Iconic Melania Trump shows ‘renewed spark’ at husband Donald’s inauguration

Donning an iconic wide-brimmed hat, First Lady Melania Trump appeared to have a ‘renewed spark’ at her husband Donald Trump’s inauguration, a body language expert says.

Melania stood alongside her husband as he was sworn in as the US’s 47th president and numerous times smiled and accepted his kisses.

She made a statement wearing the navy hat with a white band that shielded her eyes, and perfectly matched her dress suit.

It was a sharp departure from her husband’s first Inauguration Day in 2017, when she wore a light blue cashmere jacket and mock turtleneck dress.

‘This time compared to the first time, it looked different and it felt different,’ body language expert Susan Constantine told Metro on Monday.

‘I felt that she was truly there for him, and the first time around, I felt that she was almost annoyed that he wanted to be president.’

Constantine said Melania had a ‘renewed spark, a renewed faith that she maybe once had when they were dating, I think that it really showed this time’.

‘I think it was genuine, I think she really loves him,’ said Constantine, who is trained on facial action coding systems and six channels of human behavior.

Melania is not an outwardly emotional person and is very guarded. But there were times during Trump’s inauguration at the Capitol Rotunda that she was smiling, looked happy, very proud to stand by his side, according to Constantine.

‘For her to move the needle just a little says a lot,’ she said.

Melania’s navy wool coat and skirt by New York-based designer Adam Lippes was elegant, classy and elevated.

‘She truly looks like she walked out of a Vogue magazine. The brim of her hat went over her eyes, iconic,’ Constantine said. ‘That picture is going to be on every top Vogue in the country, if not in Europe.’

Another body language expert, Judi James with Paddy Power Games, pointed out a ‘key iconic moment’ during Trump’s swearing-in ceremony when he reached his wife and stopped.

‘Extending one hand he tenderly took hold of hers in a romantic, hand-linking gesture that would normally be seen at a wedding ceremony,’ said James, adding that Trump appeared to go for a lip-to-lip kiss but that she gave a cheek and he settled for an air kiss.

‘Melania beamed at her husband for the moment of not just acknowledgment, thanks and recognition but the signal of her being a priority and them being more of a team in the White House,’ James said.

But another expert had a frostier interpretation of Melania’s interactions with her husband in a double kiss moment right after he was sworn in.

While kissing his family members on their cheeks, Trump had his hand placed on Melania’s shoulder with fingers ‘top down’ and then kissed her.

‘He then gives a childlike smile of glee and satisfaction… Still holding her,’ body language expert Patti Wood told Metro. ‘Then he goes in again but notice she is turning away to just give him the side of her face for cheek kiss and she does not meld into his hold and kiss but instead brings her head back.’

Wood, author of Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma, said that ‘part of the awkwardness is also caused by the hat’.

‘This is very bizarre, stilted movement,’ she said. ‘Kissing is normally very rounded, very smooth… this is more posed.’

During a speech shortly after, Trump said he was going to get ‘hell’ for it, but said that Melania’s feet were hurting from her heels and that she asked how much farther they had to walk but promised ‘we’re going to make it no matter what’. Trump also said Melania and her hat almost blew away in the wind, prompting his wife to throw both of her hands up in the air.

‘It looks like exasperation on her part, the fact that she flings her arms up and outward, that she couldn’t help but having to defend herself,’ Wood said.

Constantine had a different take on Melania’s out-of-character reaction.

‘It wasn’t one where she was embarrassed or that she was frustrated,’ she said. ‘It was opposite, it was like, “what can I tell you”, making fun of herself lightheartedness.’

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