Kamala Harris’ Debate Handshake Spoke Volumes. Body Language Experts Reveal Why.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump met face-to-face for the first time Tuesday night at the presidential debate. And before the debate even started, their greeting said a lot about their mindsets, body language experts told HuffPost.

Harris initiated the handshake by striding over to Trump’s lectern and reaching out her hand.

“The fact that she encroached on his space says to me that that was a show of power,” said behavioral scientist Abbie Maroño, because this initiation sends a signal of “I’m not afraid of you.”

Trump is known for pulling people off balance with his handshakes, said body language expert Mark Bowden, which is why Harris’ choice to walk toward him with “a lot of velocity” helped.

“The best way to deal with that is to come in hot and with a strong, rigid arm so that actually his instinct is to try and stop you rather than pull you,” he said. “She’s got the velocity advantage and the intent advantage, so he can’t hang on to her hand in any way.”

“Kamala Harris,” she said in introducing herself while shaking Trump’s hand. “Let’s have a good debate.” Trump replied, “Nice to see you. Have fun.”

Maroño said Harris’ introduction is both professional and a polite way to signal “I’m approachable, I’m warm, I’m inviting.”

Trump, meanwhile, “looked caught off guard” because he did the handshake while not directly squaring his shoulders off with Harris and because his greeting “makes no sense” in the context of a presidential debate, said Denise Dudley, clinical psychologist and author of “Work It! Get In, Get Noticed, Get Promoted.”

Maroño explained that showing dominance involves controlling someone’s space and their time. Harris went for one elbow pump with her handshake while