Joe Biden 'bewildered' as he urges Americans to 'bring down the temperature' after Trump's win
Concerns were raised earlier this year whether Joe Biden was fit for office and a disastrous debate against Donald Trump did nothing to alleviate people fears about his capabilities
Outgoing US President Joe Biden appeared "bewildered" as he urged unity following Donald Trump's stunning election victory, a body language expert has revealed.
Speaking today at the White House Rose Garden, Biden said Americans deserved a "peaceful" transition after Trump defeated his Democrat rival Kamala Harris on Tuesday. Biden had been the original choice to take on the now President elect but a shockingly poor debate performance in June set the stage for Harris to takeover the ticket.
He said: "I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory, and I assured him that I'd direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That's what the American people deserve."
Biden's reference to an orderly transition of power could be seen as a dig at Trump who contested the result of the 2020 Presidential Election. Trump has repeatedly made baseless claims the 2020 election was somehow stolen but legal efforts to challenge the result have failed on numerous occasions.
"I know for some people it is a time for victory, to state the obvious. For others, it’s a time of loss," Biden continued. “Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other, we accept the choice the country made. You can’t love your country only when you win."
Top body language expert Darren Stanton analysed the 81-year-old's speech addressing the win, insisting it was a "textbook" address that "lacked passion." Stanton, speaking on behalf of Spin Genie, said Biden appeared "stoic" but also "distracted" during the address.
He also said the outgoing US President held himself well despite appearing distracted at times. “There seems to be a lot of apathy when Joe Biden was speaking," he said.
"Looking at his staff, the crowd, there wasn’t a lot of applause. When Biden came on stage, I think people were expecting him to make some mistakes, however, he did carry himself quite well. In terms of body language, he didn’t give too much away. He’s quite stoic because of his natural posture and his age, he tends to stand very still."
Biden did go off on tangents during his delivery, Stanton said and that he was viewed as a somewhat odd character. He continued: "He wasn’t flashing any microexpressions of contempt or anger, he carried himself with dignity. He congratulated Trump and nodded to an ‘easy’ transition of power.
"As usual he appeared to go off course during his speech, suggesting at times he felt distracted but overall there were no gestures of him being nervous or feelings of frustration. It was a textbook Biden speech, with substance lacking. On this occasion, Biden kept his feelings towards Trump muted and kept things professional, refraining from making digs as he has previously done where he’s otherwise been quite vocal about his former opponent.
"Biden is quite a unique or odd character. Crowds find it difficult to resonate with him. Non-verbally what we saw from Biden was a lacklustre performance, he didn’t deliver his address with passion and he didn’t attempt to motivate the crowd, seeming ever so slightly bewildered while centre stage.”