Times Donald And Melania Trump's Body Language Left Us Cringing

Actions speak louder than words, as they say, and that's certainly the case with Donald and Melania Trump's marriage. Their slight gestures, subtle expressions, and natural reactions often say more about their relationship than any repeated platitudes of affection could. In fact, their body language is practically audible in some videos and images, with Melania's face or hands screaming, "Who is this man and why is he touching me?"

These portraits of an unhappy couple have been strewn across the internet for all to see throughout the past decade of Donald Trump's two presidential terms, and have provided welcome chuckles for many people in desperate need of them. For some, there's a kind of comforting solace in knowing that they aren't alone in hating Trump — even his wife does! Even Donald himself once let it slip that his marriage may be a mess, and that's the impression one gets from these cringe-inducing images of the first, and worst, couple.

Melania Trump appeared at the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016, during the week her husband won the party's nomination for president (the first time). While subsequent reports about her appearance focused on Melania's supposed plagiarism of a Michelle Obama speech, some people couldn't forget the incredibly awkward way that she was physically greeted by Donald Trump.

Donald reached out to grab Melania's hips after he introduced her onto the RNC stage, which prompted his wife to immediately put her hands on top of his, almost as if she wanted to remove them or at least prevent them from wandering. The awkwardness was exacerbated by the fact that they didn't embrace at all, with an ocean of discomfort between their bodies. On top of that, Melania avoided a direct kiss on the lips, employing a tactic she would use time and time again — turning her head while Donald leaned in for a kiss, forcing him to coldly peck her cheek. At best, they seemed like acquaintances, not husband and wife.

"That was not even a real hug," body language expert Patti Wood told Us Weekly at the time after viewing the Trumps' interaction. "There was no heart-to-heart contact. There was no pelvis-to-pelvis contact. That was really odd. There was no real warmth." They call Melania the ice queen for a reason.

Donald Trump has a tendency to march along on his own, wholly indifferent to his own company. This has been the case with Melania Trump on multiple occasions, almost making it seem like he cares just as little about her as she seems to about him. Social media had a good laugh in March 2018 when Donald exited a vehicle on the tarmac and ditched his wife in a rush to get on Air Force One, leaving Melania to awkwardly follow from quite a distance. This wasn't the most infamous example of Donald the Ditcher, though.

The truth about Donald and Melania's sad relationship was on full display during Donald's first presidential inauguration, on January 20, 2017. The world cringed when the couple arrived at the White House to greet the outgoing president and first lady, Barack and Michelle Obama. Again, Donald exited the vehicle and marched ahead to greet the Obamas, with a visibly perturbed Melania left to exit the vehicle from the other side and attempted to catch up, displaying the body language of a defeated woman. If it weren't for the Obamas, Donald would've continued into the residence without Melania at all.

I genuinely can't stop thinking about this pic.twitter.com/NW7uOu96tO

— marc (@msnetik) January 23, 2017

One person commented on X, "y'know when a family member, friend, lover, UBER, taxi, drops you off and waits to make sure you get in okay? Trump would not." Many people praised the way the Obamas waited for Melania, even comparing a video of Barack waiting for Michelle on his inauguration day to Trump's crass behavior. As one person replied, "How he just walked ahead oblivious to her, and yet the Obamas treated her the opposite? Speaks to the character of all."

Donald Trump's first inauguration featured a continuous cavalcade of cringeworthy moments that have become some of the internet's favorite presidential memes. One particular example has been immortalized in video and GIF form as one of the purest distillations of Melania Trump's clear contempt for her husband and her near inability to hide it. The footage shows Melania forcing a phony smile when Donald turned his head in her direction. As soon as he looked away, though, her smile swiftly morphed into absolute misery.

Oddly enough, most YouTube commenters believed that Donald had turned around to smile at his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and that Melania just happened to be in his eyeline between them. Amateur lip readers thought that, before turning to face forward again, Donald told Melania, "Not you," leading to the immediately fallen expression on his wife's face. This would corroborate rumors of tension between Ivanka and Melania. In the book "Melania and Me: The Rise and Fall of My Friendship With the First Lady," Stephanie Winston Wolkoff claimed that Melania had tried to have Ivanka blocked out of the camera frame during Trump's inauguration (via Elle).

Whatever happened on inauguration day, one thing's for sure — Melania made her dissatisfaction abundantly clear as soon as Donald wasn't looking. She did the exact same thing in October 2021, when the pair attended a World Series game between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves, proving that Melania's facial muscles never got accustomed to the gravity of her seemingly awful marriage.

As we've seen, January 20, 2017, made for a memorable inauguration day, if only for the way Donald Trump and his wife left the world cringing. Donald and Melania's inaugural dance ended the day with seemingly endless examples of bad body language. Practically every moment was awkward, from the way Donald grabbed Melania and pulled her near him at the beginning to her visible discomfort at having to be so close to her husband. She maintains a discernible distance between their waists throughout, and painstakingly avoids as much contact as possible.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump share their first dance at inaugural ball. https://t.co/N1sa3KoYAo pic.twitter.com/5r5aJU7npM

— Nightline (@Nightline) January 21, 2017

The comment section on the X post was comically stuffed with GIFs and images of different uncomfortable people, head in hands, eyes rolled. Many people commented on Melania's inability to fake any happiness, with people noticing her depressed body language. "Her face looks like he's stomping on her toes with every step," wrote one person on X. Another added, "That shot looks like he's telling her that if she ever wants to see the man she loves alive again, she better play along."

