Donald and Melania Trump appeared together at the Thanksgiving Turkey Pardoning ceremony where the two were seen clasping their hands together. According to body language expert Judi James, who talked to The Irish Star, Melania appeared rather “tense” while attending the event.
James said that Melania had held Trump’s hand “tightly with her fingers curled up around it”, adding, “It’s hard to see who is supporting who as the clasped hands are raised and they go down the small flight of steps.”
Melania’s fashion was on point for the occasion. She was elegantly dressed in a deep brown leather bomber, a brown tweed skirt, a brown crewneck sweater paired with suede brown pumps. But even looking flawless, she couldn’t hide her nerves around the turkey, according to James.
Talking about the same, James said, “In what looks like a bid to affect an air of nonchalance as Trump showboats as he chats to the bird, Melania sweeps her leather jacket to one side and places one hand in her skirt pocket, but it’s an awkward-looking gesture suggesting she might be hiding some sliver of turkey-phobia here.”
A time-honored American tradition: pardoning America’s LUCKIEST birds.
These turkeys have officially been saved from the Thanksgiving table. 🦃🔥 pic.twitter.com/xtuNgnHJn8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 26, 2025
Trump, on the other hand, appeared to be in a good and even romantic mood. Moreover, he also ensured that he does not let the Thanksgiving event go by without him bashing his opponents. He talked about Governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker and as per James’ analysis, he was in “good humor” as he combined “plugs for his personal success as President and a pitch on behalf of the new patio he’s had built with a comedic pardon for Gobble the turkey.”
James further added that after the speech, Trump held “one hand out in a dramatic gesture to take her (Melania) hand again to walk to meet the turkey, hinting he’s in a romantic mood for Thanksgiving.” Melania is seen here dropping her hand with her husband as she “steps back looking wary as though slightly cautious about the huge bird.”
While Melania and Trump’s body language were not similar during the event, they did seem unusually touchy and kept holding hands throughout. Their marriage has also undergone their share of divorce and other nasty rumors though neither of them have ever addressed those speculations directly.
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Melania has also often been absent from certain major events during Trump’s second term at the White House, further fueling the rumors of feud between her and the President. However, the couple have never seemed to be bothered by such rumors and their appearance at the Thanksgiving event only proved that again.
The Turkey pardoning tradition at the White House goes back to Abraham Lincoln’s time with some folklore stating that the youngest son of the President had asked him to spare the turkey meant for the dinner table. Later, in 1989, the then President George H.W. Bush reinstated the tradition and since then it has remained a major part of the White House Thanksgiving celebrations.
