Her body language is telling the entire story. RETWEET IF YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

[riversedge]

Mrs. K is definitely unnerved by something. Have the family tossed into the political spotlight so much had to be tough. I wonder who made the decision to have the kids included so often.



Her body language is telling the entire story. RETWEET IF YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[hlthe2b]

1. She has the same look and expression that I have seen for many years on the face of women--

in my prior volunteer work with battered wives. Maybe it is coincidence, but maybe not....

His body language-- the callous manner of shoving past her, the placing of his hands on back of neck then firmly grasping shoulders, conveys control, and is clear dominance behavior. It conveys to her the need to "keep it together" with a not so subtle warning behind it, IMO. This was not a gentle hand on the shoulder nor a reassuring pat.

Her facial expressions convey just how much she "gets" the message. Given her decades-long work with GWB* admin/Republican politics-- and even prior, I find it hard to believe it is nervousness alone.

[Perseus]

29. I posted about that during the hearing

I also said that I wished for someone who knows how to read body language well to do a study of her because, and I am no expert, her look was that of a woman knowing her husband was lying, of someone scared. I dismiss my conclusion on it because as I said, I am no expert and may be biased, but nonetheless, she looks very unhappy.

Although I am not an expert, I do, most of the time, tend to read people well, I have done it all my life, but again, that doesn't make me qualified to make assessments. I hope someone on this board is an expert and can go ahead, analyze her body language and write his/her observations.

[barbtries]

41. there is a study of it on twitter

i just don't have time to locate it, but search for @DrGJackBrown ‏

she did not want to be there.

[DesertRat]

53. Thanks for the heads up about Dr. Jack Brown

I'm fascinated by body language and this is an good analysis.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[elleng]

78. Thanks.

[barbtries]

89. you're welcome

i just happened upon it.

i somehow feel quite strongly that she is not in a happy marriage, and more particularly that she knows he did everything he's accused of and no doubt much more. also would not be surprised if it turned out he's still a heavy drinker and an abusive husband/father.

[DesertRat]

91. You're probably right

I also picked up that she and the eldest daughter didn't want anything to do with trump.

[Separation]

98. Out of everything else

That's what I picked up on. His right-hand fingers, they were all splayed out. As someone who has had to take an Oath of Enlistment, and as someone who took those words very true to heart. His hands bothered me when he took his Oath, I couldn't quite put my finger on it, and now I know why. Thank you!

[DesertRat]

99. Wasn't that twitter thread interesting?

I never would have thought about the hands/fingers, now I'll always notice it. And, thank you for your service.

[SunSeeker]

33. In our 27 years of marriage, my husband never grabbed me by the shoulder like that.

Yes, I agree, that move is a total dominance thing.

[George II]

47. Yep, the classic facial demeanor of an abused wife, if not physically at least emotionally.

My wife noticed that, too (no, she's not battered!!!)

[democratisphere]

2. Whoa!

Mrs. K's facial expressions tell the whole story. Wonder how many times she has had his hand over her mouth?!

[brush]

58. Yeah, there are moments in that clip where she looks at him almost for approval...

as if she pleading to him with her eyes to see if she's doing it right.

There's fear there IMO.

[democratisphere]

70. Agreed.

I can only imagine blackout brett's demeanor when he has had his beers.

[cwydro]

3. Omg, that is not a happy woman. nt

[Scarsdale]

50. I am positive that

I had that same expression when my alcoholic husband would get mad, punch a hole in the wall and sneer in my face "Next time THAT will be your face" I was terrified of him, and so were the kids. No place to go, no family in this country. She has family, and the means to leave. I can not sympathize with her for staying.

[kstewart33]

69. Are you safe now? nt

[Scarsdale]

83. Yes. This was many years ago.

When my older son said "Mom, next time he hits me, I am going to hit back" the fear in his voice tore at my heart. I told my husband he had to chose between his drinking and his family, he could not have both. He packed and left. I had to go to the district atty. to get child support. Since he had a military pension, I was assured my child support would be taken out BEFORE he got his check. It was rough going for several years, but I had a decent job so we managed. Years later I re-married a DECENT man. They are both gone now, but only the second one is missed. My younger son told me he often wished his step father had been his REAL father. We all did, he was a real man. He even told the kids he loved them, something their father never, ever did.

[kstewart33]

92. So good to know.

I am relieved that you were rid of that monster years ago and had the good fortune to have a fine husband who truly loved your children.

