Kamala Harris seems calm enough following her defeat against Donald Trump, body language expert claims

Kamala Harris officially declared Donald Trump the winner of the 2024 presidential election during a joint session of Congress.

Entering Monday’s sorely tested Kamala Harris was obliged to officially declare Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election – an election she herself lost after a strenuous and compressed campaign.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) attend a joint session of Congress to certify Donald Trump's election, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. January 6, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein (REUTERS)

Harris, as a vice president, was expected to chair the joint session of Congress, which counts the electoral votes. To an assembly of lawmakers, she certified Trump’s victory, which was met with a standing ovation among the Republican bench.

“Even Harris’s concession speech was delivered with the body language rituals of victory,” Body language expert Judi James told Daily Mail.

“Straight after Trump’s win she appeared giggling, chuckling and throwing wide smiles as she pointed at the crowd and patted her chest like the victor enjoying her moment of glory, looking determined to mask any sense of defeat.”

“Certifying the electoral votes today though, her non-verbal display suggested the adrenalin has subsided, leaving a very different set of emotional responses in its wake, like anger, indignation and a possible sense of unfairness,” she explained.

Harris's unease evident during vote announcement

Harris’s unease reportedly became evident as she approached the rostrum. She exchanged greetings with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson but seemed subdued. “She made heavy going of the stairs to the stage and, with her signature gurgling smile missing, she seemed to be physically bracing herself,” James observed.

When delivering the official announcement, Harris’s demeanour further shifted. “Her body bristling continued as she read out Trump’s 312 votes and her lips puckered at the cheers and standing ovation,” James said.

Harris then announced her own tally of 226 votes, which was met with cheers from Democrats. However, James noted that Harris’s reaction lacked her earlier defiance. “Instead of crowd-surfing by grinning and acknowledgment rituals, she looked down in a cut-off gesture as she moved some papers about,” James concluded.