Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
For Harris and Trump, Facial Expressions Did Much of the Talking
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 months ago on
September 11, 2024

This combination of photos shows Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris during an ABC News presidential debate at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP/Alex Brandon)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

WASHINGTON  — Kamala Harris and Donald Trump said as much with their faces as they did with their words during Tuesday’s debate.

With their microphones muted unless it was their turn to speak, according to the debate rules, body language took on outsized importance for Harris and Trump.

Harris in particular leaned into the nonverbal communication, keenly aware that her every reaction was being broadcast to the world, “speaking” to the audience even while Trump ostensibly had the floor. Networks showed a split screen with both candidates for most of the debate.

At various points she looked amused or befuddled by whatever Trump was saying, as if  wordlessly saying he was lying. A few times she dramatically put her fingers under her chin, eyes wide, head tilted. Other times she laughed.

Trump sometimes scowled, sometimes smiled curtly. His eyes flashed anger or annoyance, perhaps even boredom at times. He rarely looked at Harris while she spoke, instead pointing his face forward toward the cameras or ABC News moderators.

When the candidates did have the floor, Trump and Harris both gesticulated with their hands, mannerisms that are by now familiar to Americans who’ve spent a lot of time watching them.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Pentagon to Send up to 1,500 Active Duty Troops to Help Secure US-Mexico Border

DON'T MISS

Border Security Is Popular – but That May Be the Limit of US Immigration Consensus: Poll

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Freezes Many Health Agency Reports and Posts

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Shuts Down White House Spanish-Language Page and Social Media

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nicholas Ryan Hernandez

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

DON'T MISS

Trump Orders Putting ‘People Over Fish.’ Will He Succeed?

DON'T MISS

Afghans Who Fled Taliban Rule Urge Trump to Lift Refugee Program Suspension

DON'T MISS

Justice Dept. Directs Prosecutors to Probe Local Efforts to Obstruct Immigration Enforcement

DON'T MISS

Fresno Men Linked to 2024 Shooting Death

UP NEXT

Border Security Is Popular – but That May Be the Limit of US Immigration Consensus: Poll

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Freezes Many Health Agency Reports and Posts

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Shuts Down White House Spanish-Language Page and Social Media

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nicholas Ryan Hernandez

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

UP NEXT

Trump Orders Putting ‘People Over Fish.’ Will He Succeed?

UP NEXT

Afghans Who Fled Taliban Rule Urge Trump to Lift Refugee Program Suspension

UP NEXT

Justice Dept. Directs Prosecutors to Probe Local Efforts to Obstruct Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Fresno Men Linked to 2024 Shooting Death

UP NEXT

Fresno Attempted Murder Suspect Arrested in Sanger

Trump Administration Shuts Down White House Spanish-Language Page and Social Media

21 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nicholas Ryan Hernandez

34 minutes ago

Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

48 minutes ago

Trump Orders Putting ‘People Over Fish.’ Will He Succeed?

53 minutes ago

Afghans Who Fled Taliban Rule Urge Trump to Lift Refugee Program Suspension

1 hour ago

Justice Dept. Directs Prosecutors to Probe Local Efforts to Obstruct Immigration Enforcement

1 hour ago

Fresno Men Linked to 2024 Shooting Death

1 hour ago

Fresno Attempted Murder Suspect Arrested in Sanger

2 hours ago

Trump Administration Directs All Federal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Staff Be Put on Leave

15 hours ago

Baseball’s Newest Hall of Famers: Suzuki, Sabathia, Wagner

18 hours ago

Pentagon to Send up to 1,500 Active Duty Troops to Help Secure US-Mexico Border

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon will begin deploying as many as 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days, U....

6 minutes ago

Dogs are near a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP/Gregory Bull)
6 minutes ago

Pentagon to Send up to 1,500 Active Duty Troops to Help Secure US-Mexico Border

A national guardsman patrols along a stretch of boarder wall, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Brownsville, Texas. (AP/Eric Gay)
10 minutes ago

Border Security Is Popular – but That May Be the Limit of US Immigration Consensus: Poll

President Donald Trump talks about drug prices during a visit to the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, Oct. 25, 2018. HHS Secretary Alex Azar listens at right. (AP File)
16 minutes ago

Trump Administration Freezes Many Health Agency Reports and Posts

This screenshot captured on Jan. 21, 2025, shows the error message that now appears on what was the Spanish language version of the White House homepage during President Joe Biden's administration. (AP/Fernanda Figueroa)
21 minutes ago

Trump Administration Shuts Down White House Spanish-Language Page and Social Media

Nicholas Ryan Hernandez, 39, is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted of the Day for Jan. 22, 2025. (Valley Crime Stoppers)
34 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Nicholas Ryan Hernandez

President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
48 minutes ago

Trump Administration Cancels Travel for Refugees Already Cleared to Resettle in the US

53 minutes ago

Trump Orders Putting ‘People Over Fish.’ Will He Succeed?

Taliban fighters stand guard in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Dec. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
1 hour ago

Afghans Who Fled Taliban Rule Urge Trump to Lift Refugee Program Suspension

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend