An "under pressure" Donald Trump was spotted "freezing" up in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Body language expert Judi James, speaking to The Mirror US, believes the encounter at Mar-a-Lago had an unexpected pause that caught Trump and Netanyahu off guard. Trump was spotted freezing momentarily as he spoke with Israel's prime minister, which James has suggested is a sign of growing pressure for the president.
"Losing track or 'freezing' mid-flow is a common experience for most people," James said, "especially when they are tired or feeling under pressure, but it will usually come with compensatory signals like a clicking of the fingers or filler noises or winding gestures to fill the gap and explain the search for the right word, but there are no signs of any of these from Trump here."
James went on to suggest that Trump was not pausing to think about what he wanted to say, but had frozen up. The difference, she said, comes from how Trump speaks in meetings, with a "stream-of-consciousness style with few, if any, moments of showing he's evaluating the wisdom of speaking out of turn."
The "freezing" could be because Trump was unaware that Netanyahu or his team were listening to him, and James suggested Trump was "distracted by the lack of active listening signals from the other side of the table, plus one 'soft power' ritual that a lot of hosts do have a problem with."
"He might have been waiting for the opposite side of the table to settle into active listening mode as there is some movement going on," she added, "but there is also a subtle gesture that, in a more light-hearted, comedy way, might have stopped him in his tracks.”
It comes as a GOP strategist suggested Trump needed to focus his energy on domestic shortcomings, not international relations.
"Trump is focused on foreign affairs," the GOP strategist said. "Where’s his energy been? It’s just kind of a weird time for a voter, you don’t really have someone trying to make the argument."
Trump met with Netanyahu on Monday at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago, where the two leaders discussed the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. During a press conference after the meeting, Trump threatened to conduct another bombing campaign against Iran's nuclear facilities if rumors of the country rebuilding its nuclear capacity are true.