A psychologist specializing in body language broke down the visible cues by President Donald Trump and his scandal-plagued assistant Natalie Harp, revealing the signs of a "strange dynamic" between the pair.
Dr. John Paul Garrison is a clinical and forensic psychologist, who has released numerous videos using his expertise in interpreting body language to examine Trump's behavior and well-being. While most of his videos have focused on Trump's signs of neurological decline, his latest video delved instead into his headline-grabbing relationship with Harp, the young assistant whose devotion to the president has been likened by many to an obsession.
Harp first entered Trump's orbit during his years away from the White House, and since his return, she has become perhaps his closest assistant, carrying around a portable printer at all times to share flattering reports and information with him, and maintaining considerable power over the information he sees. She has also alarmed staffers and Secret Service members over her devotion to him, leading the latter to raise concerns about her behavior becoming a security risk.
In his latest video, Garrison started by examining a recent piece of footage in which Harp was standing near Trump as he gave an address.
"One thing you may notice is that Natalie Harp is constantly smiling," Garrison said. "Now, you've only watched her for a few seconds, but you're going to see the same facial expression throughout the rest of this, as well as other video clips of her. She is always smiling. So, why is that? Why is it that President Trump would need somebody that is constantly smiling? Primarily because he's looking for constant admiration. He's looking for immediate feedback to say, 'You're doing great. Everything you do is great.' And keeping a facial expression like this, keeping this smile all the time, helps him [get] that."
He added: "And I don't want people to think I'm being critical that she is smiling. That's really not what I'm saying. But the point is that he doesn't care about authenticity. He doesn't want genuineness. What he wants is unusual amounts of loyalty. He wants devotion. He wants admiration. And so having somebody that keeps this look all the time is going to help feed that for him."
Garrison also highlighted a point in the clip where Trump noticed that Harp was standing near him, after which he began to look back at her more often. This, Garrison explained, was likely because she "truly is a source of comfort for him." Trump never appeared to show any different emotion when he looked at her, because to him, "people like this are objects."
"They are to be used," he explained. "So when he looks back at her, it may provide him security, but he's not going to feel the need to smile or nod or give any sort of recognition because he doesn't see it as a two-way street like that."
The instances of Trump looking back at Harp continued throughout the clip, adding to the sense that her presence was "regulating" for Trump in some way. Garrison also noted how her smile appeared to get bigger when the president tried to make a joke, and how she was "constantly" nodding in affirmation even when he was not looking at her. Another woman standing next to Trump in the clip was also nodding frequently, but Garrison argued that this was normal given that she was part of the conversation, whereas Harp was showing signs that "she's just so used to reaffirming everything that he says."
"It seems like almost by default she's constantly nodding her head along with every single statement he makes," Garrison added.
Later, he contrasted Harp's behavior with that of First Lady Melania Trump, using footage of her alongside her husband at the Freedom 250 race in Washington, D.C., where she appeared "disengaged" from her husband, looking away from him often and keeping her hands in her pockets.
"Melania Trump, on the other hand, is a lot more aloof," he explained. "She seems to resist physical touch from him. She seems to move away. She seems to show that she's quite irritated with him at times. And obviously, the dynamic is different. But I thought it would be interesting to contrast the two of them because the response that he's going to get is going to be so dramatically different. And Trump may actually be somewhat psychologically reliant on Harp at this point because of that constant sense of admiration."