[Maru Kitteh]

88. Please don't disparage abused women for decisions they make under the yoke

of continuing abuse. Abusers are experts at the precise manipulations needed to maintain their strangulation hold upon their targets. You don't know what he holds to keep her invisible chains in place. He and abusers like him count on that lack of knowledge. It serves their purpose when you blame women. You participate in his abuse when you blame her.

[DesertRat]

96. So well said. I couldn't agree more

Also, welcome back!

[tblue37]

4. Forced smiles and hostage eyes. Notice how he shoves her out of the way to reach his

daughter for a hug, with the same shoving move Trump used to push another head of state out of the way when Trump wanted to be in front for the cameras.

[tblue37]

6. Also in that video clip, after kissing him, as she must do, her smile falls exactly as Melania's did

during the Inauguration as soon as Trump turned back around.

[democratisphere]

12. Yes. I saw that move.

blackout brett is everything Dr. Ford said he was; a monster!

[Achilleaze]

5. Grimace. Submission. Diss-Spirited.

Sad. republican. story.

[Sancho]

7. Remember, she was Bush's assistant, so she is not "scared" of the White House publicity

...when you put this together with her face during the video of his tirade at the hearing, she is hiding something, and very unhappy.

Kavirginaugh has several reports of being a predator...we saw one at the hearing, and one reported at Yale. There are also a couple of anonymous reports that never had names. My guess is that sooner or later, the witnesses and reports will catch up. Just like Weinstein, Cosby, etc., these guys have simply gotten away with it.

The wife knows, and she is troubled.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

65. Really? I don't think she ever got this much attention until now.

I'm sure this is different for her.

[Grasswire2]

74. She was George W. Bush's personal assistant in the White House. nt

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

76. I don't think personal assistants do much time in front of cameras

from what I've seen. That no one has really heard of her until now means she wasn't in the public eye all that much then. I think that is more of a behind the scenes kind of job.

[Sancho]

85. She had LOTS of time in front of cameras...Bush's media director..

Estes Kavanaugh served as an assistant to George W. Bush from 1996 through 1999, during his tenure as Governor of Texas and his presidential campaign in 2000. When Bush became President in January 2001, Estes Kavanaugh took the position of Personal Secretary to the President; she served in that position through 2004.[1]

Estes Kavanaugh was Director of Special Projects at the George W. Bush Presidential Foundation from 2005 to 2009, and then Media Relations Coordinator at the George W. Bush Presidential Center from 2009 to 2010.[2]

As of 2018, Kavanaugh serves as town manager of the village of Chevy Chase Section Five, Maryland, a job she does mostly from home; her annual salary is $66,000.[3] She has held the appointed position since at least 2016.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Estes_Kavanaugh

[Samspadesnark]

86. And in Texas, before Bush became president.

Meaning, this is a woman with political connections, who did not just fall off a turnip truck. She had to have poise, savvy, know-how, and self-confidence to get that job. She used to have a twinkle in her eyes (before marrying Kav; check old photos); the twinkle is completely gone now. Her self-confidence seems to be quite modest as well. Narcissists know how to choose their targets; they are very skilled at this, even if they lack skills in other emotional areas.

[Cattledog]

8. Help!

[Baitball Blogger]

9. So freaky the way she was handled from Kavanaugh to Trump, back to Kavanaugh.

Bruttish men posing their little woman prop. Sickening.

[DinahMoeHum]

10. Submissive. Nothing more than a trophy. . .

. . .to an abuser.

[madaboutharry]

11. She also jerked her shoulder to get him to take his hand away.

It does look like things aren't too harmonious in the Kavanaugh home.

[JoeOtterbein]

13. Sad. n/t

[pazzyanne]

14. Not just her body language, but her facial expressions.

And yes she reminds me of Melania on inauguration day 2016, too. I think Mrs Kavanaugh's unspoken communication was even more telling. I feel sorry for that poor woman and her children. Not because of what happened at the hearing, but that she is married to that man. There should be abuse counseling in her future for the sake of her and the girls. Just my opinion.

[smirkymonkey]

23. I noticed that too. I watched it with the sound off and her face just told the whole story.

She looked fearful, resigned, unhappy, submissive. This is not a woman who loves her husband. She is there out of duty. His gestures were forceful, abrupt, domineering. He is not a loving husband - that is very obvious. Something is very wrong with this marriage. I hope she is able to leave him or get some kind of help. I hope he doesn't take out his sickness on his children as well.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

28. Makes me wonder....

how many women in Repug households are totally miserable as their partners/spouses parrot the right-wing dogma every day. And, they're forced to watch it on TV and/or listen to it on the radio.

