While Melania Trump is used to supporting her husband, President Donald Trump, in his various endeavours, last night all eyes were on the First Lady as she attended the premiere of her new documentary. And the couple’s very different body language has proven telling.
The doc, titled Melania: Twenty Days to History, follows the mother of one ahead of the family’s return to the White House, centred around her balancing family commitments with public obligations in the 20 days leading up to President Trump’s second inauguration. Created as part of a $40 million (approximately £32 million) agreement with Amazon MGM, the 104-minute-long film will be shown across more than 1,500 screens in the US and Canada this weekend.
But while viewers may be hoping to get a glimpse of who the 55-year-old is both within and outside of her role as First Lady, her red carpet appearance with President Trump certainly offers plenty of insight into the pair’s dynamic, which appears to differ somewhat from their appearances within the political sphere.
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According to expert Judi James, the Trumps’ body language was ‘clearly a world away from the kind of ‘Power couple’ poses we get from other celebs'(Image: AP)
Standing hand-in-hand with her 79-year-old husband at the renamed Trump-Kennedy Centre, Melania wore a black, belted Dolce and Gabbana buttoned dress with matching shoes, complemented by a natural make-up colour palette. And while it’s usually President Trump’s speeches that make headlines, this time it was Melania’s time to shine. Addressing the premiere audience, the former model shared: “Some have called this a documentary. It is not. It is a creative experience that offers perspectives, insights and moments that only few perceive. You will see humour, you will see grief, you will see fashion, so I’m very proud of the film.”
Nobody could have forgotten the presence of President Trump, however. In a moment captured at the event, a photographer can be heard asking Trump to step aside to allow Melania her own moment. Footage posted after the event appears to show POTUS trying to pull his wife back, in a move some online observers found rather awkward. But what can we really tell about a couple from such a public appearance?
After analysing premiere photographs of the Trumps, body language expert Judi James told the Mirror: “Melania’s ‘red carpet’ body language with Trump was clearly a world away from the kind of ‘Power couple’ poses we get from other celebs with a film to plug. No flirting, kissing or whispering together here, just a reminder of Trump’s leadership status as he dominates the choreography, leading his wife by the hand and pulling her away once a pose is over, as well as decoupling to allow her to pose alone, adding a flourish with his hand to announce her solo moment in the spotlight here.
POTUS could be seen ‘dominating the choreography'(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“The intentional gestures in terms of mood here appear to be to stick to a serious, businesslike and non-showy tone, with Melania dressed in a ‘neutral’ black dress with no apparently obvious promotion of wealth, like Margot Robbie’s $8m necklace for her Wuthering Heights premiere recently.”
Picking up on their facial expressions, Judi continued: “The couple’s smiles appear tempered, too. Trump avoids his cheesy teeth-baring ‘rictus of success’ here, sticking to a small frown and eye-wrinkle of intense pride, while Melania fluctuates between an elegant, closed-lip smile and a more full-on beaming smile. However, the wider smile does appear to focus on elegance rather than any egotistic basking.
“Melania doesn’t do many, if any, ‘secret’ facial expressions, although she does appear to glance at Trump with what could be a little concern when he tries to drop his hands to get her to pose alone. Her muscle memory for glamorous, more Hollywood poses must be strong, but she appears reluctant to adopt one here, preferring to look slightly bashful at first instead before the more confident smile is in place.”
The First Lady appeared ‘slightly bashful’ on the red carpet(Image: AP)
POTUS has shown support for his wife’s venture into filmmaking. Earlier this week, he posted several photos from a screening of the “MUST WATCH” doc, declaring that tickets were “selling out, FAST!” However, not everyone is feeling quite so optimistic. UK cinema chain Vue premiered Melania at its flagship Islington branch, but sold just one ticket. A later screening sold two.
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com. Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads
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