(NewsNation) — The words that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris spoke during Tuesday’s debate said much about policy and personality. But the language of the candidates provided a different set of facts, according to two experts in the field.
“They trained her well in the debate area, but they needed to work on the delivery area,” said Dr. Lillian Glass, who called Harris “very nasal, staccato, monotone, and needs work with gestures.”
“She certainly angered him,” said Greg Hartley, who focused on Trump’s eyes when Harris spoke.
“When a person’s moving their eyes down and around, down at that lower level, he’s going to internal voices. He’s thinking, ‘what is she talking about?’”
Hartley, a former Army interrogator, said the tactic served Harris well.
“When I interrogate a person, I want to get them in that space because it means I’ve taken over their space and I can control them.”
In separate Wednesday appearances on NewsNation, the two experts disagreed on some of Harris’ gestures like putting her hand to her chin several times as Trump spoke.
“I don’t know if (the smiling and laughter) helped her any,” Glass said on NewsNation’s “Morning in America.” “It didn’t make sense in many instances. Here he was attacking her … and she would put her hand there, basically just listening to it. And contain herself.”
“We coach people that that if you put your hand here (by your chin), … it’s an adapter,” Hartley told NewsNation’s “On Balance.”
“She’s also wooden, she’s braced, and her mouth is open. What we look for is change in body language. If she can hold off change by holding her mouth poised instead of going for air when she’s in a bind, we can’t read it. So, somebody’s coached her pretty well.”
But the two agreed that Harris won the moment at the beginning of the evening when she walked over to Trump and shook his hand.
“She comes across as very confident. Her posture is very erect. She’s the one in charge here. She really makes a statement there,” Glass said.
Hartley, meanwhile, believes that Trump probably regrets not moving toward Harris when she approached.
“I think that’s a mistake, and he realized it,” he said.
It’s unclear whether the two candidates will debate again before November’s election.
