Donald Trump took wife Melania to Iraq to pay US troops a surprise visit this Christmas.
The President and First Lady posed for selfies, shook hands with military personnel, and packed on the PDA for an awkward-looking kiss.
But what did the kiss and their actions during the visit reveal about the couple?
Melania appears to keep their torsos apart as they kiss, stretching her neck in to achieve face-closeness instead. Trump’s kissing style looks rather dominant, with a raised chin and fully pursed lips that touch his wife’s face on her upper cheekbone.
This rather awkward style of cheek kiss with contrasting touch and little in the way of choreography would normally suggest a social or business greeting or farewell kiss between colleagues or friends, suggesting the Trump’s might feel rather awkward performing PDAs for the cameras.
Trump tops this smile off with the classic Western hero trait of the incongruent frown. Melania’s selfie smile is in complete contrast to her husband’s. Her expression is almost totally symmetric and congruent, with a lovely eye-smile topping an evenly-spread mouth smile, signalling an ability to be more straightforward in terms of emotional signalling.
Trump’s stage appearance involves him walking ahead of his wife here, presenting himself as the star of the show, rather than part of a double act. He performs a double thumbs-up gesture to create rapport with his audience but his thumbs are cocked towards his torso, making them a ‘look at me’ signal too.