DONALD Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky‘s clash in the Oval Office was sparked by two “pivotal” moments, a body language expert has revealed.
Important discussions about the war-torn country’s future unexpectedly turned into a heated three-way argument involving JD Vance, with accusations of Ukraine’s leader playing a risky game that could lead to a third world war.
The scheduled signing of a significant minerals agreement between the two parties was abandoned after the intense confrontation, leading to the cancellation of the press conference as Zelensky left the White House in anger.
This intense disagreement stemmed from two pivotal interactions between Zelensky and the American officials, as highlighted by body language expert Darren Stanton, who is affiliated with Spin Genie and shared insights with The Sun.
Stanton revealed two moments where Trump appeared to make Zelensky “angry” during this historic meeting.
One trigger was Trump not outright saying he was anti-Putin and totally backing Ukraine, in a sharp u-turn to what former US Presidents have done.
Stanton said: “I think again the tipping point was when Trump has obviously said, I’m not for anybody, I’m for America. But I’m in between.
“You know, because I think Zelensky expected him to start being detrimental towards Putin.
“And when he didn’t, when he said, ‘I’m on the side of everybody, I just want peace’ I think that annoyed Zelensky as well.”
The shocking meeting descended further into a row after JD Vance branded Zelensky “disrespectful”.
The Vice President said: “You should be thanking the President for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Stanton said the argument about respect was another pivotal point in Friday’s shock meeting.
The body language expert said: “I think the crucial moment was when the Vice President said ‘you know you’ve not said thank you’.
“I think that was for me and that was the tipping point because then we saw him [Zelensky], you know, sort of fold his arms sort of sit back in the chair, and that’s a distancing gesture.
“So I think for me, that was the pivotal point, because I think he was kind of made to feel, you know, you’re not showing enough gratitude.”
Despite this, the body language expert said the tone was tense from the start especially with the Ukrainian President.
Stanton said: “With Zelensky we were seeing lots of anger and anger is when the eyebrows come together… you know you can tell if someone’s getting angry and we saw that from the outset.”
The expert also revealed that Mad Vlad could have hugely benefited from Friday’s clash saying: “I think he’s played right into Putin’s hands really. Which is, which is catastrophic, potentially.”
Stanton explained how Zelensky’s meeting differed from Trump’s talks with Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron this week.
Starmer touched down in Washington for his Oval Office visit with Trump, which was filled with laughs and support for the UK from the US chief.
Trump on Thursday said: “It’s a great honour to have Prime Minister Starmer at the Oval Office.
“It’s a very special place and he’s a special man – and the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well, I’m there a lot.
“I’ll be going there and we expect to see each other in the near future – we’ll be announcing it.”
Starmer’s approach appeared to work on Trump as his letter from King Charles and pally shoulder pats buttered up the commander-in-chief.
Stanton explained that the “conviviality” and “small talk” Starmer and Trump had was missing during Zelensky’s row.
The expert said: “So I think that kind of put Trump and Vance on the back foot. Because I think there’s a protocol to these processes. Really.”
SHOCK END
A fuming Trump later kicked Zelensky out of the White House after a scheduled press conference cancelled.
The pair also did not sign a long-awaited mineral deal – said to be worth up to $500billion.
The agreement centred on the joint development of Ukraine’s vast mineral resources, including oil and gas.
Kyiv had hoped the deal would improve relations with the Trump administration, bolster long-term security ties and draw the Ukraine war closer to an end.
