It was reported Monday that Melania and Donald Trump had a public spat over dinner last month at their Mar-a-Lago resort. This was revealed by a witness who had purportedly been present at the time, although it could not be made clear what the argument was about.
The public disagreement between the First Lady Melania and President Donald Trump took place over three weeks ago, on March 30. The two were supposedly having dinner at one table while First Daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, were doing the same at a nearby table in the same venue.
It was not clear what the row was all about, but it was said that Melania was "upset" and that the First husband and wife "had words" about "something."
However, Stephanie Grisham, spokesperson for Melania belied the report saying the purported account was "completely false." Rather, she challenged the source of the report to come out and share it on the record.
In the afternoon of the same day, President Trump had been mostly occupied with his favorite pastime, golf. During the same evening as the argument, he attended a fundraiser among his Republican associates.
The First Lady and the President often spend their weekends at their exclusive resort, mostly accompanied by their son, Barron. Just recently, the family of three was joined by Tiffany Trump, the President's and his former wife Marla Maples' daughter, for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll at the White House grounds.
The 144th Easter Egg Roll had featured a couple of new games for the crowd of 30,000 guests, Melania's "Be Best" Hopscotch as well as a musical eggs, which was patterned after the much loved musical chairs game. At the reading nook, the First Lady was the first reader for the children. She picked "The Wonderful Things You Will Be."
During the looked forward to traditional egg roll, the First couple blew the whistle to start the game and also stopped at the post card station.
However, while on the surface, things had gone on well at the White Easter Egg Roll, a nonverbal communication expert read some interesting cues from the First Lady Melania's and the President's body language.
It was suggested that last month's argument over dinner at Mar-a-Lago may have had a bearing on the conflicting nonverbal signals the presidential couple was exhibiting at the aforementioned White House event.
A senior instructor from the Washington D.C. Body Language Institute, Blanca Cobb, noticed that, while the first couple seemed to emanate some genuine enjoyment at the event, some contact between the Melania and Trump seemed stiff.
At some instances, they appeared to be ill at ease, accordingly, with each other belying the smiles the two seemed to have put on for the ongoing activities they had at hand.
Cobb referred to the first part of the event where both Melania and Trump had appeared to be truly enjoying the moment, waving to the crowd, relaxed and smiling freely. The President had opened the event and referred to his wife's efforts at having put the whole thing together as "fantastic."
But some things started to be evident to the watchful eye when a stilted interaction occurred as the two began walking down the steps toward the lawn. While the two seemed to have been holding hands, their expressions on their faces were incongruous with the gesture.
President Trump had lost the smile while Melania's gaze was anywhere but at the man beside her.
The body language expert inferred conflicting messages, saying that while "social protocol" may have demanded the two show some form of "togetherness" in holding hands without "actually" being "happy," there appeared to be no "interaction" between them.
There were other nonverbal instances which gave clues and spoke volumes that belied the "polite, social smile," more aptly, the "fake smile." This occurred during the time Melania was about to blow the whistle for the Easter Egg Roll.
Later on, when Trump held his wife by the arm, it was really a way for him to keep her "at a distance." This was basing on how the cloth of her dress was pulled somewhat at the upper arm where she was grasped.
Cobb explained that this kind of behavior was common between couples when, despite not being "happy," keep the smiles on for the sake of appearances. She went further on to say it was usually because people "don't want everyone" knowing their private "business."
