Body language and lip-reading experts have weighed in after footage of Donald Trump and First Lady Melania on a helicopter sparked speculation that the couple had been involved in a heated argument. The video was filmed after the pair returned from the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday (September 24). The US President and the First Lady were seen speaking inside the Marine One helicopter as it landed on the South Lawn. In the viral clip, Trump can be seen pointing his finger at Melania, who responds by shaking her head. On X (formerly Twitter), one user remarked that it looked as if Trump was “scolding” Melania “like a child.” A video of Donald Trump and Melania on the Marine One helicopter led to speculation that the couple had been arguing Image credits: The White House According to forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman, the animated exchange was actually about the escalator incident at the UN headquarters the previous day. As soon as Trump and Melania stepped onto the escalator ahead of his address to the General Assembly, it suddenly stopped working, prompting the president to later claim the couple had been “sabotaged.” “From my interpretation, I don’t think Donald Trump was having a go at Melania Trump — but at the shenanigans at the UN,” Freeman told The Daily Mail. According to Freeman, Melania told her husband that he had “just continued” walking up the steps when the escalator suddenly stopped. Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty “It was unbelievable. How can you do that?” Freeman believes the president replied. The former Slovenian model reportedly told her husband, “Donald, look at me” before they exited the helicopter and walked hand in hand. Nicola Hickling, an additional lip reader, offered a different interpretation of the exchange. She told The Daily Mail she believes Trump was comforting his wife after a group of people had tried to hurt her. The footage was recorded after the pair returned from the United Nations General Assembly Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty “I can’t forgive them, they tried to hurt you,” Trump told Melania aboard the helicopter, according to Hickling. Melania seemingly replied, “We can’t do this, we should stay safe, you’re not safe.” The president responded, “They’re done. We must challenge them.” Meanwhile, body language expert Beth Dawson noted that pointing a finger at someone is “rarely seen as a gesture of affection,” since it’s often associated with “accusation, instruction, or command.” However, she emphasized that context is key when interpreting such gestures. U.S. President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump seen arriving back at the White House aboard Marine One tonight, following a long day filled with speeches and meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. pic.twitter.com/2645Vp9SLL — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) September 24, 2025 According to Dawson, Trump is known for this particular body language expression, so the clip shouldn’t necessarily be read as evidence of an argument. “Leaning forward, pointing a finger, or fist pumping his hand in victory, these are all hallmarks of his physical style, tools that he uses to underline his authority and make his presence felt,” she told Unilad. In the clip, Trump points his finger at Melania while she shakes her head Image credits: The White House “In this exchange with Melania, familiar movements are on full display: he leans in, finger extended, his hand acting as a forceful illustrator of his speech, as he points at her. “It might appear aggressive to outsiders but we know that these dominance signals are part of Trump’s baseline behavior and he may be reinforcing his ideas, as opposed to chastising Melania.” Image credits: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Dawson also pointed out that the 55-year-old mom “meets [Trump’s] eye steadily” and although she doesn’t mirror his body language, she still “matches his energy and is active, expressive, and fully engaged.” In other words, Melania is not a passive listener in the conversation. “Trump uses expansive, emphatic movements, while Melania, though more contained, does not disengage,” the expert noted. “She matches him, not by mirroring his posture, but by meeting his energy with her own expressive hand movements and unwavering eye contact.” Forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman said the exchange was about the escalator incident at the UN Here’s when the UN escalator stopped working the second Trump & Melania got to it (The teleprompter stopped right when he started his speech also) pic.twitter.com/fxmDetY3Yb — The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 23, 2025 French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, faced similar scrutiny over their relationship in May after a video appeared to show the French First Lady pushing her husband’s face before they deboarded a plane in Vietnam. An official at the Élysée Palace later addressed the incident, saying the president and his wife were “relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.” Macron himself also downplayed the incident when asked about it in Vietnam, stating, “There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it.” The president confirmed the videos were real but said people were “attributing all kinds of nonsense to them.” Image credits: The White House Trump and Melania’s relationship dynamics have long been the subject of public speculation. Earlier this year, the New York Times published an article titled, A Most Sensitive Subject in the White House: Where is Melania?, reporting that during Trump’s first 108 days in office, his wife had spent “less than 14 days” in the White House. Conspiracy theorists have even suggested that the couple employed a Melania “body double” to accompany the president at public events because they supposedly don’t get along. The theory, which has been debunked by both parties, first emerged in October 2017 during Trump’s first term. “It’s actually abnormal not having arguments when you’re married,” one user commented Image credits: blockxs Image credits: MamabearK444 Image credits: xtrends4u Image credits: WolfofLevittown Image credits: marlahohner Image credits: TIM_MYHER84 Image credits: Tmills547230 Image credits: pBinx1 Image credits: optimistic24672 Image credits: ChanduOdiri1 Image credits: merlisa Image credits: thomasmukandi1 Image credits: FamilyHistoria4 Body Language Experts Break Down Trump’s Finger-Pointing ‘Scolding’ Exchange With Melania

Body language and lip-reading experts have weighed in after footage of Donald Trump and First Lady Melania on a helicopter sparked speculation that the couple had been involved in a heated argument.

