Harris and Trump’s facial expressions stole the debate
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump said as much with their faces as they did with their words in Debate on Tuesday.
Under debate rules, where microphones are muted unless it is their turn to speak, body language becomes extremely important for Harris and Trump.
Harris is particularly adept at nonverbal communication, acutely aware that her every response is being transmitted around the world, “speaking” to the audience even when Trump is clearly having a say. Networks showed a split screen with both candidates for much of the debate.
The topic had been circulating on social media until Wednesday.
This is Trump’s face the exact moment Kamala Harris said people were leaving his rallies because they were bored pic.twitter.com/4P3hdpxATY
— Conspiracy Model (@mynamehear) September 11, 2024
The debate can be summed up in facial expressions. photo.twitter.com/omati470Ck
— Maggie Hennefeld (@magshenny) September 11, 2024
Kamala just did the biggest 10 blinks in American history pic.twitter.com/HKUu0ejQW5
— Joey Nolfi (@joeynolfi) September 11, 2024
Kamala is serving on FACE Harris Trump debate #Debate2024 photo.twitter.com/3nXwYgYC21
— Stuart Brazell (@stuartbrazell) September 11, 2024
Trump looks like it’s the first night he has a human face and he’s testing out what it can do every time Harris talks pic.twitter.com/y1t39NwANz
— Janel Comeau (@VeryBadLlama) September 11, 2024
At times she appeared amused or confused by what Trump said, as if w accidentally said that he was lying. There were times when she dramatically placed her fingers under her chin, eyes wide, head tilted. Other times she laughed.
Trump sometimes frowned, sometimes smiled curtly. His eyes flashed with anger or annoyance, sometimes even boredom. He rarely looked at Harris as she spoke, instead turning his face toward the camera or the ABC News anchor.
As the candidates took the stage to speak, both Trump and Harris gestured with their hands, a gesture familiar to Americans who have spent a lot of time watching them.