Did Donald Trump humiliate Elon Musk? POTUS was on 'full apha mode', Tesla boss stood like 'a schoolboy': Body language expert

Elon Musk, who stood with Donald Trump for most of his 2020 election campaign and during the first four months of his presidency, stood beside the US president on his last day as chief of US Department of Government Efficiency. With Musk's departure, many are speculating whether the two are still in good terms.

Body language expert Judy James, who analysed the Oval Office encounter, believes that Trump and Musk have grown distant and the Tesla boss was not comfortable standing next to the Republican, according to Daily Mail.

Trump sat behind the Resolute Desk in "full alpha mode" while Musk stood on the president's right side for around an hour like a "schoolboy called to the head's office for fighting in the playground".

Musk on Wednesday declared that his role at the DOGE came to an end and the same day, Musk slammed a spending bill backed by Trump. "I was, like, disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing,' Musk told CBS in an interview.

The body language expert said Musk was in "aggressive arousal" with his legs and chest splayed, arms tightened and necks rolling like a boxer after entering a ring. This, James said, was signal from Musk that "his personal power would undergo a rapid and emphatic re-boot now that he was no longer in Trump's employ".

She added that Musk was also stressed as he was seen removing his baseball cap to wipe his forehead and mouth, displaying a "very emphatic gesture of inner tension".

While reading from his written remarks, Trump called Musk as "one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced". The body language expert pointed out that Trump's reliance on a script "diluted any sense of emotion or coming from the heart" while praising Musk.

Musk at least thrice said he "will be a friend and advisor to the president" but Trump did not seem to agree to this. A one point, the president looked "non-committal, keeping his eyes down and holding a poker face expression," the Mail quoted James as saying.

Trump presented Musk with a ceremonial gold key to the White House. However, Trump told the media that he had givn out similar keys before and it was nothing special.

As he began to leave the Oval Office, Musk turned back to the president and the duo nodded at each other, James said, pointing out that there was no signs of fondness for each other, hinting at a lack of rapport.

This comes amid a New York Times report alleging that Musk took drugs like Ecstasy, ketamine, and psychedelic mushrooms during the 2024 election campaign trail. Musk's daily medication box, contained around 20 pills, including Adderall. Musk himself admitted to journalist Don Lemon in 2024 that he took ketamine in small doses every two weeks.

World