Ivanka Trump’s Body Language Suggests ‘Power Struggle’ With Melania Trump, Expert Says

Body language expert Bruce Durham spoke to The Daily Express on Thursday about Ivanka Trump’s non-verbal gestures around her stepmother, Melania Trump, which he claimed indicates a “power struggle” between the pair.

According to Durham, Ivanka still “checks in” with Melania regularly and leans on her for support when she feels “outside of her comfort zone.” He also claimed that the first lady’s confidence has likely been a boon for Ivanka.

“It is observable that Melania has presented the same emotional baseline, body language gestures and posturing for a number of years, and these are present in any situation regardless of the audience,” he said.

Durham outlined the many characteristics that purportedly make up this presentation, including consistent eye contact, relaxed limbs, and a lack of protection over her thoracic area, the latter, which he suggested, indicates she does not feel threatened.

But Ivanka’s time in her political role has continued to grow her confidence, the expert speculated, along with her “need to be guided by Melania.”

“She may not want to acknowledge this due to any power struggle, but the body language is evident enough to offer this as an accurate observation.”

Durham’s claims of a power struggle are supported by an excerpt from Mary Jordan’s book, Art of her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump, that was published by The Washington Post.

According to the excerpt, Ivanka attempted to take control of the White House’ East Wing, which is traditionally used by the first lady, while her stepmother was in New York as part of a renegotiation of her prenuptial agreement with the president. When Melania finally moved into the space, she allegedly began to enforce boundaries on Ivanka, who reportedly took advantage of many of the perks in the area.

“Some said she treated the private residence as if it were her own home. Melania did not like it,” the excerpt read.

In another book, Melania and Me, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff claimed that her former friend used to privately refer to Ivanka disparagingly as “princess,” BBC reported.

As The Inquisitr reported, the first lady was also reportedly recorded complaining that her stepdaughter was competing with her for the president’s attention. Melania allegedly said that Ivanka acted as if she knew more about the operations of the White House than she did.

According to the reports on the recording, Melania was also angry about how overeager Ivanka was to be involved in the many facets of the president’s office.