I think a lot of women exposed to this vitriol in their heart of hearts know this shit ain't right...... ......

[llmart]

56. That was me about a decade ago...

until I was brutally honest with myself and said, "I can't live with this negativity any longer, it's not who I am or what I stand for and I have to save myself."

Most difficult decision I ever had to make and I have exactly zero regrets.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

64. Thanks for that reflection, llmart - I'm glad for you & we need to hear more of that.

I'm constantly amazed at the dozens of miserable relationships I've witnessed (including some of my own) in my 70 years. It seems built into our genetics, perhaps from ancient fight for survival periods.

It also may be that the effects forced on children could be even worse, as they are in their tender years. Has to be psychologically damaging to everyone around that atmosphere.

The right-wing media people such as Rupert Murdoch that have pushed this mean, selfish, self-centered cancer into our society should be imprisoned in my view considering the misery they have wrought.

........

[pazzyanne]

87. All bets are off on that.

Hope for their sake I am wrong.

[PearliePoo2]

15. I also see the youngest daughter constantly looking up at her mom.

It's like she's checking to see if mom's OK. She's monitoring mom's expression at all times.

Those kids have seen some stuff. I would bet on it.

[raccoon]

37. It would be nice if we could time travel several decades into the future

It would be nice if we could time travel several decades into the future, or get an intertemporal library loan.

And read a book by one of the daughters about what their home life was like when they were kids.

[PearliePoo2]

81. Yes, I see a sad ending to this entire Kavanaugh debacle.

This will not end well for anyone.

[violetpastille]

54. Did he even acknowledge the eldest?

He was making such a beeline for the youngest one. My most generous interpretation is that is because she is considered most "photo-op" worthy. But even that's extremely messed up.

[PearliePoo2]

82. I didn't see any interaction with the oldest by him.

But she wasn't in the screen for much of that video except towards the end.

From the angle it was shot at, I really couldn't see if he was making any eye contact with the oldest.

[Grasswire2]

75. YES I saw that, too.

The girl watches her mother. Very sad. She has to keep some family lies and secrets.

[PearliePoo2]

84. I think the little girl constantly checks to see if mom is smiling.

If she is, then the daughter feels safe and for the moment, everything is good.

Maybe that's why she checks so often. Things can change quickly after a six pack of brewskis.


As far as monitoring your mother, I just thought about something I hadn't thought about in a long time.

My mother was naturally well-natured. I rarely saw her angry or moody. Most of the time she always had a smile on her face.

When I was a kid, I remember coming home from school and my mom would be in the kitchen doing stuff.
Many times she would be humming or singing softly while she was preparing dinner. (She also had a really nice voice).

When I heard her quietly singing, it actually made my heart soar and brought a smile to my face.
It told me all was GOOD in my little world!

People! Your kids are watching!

[elleng]

79. Yes. That's the saddest part, imo.

[bluestarone]

16. What i see is

She's afraid to be herself! He owns her!! No doubt in my mind!!

[Loki Liesmith]

17. This is really dumb

[Polly Hennessey]

18. She looks a little frightened, a little sad,

a little confused. I am amazed at how they put their hands on her. Pushing her back and forth. Looks like she is pulling away from both men when they try to touch her. She seems so meek and mild. If my husband had just been sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice, I would be ecstatic - beaming and totally delighted. The young girls did not seem too happy either.

[Cosmocat]

19. People want to see something that is not there

Watched her during the hearings and she is 100% on board with conservatism, that he is some poor victim, and that we are scum of the earth, spawn of satan, scumbag liberals who are going to rot in hell, and what her incredible husband has done during his life has been the work of god, and is truly righteous.

[RobinA]

80. I Agree

If that were me I'd be more wooden and perfunctory than she is, I'd be so damn nervous. I see a nervous woman. Not that there aren't issues, who knows, but I just see someone in the DC limelight who isn't used to being there. Or who will never get used to being there.

[aikoaiko]

20. She's probably worried about people dissecting her mannerisms on the internet.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

21. She looks like she's cowering and I saw her raise her eyebrows.

She does look kind of scared of him. Can't say I blame her.

[radical noodle]

22. She looks the way I did when

I was married to a mean drunk.

[Meowmee]

24. She looks

Miserable, very unhappy and like she wants to get out of there. He pushes her aside to hug their daughter, why? Then she flinches when he touches her shoulder etc. body language doesn't lie.