The video was filmed after the pair returned from the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday (September 24).

The US President and the First Lady were seen speaking inside the Marine One helicopter as it landed on the South Lawn. In the viral clip, Trump can be seen pointing his finger at Melania, who responds by shaking her head.

On X (formerly Twitter), one user remarked that it looked as if Trump was “scolding” Melania “like a child.”

A video of Donald Trump and Melania on the Marine One helicopter led to speculation that the couple had been arguing

Image credits: The White House

According to forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman, the animated exchange was actually about the escalator incident at the UN headquarters the previous day. 

As soon as Trump and Melania stepped onto the escalator ahead of his address to the General Assembly, it suddenly stopped working, prompting the president to later claim the couple had been “sabotaged.”

“From my interpretation, I don’t think Donald Trump was having a go at Melania Trump — but at the shenanigans at the UN,” Freeman told The Daily Mail. 

According to Freeman, Melania told her husband that he had “just continued” walking up the steps when the escalator suddenly stopped.

Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

“It was unbelievable. How can you do that?” Freeman believes the president replied.

The former Slovenian model reportedly told her husband, “Donald, look at me” before they exited the helicopter and walked hand in hand.

Nicola Hickling, an additional lip reader, offered a different interpretation of the exchange. She told The Daily Mail she believes Trump was comforting his wife after a group of people had tried to hurt her.

The footage was recorded after the pair returned from the United Nations General Assembly

Image credits: Chip Somodevilla/Getty

“I can’t forgive them, they tried to hurt you,” Trump told Melania aboard the helicopter, according to Hickling.

Melania seemingly replied, “We can’t do this, we should stay safe, you’re not safe.”

The president responded, “They’re done. We must challenge them.”

Meanwhile, body language expert Beth Dawson noted that pointing a finger at someone is “rarely seen as a gesture of affection,” since it’s often associated with “accusation, instruction, or command.” However, she emphasized that context is key when interpreting such gestures.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump seen arriving back at the White House aboard Marine One tonight, following a long day filled with speeches and meetings at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. pic.twitter.com/2645Vp9SLL

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) September 24, 2025

According to Dawson, Trump is known for this particular  body language expression, so  the clip shouldn’t necessarily be read as evidence of an argument.

“Leaning forward, pointing a finger, or fist pumping his hand in victory, these are all hallmarks of his physical style, tools that he uses to underline his authority and make his presence felt,” she told Unilad.

In the clip, Trump points his finger at Melania while she shakes her head

Image credits: The White House

“In this exchange with Melania, familiar movements are on full display: he leans in, finger extended, his hand acting as a forceful illustrator of his speech, as he points at her.

“It might appear aggressive to outsiders but we know that these dominance signals are part of Trump’s baseline behavior and he may be reinforcing his ideas, as opposed to chastising Melania.”

Image credits: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty

Dawson also pointed out that the 55-year-old mom “meets [Trump’s] eye steadily” and although she doesn’t mirror his body language, she still “matches his energy and is active, expressive, and fully engaged.” In other words, Melania is not a passive listener in the conversation.

“Trump uses expansive, emphatic movements, while Melania, though more contained, does not disengage,” the expert noted. “She matches him, not by mirroring his posture, but by meeting his energy with her own expressive hand movements and unwavering eye contact.”

Forensic lip reader Jeremy Freeman said the exchange was about the escalator incident at the UN

Here’s when the UN escalator stopped working the second Trump & Melania got to it

(The teleprompter stopped right when he started his speech also) pic.twitter.com/fxmDetY3Yb

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) September 23, 2025

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, faced similar scrutiny over their relationship in May after a video appeared to show the French First Lady pushing her husband’s face before they deboarded a plane in Vietnam.

An official at the Élysée Palace later addressed the incident, saying the president and his wife were “relaxing one last time before the start of the trip by having a laugh.”

Macron himself also downplayed the incident when asked about it in Vietnam, stating, “There’s a video showing me joking and teasing my wife and somehow that becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe, with people even coming up with theories to explain it.”

The president confirmed the videos were real but said people were “attributing all kinds of nonsense to them.”

Image credits: The White House

Trump and Melania’s relationship dynamics have long been the subject of public speculation.

Earlier this year, the New York Times published an article titled, A Most Sensitive Subject in the White House: Where is Melania?, reporting that during Trump’s first 108 days in office, his wife had spent “less than 14 days” in the White House.

Conspiracy theorists have even suggested that the couple employed a Melania “body double” to accompany the president at public events because they supposedly don’t get along.

The theory, which has been debunked by both parties, first emerged in October 2017 during Trump’s first term.

“It’s actually abnormal not having arguments when you’re married,” one user commented

Image credits: blockxs

Image credits: MamabearK444

Image credits: xtrends4u

Image credits: WolfofLevittown

Image credits: marlahohner

Image credits: TIM_MYHER84

Image credits: Tmills547230

Image credits: pBinx1

Image credits: optimistic24672

Image credits: ChanduOdiri1

Image credits: merlisa

Image credits: thomasmukandi1

Image credits: FamilyHistoria4

from Bored Panda https://ift.tt/nNhT4KH