United Kingdom Prime Minister Kier Starmer met United States President Donald Trump on Thursday and held a crucial White House meeting regarding US-UK relations, their non-verbal communication spoke volumes alongside their verbal exchanges.
Body language expert Caroline Goyder observed distinct contrasts between the two leaders during their televised Oval Office discussion and subsequent White House press briefing. She noted their significant behavioural differences.
“Trump is the silverback, totally relaxed, totally grounded, you know, on his home turf. And the difference, it couldn’t be starker,” Goyder told ITV on Thursday evening whilst analysing footage of the leaders’ discussion on security and trade matters.
“Whatever you think about Donald Trump, he is Mr Charisma with Mr Logic… Mr Legal. And so it’s amazing, It’s like Mars and Venus.”According to Goyder, Trump displayed complete ease in his leadership role, whilst Starmer’s arrival at the White House resembled that of a “boy in his new school uniform, at school on the first day”.
She noted Starmer’s rigid posture and observed him adjusting his sleeves. During their Oval Office conversation, she identified Starmer’s stomach touch as a self-comforting gesture.
“And I can’t blame him, if I’m totally honest, because the pressure of this political historical moment on him is huge, even if the special relationship is not what it was, but you could see the pressure of that in how held his body language was,” she explained.
Trump dominated the televised proceedings in the room, and at one point mocked Sir Keir, asking if the UK could take on the Russians “on your own?” However, Starmer responded when Trump discussed European nations’ financial recovery from the Ukraine conflict.
The PM stated: “We’re not getting all of ours. Quite a bit of ours was gifted, it was given, there were some loans, but mainly it was gifted, actually”.
Goyder contrasted Sir Keir’s demeanour with French President Emmanuel Macron’s previous meeting with Trump, noting Macron’s charismatic approach and physical engagement with the US President.
“Sir Keir needs to meet Trump on a more intuitive, passionate, instinctive level, and he needs to get into his body,” Goyder told ITV.
“He needs to be more physically engaged, because that will give him a different kind of presence, a more powerful presence in a room with someone like Trump, who is all about charisma.”