'Strong' Kamala Harris delivered 'one last' blow to Donald Trump in gutsy concession speech

Kamala Harris began her speech in a "strong and powerful" manner as she addressed supporters at Howard University in Washington DC - but it wasn't long before her disappointment started to show

Kamala Harris looked "strong and powerful" during her concession speech as she delivered "one last" crushing statement against the incoming President Donald Trump, according to a body language expert.

After it became clear that the Republican nominee would be returning to the Oval Office after his sweeping victory yesterday, Kamala addressed supporters at Howard University in Washington DC. As she came out to applause, she spoke as though still campaigning, but it wasn't long before she started showing signs of just how "gutted" she was over losing to Trump.

Body language expert Darren Stanton, speaking on behalf of Slingo, described the Democrat nominee as entering the room in a "strong and confident" manner before delivering a "completely authentic" address and freely displaying her shifting emotions.

Darren said Kamala reminded him of Barack Obama, saying that she builds up to a crescendo in the same way. But it isn't long before her "demeanour changes" as her attention turns to Trump. It's at this point that her voice begins crackings, and she pauses to swallow, which are signs of anxiety and that she is "internally is gutted by the defeat" but "masks her emotions well".

He explained: "Kamala entered the stage with a strong power walk and looks confident. She makes a gesture, a heart, which she does a lot. It’s a gesture that shows Kamala is a kinaestheic person and is good at going with her gut instinct. She’s very good at building a rapport with other people. She’s showing a genuine smile, we see those lines, crow’s feet at the side of her face, it’s fully engaged. Clearly, it’s not the happy occasion she wanted but in terms of her personal resilience, she is being completely authentic.

"She has good diction in her voice and good tone. Her voice isn’t breaking, showing she isn’t anxious or stressed in this moment. She’s giving everybody good eye contact, she’s using her finger to gesture - pointing is a form of non-verbal punctuation. The points are in line with what she’s saying and the rhythm of her delivery showing her non-verbal communication is congruent with her verbal communication. She’s also using plenty of open palm gestures, which show she’s speaking from the heart and isn’t afraid to go off script.

"As she gets deeper into the speech, her sadness shows. Her eyebrows come down and the emotion begins to kick in. Kamala responds very much to feelings and thoughts as a kinaesthetic person who responds to emotions quite easily. She’s very reminiscent of Barack Obama, the way that she speaks, the cadence, the tone, how she builds to a crescendo - it’s very similar to the former President.

"When subject changes to Trump, her voice cracks slightly, you’ll notice Kamala closes her eyes for a second, her eyebrows come together, and you’ll see an increase in her blink rate as the emotion kicks in. Here Kamala’s body language gives her away and shows she is very much putting on a brave face and internally, the defeat is gutting for her. She pauses more here and begins to swallow - signs of anxiety."

Towards the end of the speech, Kamala goes from being sweet and gentle to tough in a matter of moments as she insists the "fight is not over". "We start to see anger flash through as a microexpression. Kamala makes a chin thrust as she references policies she doesn’t agree with - her demeanor changes [...] . She wants to make one last statement to Trump and speak out against policies she doesn’t agree with. There is a notable emotional shift here, she gets sterner and more resolute."