[gibraltar72]

25. I thought I saw him use his thumb to put pressure on her lower neck

when he grabbed her. Just enough to say remember I'm the boss.

[LibDemAlways]

26. She's clearly annoyed by the repititious

pats on the back. Toward the end of the clip, she arches her back slightly as if to say "Enough already. Quit touching me." She's keeping her distance, too. The callous manner in which he pushes her aside is, I think, the most telling moment though. He's one cold s.o.b.

[catbyte]

27. I'm sorry, but I just can't muster up any compassion or sympathy for yet another rich

Republican woman enabling the monster she married. She knows what he is, just like Melania knows, ad nauseum. The only ones I feel sorry for are her poor daughters who are most likely being damaged by seeing the sick, pathological relationship their parents appear to have. They are probably learning the same self-loathing, self-destructive behaviors required to live with such sickness. It's child abuse.

[MrScorpio]

30. Well, at least she can now afford a better wine cellar

[Jrsygrl96]

31. As a survivor

of domestic abuse, I think hands down she is a victim of domestic violence. Her sad face at the hearings was the pain of listening to someone else who lived through what she does everyday. Her reaction to attacks on her husband should have been anger, not despair.

[jalan48]

32. I could care less. That she's a Republican who supports Trump is all that I need to know about her.

Doesn't that make her a "Deplorable?"

[ewagner]

34. Her facial expressions during his tirade

at the hearing...her expression never changed...I got the feeling this was a very "practiced" response...something she is quite accustomed to doing.

I know she is a City Manager/Administrator and is used to dealing with the public...perhaps this is where she learned the "poker face" routine..or maybe in labor negotiations where you have to keep a stone face..

At any rate, I knew from my experiences that this was a practiced pose...don't give any body language signals to people who might pick up on them...don't show emotion whatever you do...

I tend to believe something is amiss....these pictures from the tweet convince me.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

35. That could just be her being nervous about making a public appearance

A lot of people get weird about public appearances.

[kstewart33]

40. No, his behavior toward her is just as telling.

She avoids looking at him and when she does, she's not smiling.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

60. To me that's not enough evidence to make any assumptions

I don't know these people to know their typical behavior to make any comparisons. She could be just annoyed with him that she has to make public appearances for him. It could be any number of things. Even if you know these people well, there's still no telling what's going on inside their heads or going on between the two of them. You only know what people are willing to tell you about themselves.

[grantcart]

66. +1

[Politicub]

36. Chills me to the bone

How he pushes her out of the way. How he slaps her on the back. Her sad eyes.

Kavanaugh is a monster.

[WeekiWater]

38. That looks very uncomfortable.

It's not the facial expression for me. It's a combination of the facial expression along with her seeming to clearly want to be between he and his daughters, to the point he had to push her back to get at them. Her natural instinct shouldn't be to be a block between them, yet it is. That only becomes instinct if there is concern.

[R B Garr]

39. She looks like she has zero confidence in him.

Along with the other signs of submission and anxiety, I saw her wince at a few words spoken about his abilities. She knows he is not there for abilities and he has been exposed.

[zentrum]

42. Agree, there's something Wrong. But...

...what may be miserable and frightening for her is that she and the daughters are also receiving hate and threats.

I can't believe he's not a domineering and probably violent husband but she may be afraid of doing anything that inflames this situation.

I googled, "Kavanaugh family+threats" and there were lots of MSM posts.

Here's one from CNN before the hearings started, but I can't believe it's gotten a lot better.

Kavanaugh's wife Ashley is the town manager of the area of Chevy Chase, Maryland, where they live. She has also been harassed, receiving multiple graphic emails from her husband's critics since he was accused of assault. In one email received Tuesday, an Internet user wrote "Hi Ashley" in the subject line.
"My condolences to you for being married to a rapist. Although you probably deserve it," the person wrote in an email obtained by CNN.
Another message sent Wednesday had the subject line, "F*** YOU AND YOUR RAPIST HUSBAND."

Hard to reliably read what's going on with her.

[7962]

45. Your post means a lot more than the tweets in the OP

Now a lot of folks will slam you for posting about the threats to them, but the fact is they happened. There are bad actors on BOTH SIDES and refusing to acknowledge it is dangerous.

[zentrum]

55. Thanks for that. Yes, it's true

….about the slams. Thought about that.

I just don't want to live in La-la land in an echo chamber of mutual reassurance. Times are too dire to not have accurate reads. I too hope she exposes him in some way—and I know she knows about him—but her level of discomfort could have several causes.

