mouth is seen as the trait of an alpha.
Whenever Trump is with his opponents, he makes the alpha face – lowered eyebrows, narrow eyes, and firm mouth.
He kept the alpha face constantly whenever he shared the stage with Hillary Clinton during the pre-election period of 2016. And that’s why he was able to impress the Americans.
#2. Angry face
Compared to other politicians like Obama who often show very much restrained anger, Trump also reacts too much when he gets angry, he often contorts his face and allows himself to go indignant – he makes remarks, throws hands, and frowns.
Psychologists say that these reactions show deep entitlement, a lack of self-control and high insecurity, but the common public sees as an expression of dominance by a man who is powerful and unchallenged.
This also helps the people relate to him since they think he is being honest and open by not hiding his emotions from them.
3. Jutting chin
There is a common cultural idea that men with bigger chins have higher testosterone and they have higher chances of being leaders and achieve powerful positions.
Donald Trump takes advantage of this by tilting his head back and jutting out his lower jaw and chin, and this gives the notion that he is in charge.
While this may not be scientifically proven, the idea is popular and people seem to favour the men with bigger chins because they believe in this idea – and that only helps the men with bigger chins in being more successful. So this is sort of a self-reinforcing idea.
4. Beaming smile
While he assumes the alpha face when he is with his opponents, his face changes dramatically when he is with his peers such as his family or Fox News.
He throws a big beaming smile, shows teeth, and even wrinkles his eyes to create the “eye smile” – and this gives an idea of genuine happiness and real smile which most mainstream politicians lack except for Bernie Sanders and AOC.
5. Tight-lipped smile
Trump surely shows a beaming smile among people he is close to, but in public, he switches to a tight-lipped smile. His mouth is zipped, he doesn’t show teeth. His mouth gets stretched and this makes his face looks wider.
This kind of smile is not seen as submissive but as someone powerful being jovial.
Psychoanalysis shows that wider mouth on men gives the impression of being powerful leaders due to perceived levels of more masculinity and higher testosterone levels.
6. Puckered chin
But while Donald Trump tries his best to look ultra-masculine and alpha, sometimes his body language reveals something he doesn’t want to show. Psychologists call this phenomenon as “blended facial expressions.”
People often pull their chins when they feel threatened, this comes from the subconscious fear of being punched in the face. Donald Trump often shows this puckered chin and it sometimes comes combined with his tight-lipped smile – an indication that he is feeling scared or intimidated.
7. Exaggerated expressions
But what really sets Donald Trump apart from all the mainstream politicians is that he makes various facial expressions. Psychologists say this means that he is trying to attract attention to himself – also called as the “supernormal stimuli.”
But it also means that he often over exaggerates his mouth because he is not fully convinced that people understand what he is saying. He often thinks of his supporters as stupid and that is why he feels the need to enunciate every word that he says. He often breaks down his speech into simple sentences and words for the same reason.
Recent research on humans suggests that, like birds and fish, we too have an innate orienting reflex to supernormal stimuli, and that we respond more powerfully to things that are larger-than-life, whether in the realm of luxury goods, food or sex. Maybe Trump’s mouth movements – together with his histrionic hand gestures and overstated opinions – are all unknowingly designed to capitalise on this human reaction.
Featured Image Courtesy: Getty Images