You may have expected President Donald Trump and New York City’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s first public meeting to be contentious given the pair’s drastically different political beliefs. (Not to mention everything they’ve said to the press over the past few months.)
But their meeting, held in the Oval Office on Friday, was astoundingly pleasant. The two men smiled, laughed and agreed to work together to make New York City more affordable. And body language experts say their interactions were telling.
“Both Trump and Zohran looked as though that they were comfortable and cordial,” said Karen Donaldson, a body language expert and author of “Speak Like You Breathe: Straight Talk To Say What You Mean, Be Heard & Get Noticed.” “There was no exhibit of anger, hostility or harsh disagreement in either one of their faces or other gestures.”
To better understand the moment, we tapped three body language experts for a deeper analysis. Here’s what they said:
Trump is sitting while Mamdani stands next to him, which is a surprising dynamic.
