Trump trying to project 'bravery' with calculated 'attack' pose in Putin photo

Donald Trump's calculated "attack" pose with Vladimir Putin in a photo shows he tried to establish dominance, a body language expert has told The Mirror.

Trump met withPutin at the Alaska summitlast week where the pair discussed how to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. While no clear end or pathway to peace was established, Trump was keen to portray himself as a strong leader following the meeting.

In a post shared to his social media platform TruthSocial, Trump compared himselfto then-Vice President Richard Nixon as he pointed his finger at Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev during a meeting in Moscow in 1959. During the meeting between Trump and Putin, the US President made a similar gesture.

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Body language expert Judi James told the Mirror the move was a deliberate attempt to establish dominance. She also noted similarities between two interpreters in the two photos looked remarkably similar.

"They even seem to have booked a double of the guy who stood between the leaders back then, to stand in the same spot with the same look of concern on his face, suggesting this is serious stuff," she said.

"It's easy to see the appeal of a mimicked pose like this for Trump. Poking a finger into someone's chest like this is an act of mimed attack, suggesting bravery and fearlessness, while displaying what looks like superior power over your 'victim'. It's a gesture Macron uses frequently, mainly as a prod of friendship, but when the photos are published, they inevitably make it look like Macron's dominant power-posture with other world leaders.

"Nixon used this photo in his campaign, along with claims of proving his 'Authority and courage' and this was said to have helped him greatly en route to the White House.

"The ironic thing about Nixon's chest-point was that it was a gesture both he and Khrushchev were using during a smiling and rather playful debate that was claimed at the time to be actually about cabbage soup versus red meat.

"Trump's facial expression during his 'power-point' pose shows some wrinkling and folding that suggests that he, too, is being humorous here and Putin is clearly smiling back. The two leaders have shown a mutual sense of humour on previous meetings, and this moment looks more like an example of that than a serious body language duel."

Trump has shown other instances of wanting to assert dominance, with once observed case being his particularly strong handshake, such as one seen when he gripped former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.