Republicans are pointing fingers after last week’s midterm elections, which saw Democrats win control of the House and the Senate. Many voters and elected officials are blaming the Iran war for the fallout, and they’re likely not wrong; 71% of Americans want the war to end, HuffPost previously reported.
Part of that consternation is targeted at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. His handling of the unpopular war is one of several reasons why Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced articles of impeachment against him this week. Hegseth then held a Tuesday morning press conference defending himself against the impeachment effort, where he called Massie a “disgruntled and defeated congressman” and the impeachment effort “a farce” and “a stunt.”
During the contentious press event, Hegseth also frequently praised President Donald Trump’s leadership and compared this impeachment effort to previous ones against the president.
Body language analysis and communication experts described the press conference as a “performance,” “highly scripted” and saw signs of “defensiveness.” Here’s what they picked up:
Experts view this press conference as a ‘performance,’ but his nerves seem to show.
“Overall, I would say it’s a performance,” said Patti Wood, a body language expert and author of “Snap: Making the Most of First Impressions, Body Language, and Charisma.”
Hegseth “doesn’t have the normal vocal emphasis, rhythms — it’s just kind of sing-songy, and it’s highly scripted,” Wood said, before adding that he appears to be reading from a script and not making much eye contact.
“Overall, that’s very telling to me because his job, his reputation, is threatened, and I’m not hearing his usual overconfidence,” she said. “I’m not seeing it and not hearing it.”
When he gets to the podium, Wood said, it’s apparent that he’s nervous. This is “identified by the way he adjusts his notes and holds each side of the podium and uses a vocal filler — ‘well, uh, good morning,’” she noted. This is not his normal, baseline speech, which tends to be more confident and straightforward, Wood added.
Traci Brown, a body language expert and behavior analyst, noted that Hegseth also had a few “word errors,” meaning he stumbled over his words.
“He has a word error on ‘policy disagreements’ — he doesn’t quite get that out, and also ‘show trial,’” Brown said.
“What happens is it takes five organs for anybody to make a sound, and when deception or disbelief is at hand, it’s a great cognitive load on the brain,” Brown said. “So, what [the brain will] do to protect its energy is shut that system down before the word gets out because it knows there’s ... an energetic price to pay.”
Word errors tell you where stress and deception can be, Brown added.
Hegseth used powerful language when referring to the impeachment effort as a ‘farce’ and ‘stunt,’ but experts say his body language did not exude ‘strength.’
In one moment during the press conference, Hegseth says the impeachment attempt is an effort to damage Trump, the country and “the warriors who defend it.” He then goes on to say the impeachment effort is “a farce, and it’s a stunt.”
During this statement, Wood noted that he gazes forward, which he does not do much throughout the press conference.
“So, that part of his nonverbal delivery with that statement is strong, but the face, the upper face, there’s not agreement with the rest of his body because his mouth at that moment ... he has his lips pressed together tightly, and his mouth is in a little bit of a smirk,” Wood 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,” agreed. “As he spoke, he was tight-lipped. And if you look close, you’ll see tension in his jaw and neck area as he spoke, signaling displeasure and defensiveness,” Donaldson told HuffPost via email.
Also during this statement, his hands are down, Wood noted, “instead of up and gesturing and powerful.”
“And his whole body is tilted to the side,” Wood continued. “The mouth is in a smirk, which is off-center, out of alignment, the shoulders and the body, all of that says that he’s not strong enough to make this statement.”
His tilted, off-center body language doesn’t match the power in the words he’s saying.
“He’s saying ‘it’s a farce and a stunt,’ but I don’t see his strength behind the statement,” Wood said.