This dance without romance was hardly a one-time issue, as revealed in January 2025 during Trump's second inauguration. For some, Donald and Melania's painful inaugural dance was like watching a divorce in slow motion, showing that their chemistry didn't exactly improve since their last waltz.

Some of the most embarrassing body language moments between Donald and Melania Trump happen when he tries to hold her hand. She seems to have a variety of tactics to avoid this tactile connection, from quickly pocketing her hand to swiftly raising it to brush her hair. For whatever reason, this has often happened when the Trumps disembark planes, as on inauguration day in 2017 and later that year in May, when they exited Air Force One in Rome.

The most infamous instance of hand-avoidance, however, happened in Tel Aviv, also in May 2017. After landing in Israel and disembarking onto a red carpet, Donald reached out for Melania's hand as they walked side by side. In what would quickly become a viral sensation, Melania literally swatted his hand away as if it were an obnoxious insect, not missing a beat as she continued to march ahead with indifference.

Well this is embarassing https://t.co/XaPL1AbCm5 pic.twitter.com/mumhuQHDFz

— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 22, 2017

Video of this telling moment garnered international attention and blew up on social media at the time. "If this is not a tell tale sign that this marriage is either on the rocks or a sham I don't know what is? Even she is sick of him," wrote one commenter on X. "They literally show no affection for each other," replied another. While Melania later referred to the incident as a misunderstanding, people with eyeballs were not having it. One woman on X referred to the swat seen around the world as, "The Universal Women's signal for Don't-Fk'n-Touch-Me."

When visiting American troops at Joint Base Andrews on September 15, 2017, Donald and Melania Trump gave soldiers an up-close look at their incredibly awkward body language. Melania introduced Donald to the stage, who then abandoned any attempt at intimacy and instead gave Melania a stiff handshake — then pushed her away. Melania seemed a bit shaken and confused by the whole thing, but the media was more gleeful. BET even ran a piece with the headline, "People Are Trolling The S**t Out Of Trump Over Video Of Him Giving Melania A Handshake And Pushing Her Off Stage After She Introduced Him."

The US First Lady introduces her husband on stage at an event at Joint Base Andrews. He thanks her with a handshake. pic.twitter.com/fPQNoMpnWa

— Caitriona Perry (@CaitrionaPerry) September 15, 2017

Of course, social media had a field day lampooning Trump's faux pas. As BuzzFeed News wrote in a Facebook post, "A firm handshake, then he tells her 'you go sit down.' This truly might be the most awkward Melania and Donald Trump moment yet." Angela Osborne, one of thousands of commenters on the post, wrote, "That was the most horrible example of bad manners ever. Treats her like a child who needs to be told what to do."

Some commenters on X opined about what they saw as Donald's diminishing mental capacities, with several people mentioning dementia in the comments. "Did he forget who she was?" asked one commenter on X, a sentiment that was shared multiple times. Another added, "It looks like #Trump forgot who she was for a moment and reverted to auto-handshake mode. @FLOTUS looked confused at the handshake as well."

Some of the saddest body language moments between Donald and Melania Trump are often more subtle and, devoid of context, almost have an air of pathos to them. Even people who utterly despise Donald Trump on moral and political grounds might feel a modicum of sympathy for the man when his attempts at human connection get rebuked so coldly by his own wife. This was the case on April 24, 2018, when France's first couple, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, visited the White House. Donald and Melania joined them in an official event during the state visit, and cameras caught yet another uncomfortable body language fail between the couple when Donald gently tried to touch his wife's hand with his tiny pinky, only to reach a completely unresponsive Melania.

Trump attempts to hold Melania's hand at President Emmanuel Macron's arrival at the South Lawn: pic.twitter.com/NlBlcdZ29s

— rona (@rona_crona) April 24, 2018

This wasn't the only time Trump would attempt a pathetic pinky poke with his wife's stiff, apathetic hand; Donald did the same thing on his birthday in 2025 during a military parade, without any affection from a sour-faced Melania in return. However, the April 2018 instance was more blatant and cringe-worthy, and attracted considerable attention on social media. One person pointed out on X, "Melania OBVIOUSLY didn't want to hold his hand. Trump's a creeper. This pretty much encompasses the feeling we all share with her." Another added, "Can you blame her? God knows where that hand has been."

On October 15, 2018, Donald and Melania Trump briefly stopped by a gaggle of reporters as they left the White House to head for Florida and Georgia to survey the damage done by Hurricane Michael. Video of the first couple showed Donald holding a black umbrella over his head, never once considering his wife as he stopped to chat to the press. Melania can be seen behind him, looking on in mild disbelief with an acceptance of her sad, wet fate.

