President Trump appeared focused on “connecting” with Chinese President Xi Jinping—not “dominating” him—during the White House state dinner honoring the Chinese leader, according to a body language specialist.
Sean Johns, who has spent two decades studying nonverbal communication and founded body language training firm BodyLytics, told The Post that Trump seemed determined from his first handshake with Xi through the dinner toast to make his counterpart feel welcomed and respected during the high-stakes visit.
Johns observed that Trump “closed the distance” and moved toward Xi during the arrival ceremony on the North Portico—behavior he described as “not typical for Donald Trump.”
“Closing the distance between people is trying to kind of like connect. In a strange way, you’re connecting. So you’re closing that gap,” he explained.
“What we’re looking at with this handshake is what was not there,” Johns said. “Because Donald Trump is known for the aggressive handshake. He shakes for too long. He kind of grabs you by the arm often.
“And with President Xi, he didn’t do that.”
The way Trump handled the handshake suggested “more of a sign of respect,” Johns said.
“I think that he wasn’t trying to dominate, which he usually does,” Johns said, noting that Trump often makes his handshakes especially forceful and may add emphatic pats on the back “depending on who he’s dealing with.”
“This showed that there was a lot of respect for [Xi]. And it was a very two-sided thing,” he continued, adding that the two leaders “looked quite comfortable around each other … and there was no dominance play from either side.”
Johns also noticed that Trump appeared to force “a little false smile” as the handshake ended—a facial expression he later repeated during his toast to Xi.
At multiple points during the toast, Johns said Trump’s words and physical signals appeared “incongruent.”
“He emphasized that ‘We’re delighted to have you here,’ but there was no body language delight … the words were positive, but the body language was neutral,” the expert said. “And he did this twice.”
“When he said, ‘We’re happily celebrating,’ it didn’t look like he was happy celebrating; it just looked like protocol.”
One of the most revealing moments, Johns said, came when Trump departed from his prepared remarks to invite guests to see the new White House ballroom, which remains under construction.
“That’s the first time where you see a genuine smile,” Johns said, adding that Trump “almost came across like a naughty schoolboy.”
Trump became noticeably more animated and forceful while discussing the ballroom than he had been during the rest of the speech or his interactions with Xi.
“He makes his first hand gesture, bearing in mind that his hands have been down the whole time,” Johns observed.
“He points directly at the camera. Pointing, in body language, with the index finger, is considered aggressive,” he continued, again describing a mismatch between Trump’s words and gestures as “not congruent.”
“You’re making a slightly aggressive gesture with a finger point, but you’re saying the ‘beautiful ballroom.’”
“There’s a disconnect there somewhere between the perception of perhaps the ballroom and all the drama that surrounded it,” Johns said. “There was a clear message from his body language.”
Based on his body language, the president was also genuinely pleased with the large, bald eagle statue he gifted Xi at the dinner.
“When they reveal the bald eagle statue, Trump does, kind of, two awkward steps … I think that was a closing distance gesture between him and the statue,” Johns said.
“It’s showing approval towards it almost. You get close to things you like. So he’s closed the distance and then, interestingly, he’s kind of does an exaggerated look at it and then looks back at Xi …. he’s trying to signal to him, ‘Look at the wonderful statue that we gave you.’”
Johns’ biggest takeaway was the “lack of physical, non-verbal aggression” throughout the dinner that Trump “usually shows certain people.”
“I think that what it shows to me is the amount of respect and perhaps the importance of the meeting and the fact that it was an important guest that had importance to even the economy, I would say,” he explained.
“So he took that very seriously, aside from the odd joke or two.”