I'm also mad at any woman or ally on "our side" who would threaten her. Anger is okay. But no fear mongering another woman. Anyway, thanks again.

[FakeNoose]

90. Ashley is standing as a barrier between Cheeto and her daughters

That's what I see, she's nervously looking over her shoulder at Cheeto. And she's making sure he doesn't get any closer to her daughters. She's definitely nervous but I think it's about Cheeto, not her husband.

Luckily for Ashley and the girls, they won't be required to socialize or be seen in public with Cheeto very often. This may be the only time, before he gets thrown on the dustpile of history.

[Pepsidog]

43. She looks scared to death, cowering. Probably many times in his drunken stupor she had to lock

herself and children in bathroom for safety. This is a bad guy. Every ounce of him says he is a bad guy.

[7962]

44. And down the hole we go.

With all the ACTUAL issues to deal with its silly to start looking for things that we just WANT to see. Everyones an expert on all things.

I heard this shit for 8 yrs when president Obama was in office.

[njhoneybadger]

52. + 1000 this is nuts

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

63. Right, I think people are just seeing what they want to see. n/t

[Samspadesnark]

46. This video screams to me

that this is a complete sham of a relationship. His eyes do not fully look at her, and are in a dead stare when he turns toward her; she clearly stops smiling several times, almost gritting her teeth for the cameras. The older daughter's body language has always been extremely telling to me. At the very least, his wife and older daughter know exactly who he is, and are under a cloud of threats and bullying directed by him should they ever reveal truth to anyone. No way do people conduct themselves in public in drunk, angry rages, and then turn all soft and sweet once they get home. No, they are far worse at home. This is a highly dysfunctional family, all living in subservience to the patriarch narcissist. The question remains whether her Catholic beliefs, fear of him, fear of family (including her in-laws), and fear of social and professional peer disapproval are deep enough to prevent her from seeking a divorce.

[George II]

48. That photograph is from the mock swearing in a few days ago. Go back to the hearing two weeks ago.

She shows it throughout the hearing, especially during Kavanaugh's 40-minute opening statement.

She's not a happy woman (nor is Melania).

[OMGWTF]

71. And poor, poor Melanie is the most bullied person evah!

[erpowers]

95. Yes

I feel the same way about the hearing. She looked pissed. Maybe she was just angry that he put his judgeship in jeopardy by not being able to contain his emotions. However, I took her angry look to mean that she was not happy in her marriage and she knew everything he was saying was a lie.

[jaxind]

49. Princess Diana

She looks like how Princess Diana used to look when standing next to to Prince Charles during interviews while they were married! And we know how that marriage went!

[DesertRat]

51. Oh wow

That was very uncomfortable to watch.

[DFW]

57. She is silently screaming

"I want to be ANYWHERE but here!!!!"

It is rare that I get a message in body language THAT loud and clear, but that WAS loud and clear.

[erpowers]

59. Not A Loving Couple

She looked like she did not want to be around him and that she did not want him to touch her. The hug at the beginning seemed to be really weak. At times it seemed like she did not want him to touch her. At times it seemed like they were more like a team than a couple.

[karin_sj]

61. Very obvious to me that she is afraid of him

What stood out to me the most was the very forced smile that didn't reach her eyes, and how her eyes kept darting to him in a nervous way. There is a lot more to this relationship behind the scenes.

[Soxfan58]

62. She could be afraid for her daughter

Trump is standing right behind her.

[Ilsa]

67. I think she is just tired.

Maybe tired of the attention. Maybe tired because they had argued over his past. She doesn't look like someone who enjoys the limelight.

[Kablooie]

68. I'll bet he's threatened to kill her if she tries to divorce him.

She's trapped and will never be able to escape now.

An ideal conservative marriage.
She's a subservient slave and he's a total bully.

[UT_democrat]

72. The Classic Rapepublican Wife Face

They have no sense of identity or self and have allowed themselves to be kowtowed into being subservient. Its disgusting and sad and I don't understand it. I especially see it here in UT with the LDS/Rapepublican connection.

[Javaman]

73. you can see her skin crawling from here. nt

[Laffy Kat]

77. Looks like she hates him to me. nt

[Cha]

93. And, melania being Bullied by the World's Biggest Bully

Link to tweet

[melman]

94. Please

She's a right wing asshole just like he is.

[fescuerescue]

97. Clips like these are like a Rorshach test

what you see is more telling of yourself, than the 15 seconds of video.