Video of the little incident brought out a bevy of jokes from people on Facebook. "He's a bit of a snowflake so he'd melt in the rain. He needs the umbrella for that reason," wrote Cerys Campbell. Andrew Meese added, "Well you can't expect his fake tan to run can you or his candy floss wig to get wet, don't really see a problem."

Judging by other replies, very few people had any sympathy left for Melania by this point in the Trump administration. That was especially true on this occasion, one day after Melania gave an interview to ABC's "20/20" supporting her husband and claiming she was one of the most bullied people in America. As Betty Sanchez commented on Facebook, "You know I used to feel sorry for this woman, but now after her comments on her interview no more pity, she deserves everything she gets."

Melania Trump is a master of the air kiss, though sometimes she won't even kiss the same air Donald Trump breathes. On the last night of the Republican National Convention in July 2024, Melania appeared alongside her husband as he accepted the party's nomination. Donald seemed oblivious to her as she walked toward him on the stage, reacting with surprise after she touched him to get his attention. He puckered up and moved in for a kiss, and after a trepidatious split second, Melania moved her head to avoid any lip-to-lip contact. As such, Melania awkwardly leaned in and lingered next to Donald's cheek and the big white bandage on his ear, a result of that month's attempted assassination.

@abcnews

Melania Trump joined husband Donald Trump on stage as he finished his remarks on the final night of the RNC. It marked Melania's first appearance at the RNC this week and her time this election cycle publicly joining Trump at a major campaign event. #news #politics #rnc #melaniatrump #donaldtrump

♬ original sound – ABC News – ABC News

Political commentator Harry Sisson shared a video of the missed kiss on X, writing, "YIKES! Melania Trump completely DODGED Trump's kiss at the end of his RNC speech. Super awkward moment!" Thousands of commenters certainly noticed Melania's no-lips policy, with one replying, "She looks like she'd rather be anywhere else on the planet, besides there at that moment..."

This was one of countless examples of Melania's air-kiss tactics, in which she deftly dodges Donald's smooches by turning her head at the last moment, as if to avoid a bullet. However, she didn't even feign a fake kiss when leaning by the side of Donald's head; instead, she awkwardly hovered next to him, perhaps mentally counting the seconds until she could extricate herself from his orbit.

One way Melania Trump cleverly avoids any human contact with Donald Trump is by wearing obstructive hats that block incoming kisses just as much as they obfuscate her facial features. Perhaps the most infamous hat among them all has been a gargantuan dark blue boated hat designed by Eric Javits. She wore this bizarre fashion accessory at Barron Trump's graduation ceremony, but it garnered more attention when she donned it on January 20, 2025, for Don's second inauguration.

The hat went viral when footage of Donald attempting to kiss Melania spread across social media, with people noticing how she seemed to use the headwear to block her husband and guide him into an awkward air kiss. As one social media user wrote on X, "Melania's relationship tips: wear a wide-brimmed hat and your husband will never be able to kiss you."

Now you're only permitted to kiss the air around her. 😂 pic.twitter.com/MJ3ng6E1Ty

— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) January 22, 2025

"First Lady Melania Trump's choice of a wide-brimmed hat appeared to serve as a barrier, complicating a moment when President Trump attempted to kiss her, resulting in an awkward air kiss," body language expert Dr. Abbie Maroño told Newsweek at the time. "This may have been a possible means to conceal her face, indicating discomfort with the public attention. The lack of eye contact, smiles, or hand-holding between the couple [suggests] discomfort."

Donald and Melania Trump seemed practically separated by September 2025, with the first lady mainly living in New York and Palm Beach; even when Melania was in the White House, she allegedly demanded a separate living space. During the rare times Melania was present with Donald throughout the year, their body language hinted at a deeply unhappy trouble, something which became especially noticeable in September.

The Trumps visited the United Kingdom in mid-September, and there were reports that Melania requested specific sleeping arrangements away from her husband. Then, footage of the pair returning from their U.K. trip showed Melania pulling her hand away from Donald's clutches before he successfully grabbed it for good. What got more attention, however, occurred on September 23, when the first couple were seemingly engaged in what many assumed to be a heated argument inside Marine One, the president's helicopter. Donald can be seen pointing in his wife's face through the window of the chopper, with Melania subsequently shaking her head, leading many to ask what's really going on with their marriage in 2025.

Pundits are saying Trump and Melania got into an argument in the Marine One

What do you see in this video? pic.twitter.com/NRcHqPiIWK

— RT (@RT_com) September 26, 2025

After disembarking from the helicopter, the first lady appeared to be despondent, mostly staring down at the ground with a disgruntled look on her face. By this point in their very public marriage, few seemed surprised by their tense and uncomfortable body language. "It's no secret, these people don't even sleep in the same bedroom," commented one person on X.

One month after these awkward moments, Donald demolished the East Wing of the White House, which had been the location of the first lady's office since the 1940s. Images of the crumbled building felt like a succinct visual metaphor for the first couple's marriage — fractured, disconnected, and just plain sad.