We saw JD Vance beat Tim Walz handily in the vice presidential candidate debate on Tuesday. It wasn’t even close, on substance or style.
There are already memes coming out of the debate featuring Vance’s inimitable side-eye. Walz is having to deal with the fallout of saying some really stupid things, including how he was a liar in his China comments because he was a “knucklehead” and that he was “friends with school shooters.”
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We’ve seen a variety of polls and focus group reactions to the debate and they all found Vance carried it. It also killed the “weird” narrative that the Democrats had been trying to push about Vance, particularly when so many commented on how “hot” he was and that he had great eyes, in addition to his intelligence and well-spoken responses.
We reported on one body language expert who found that Vance carried the day because he came across as authentic. He had “stability” and was the “captain of the ship.” Meanwhile, Walz came across as nervous, jittery, and the body language signs of lying.
READ MORE:
Focus Groups and Snap Polls About VP Debate Are Going to Make Dems Tear Their Hair Out
Body Language Expert: JD Vance Was ‘Captain of the Ship’
Vance Destroys the ‘Weird’ Lie, Now Dems Have a Bigger Problem – He’s ‘Hot’
But another body language analysis from an ex-FBI agent in Politico caught the attention of many on X.
The article noted that “Yes, Vance’s beard matters.”
One of the first bits of nonverbal communication to appear in the debate was on JD Vance’s face: his beard. As POLITICO Magazine has noted before, Vance is the first White House wannabe towear facial hair in 80 years. Our appearance is fundamental to our body language, and research indicates that voters see beards as (surprise, surprise) more masculine. That can be positive to some, reading as strength and competence. But to others, especially women, it can be negative, conveying aggression and opposition to feminist ideals.
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A beard can show opposition to feminist ideals? Apparently, this body language expert missed the swooning that many on X did over Vance’s look and his intelligence.
Meanwhile, “Walz’s wide eyes showed his passion.”
When Walz felt especially passionate about something, he’d open his eyes wide as saucers. Eye-popping can sometimes be a sign of surprise, but for Walz, it simply revealed his emotional intensity — like this moment during an exchange about abortion. The orbicularis oculi muscle, working in concert with the corrugator and frontalis muscles, contract to raise the eyebrows — a dynamic and emphatic facial motion that grabbed the viewer’s attention. Early humans would have made such facial gestures to communicate strong emotions, like “danger is close.” For Walz, it gave extra weight to his feelings and held our gaze.
The body language expert did find that Vance gave a positive hand gesture that conveyed confidence and Walz did a negative one by pointing to the audience.
However, that beard and eyes analysis got roundly mocked on X. I don’t think people were buying the take. Most people viewed Walz’s eyes as a sign he knew he was losing and/or he was panicked.
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