Expert reveals powerful reason why Donald Trump frequently points his finger at people
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump is known to be expressive very often, whether it is during his speech at an event or any interview, the POTUS doesn't shy away from showing his expressions.
Christopher Hart, professor of linguistics at Lancaster University in the UK, tried to decode why the president always points his finger at people, according to HuffPost.
Expert reveals why Trump always points his finger at people
Christopher Hart told HuffPost, "I am interested in the gestural performances of right-wing populists specifically, so Trump was an obvious place to start."
Hart analyzed a campaign rally in a recent study published in the journal Social Semiotics and found that Trump defaults to a pointing gesture more than once per minute.
The researcher further stated, "Trump is not the only politician to make use of pointing gestures, but I was surprised at just how frequently he points."
Hart added, "There is something about the live setting of the campaign rally that seems to invite a density of pointing gestures for him."
Interestingly, Hart looked at a 60-minute video recording of a presidential campaign rally held in New York in April 2016 to continue his study.
According to Hart, When Trump points outward, away from his body, he’s either referring to the audience directly or to enemy third parties.
Meanwhile, when he points at his followers, he’s engaging with them and drawing them further into the fold.
Similarly, when he points to his critics, the media in the stands, or protesters who have entered the event, he is "othering" them by singling them out as objects.
The researcher also found that Trump is always pointing even absent of speech. He said, "He does it to great effect, either as a show of appreciation toward individual audience members or as part of theatrical routines, like pointing to the top of an imagined border wall."
Hart added, "The way he points and singles out audience members is definitely characteristic of live entertainment. He’s including himself with the audience, as a man of the people."
Expert says Trump's pointing gestures break ways politicians normally communicate
Christopher Hart told HuffPost, "The way Trump uses pointing gestures breaks with the ways politicians normally communicate, making for an energized and entertaining performance. That’s a large part of his appeal."
Earlier studies have shown that politicians usually rely on a “restricted gestural code” such as a small, stable set of gestures as it conveys confidence, assertiveness, or intellectual precision.
The researcher said, "An example of this is the ‘thist,’ in which the thumb is placed horizontally over a clenched fist. Other gestures are avoided perhaps for fears that they will distract audiences from the main message."
He added that stiff body language “is not the case for populist politicians whose gestures seem to be more spontaneous, conversational in style and genuinely charismatic."
Har said, "They often reflect, albeit in an exaggerated form, the way ordinary people interact. It’s part of the populist playbook."
