Erika Kirk-JD Vance hug row: Body language expert makes massive revelation about VP's actions
Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, and Vice President JD Vance shared a hug at the Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi on October 29.
Vice President JD Vance shared a hug with Charlie Kirk's widow and Turning Point USA CEO, Erika Kirk, during the TPUSA event at the University of Mississippi, on October 29. The moment quickly went viral on social media and sparked buzz.
Many even romantically linked the two, despite Vance being married to Usha. However, a body language expert has now made a revelation about Vance's actions as per OK! Speaking to the publication, Mark Bowden explained what the VP's movements indicated.
Erika Kirk-JD Vance hug: What body language expert said
Bowden explained that Erika's head tilt when she and Vance met, which ‘can appear coquettish or flirtatious’ made it seem as though the mother of two had been ‘excitedly anticipating this moment.’
“Her hands are then outstretched high as she walks towards him. This gesture tends to display to an audience a high level of emotionality, and here, an intent to engage in a passionate, emotional embrace,” he told OK!.
According to Bowden, however, the VP's hands are ‘lower, coming out at around his hip height and aimed at her waist’, which he said was a more ‘controlling gesture’.
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Speaking about the hand behind the head, which had become one of the talking points, the expert revealed the ‘move to cradle his head and neck is highly significant’ as ‘the head and neck are extremely vulnerable areas.’ Bowden continued, “While this can be an intimate gesture, in this high-stakes public context, it functions as an attention-controlling move. By holding his head, she controls his line of sight and becomes the dominant actor in the embrace, a potential, or even subconscious, move to regain some control.”
Noting Vance's hand position during the hug, the expert said putting hands on ‘the small to middle of her back’ is a move ‘often reserved for more intimate relationships’, as per the publication. Bowden noted, “Placing hands here is simultaneously supportive yet also highly intimate — far more so than the shoulders. However, as her gesture becomes more dominant (the head hold), his intimate hand placement is quickly resolved, i.e. he moves his hands in such a way to resolve the embrace.”
As per Bowden, Vance responded to Erika's ‘controlling head hold’ with a ‘double tap’ on her back. “This is a predominantly male-to-male 'buddy' gesture in U.S. culture, its purpose is to non-verbally reframe an interaction. The double tap serves to break the intimacy as it signals, ‘this embrace is not romantic or sexual’,” Bowden said. The expert added that this had helped end the interaction in a ‘non-aggressive’ way.
He also flagged a ‘significant mismatch’ in the expectations about hierarchy, power, and intimacy. “JD Vance underlines the end of the embrace by moving her on to the side with that one lingering hand, then turning face on to the audience and holding up his hands in a stance that may appear reminiscent of a 'nothing to see here!' gesture,” Bowden said.
He continued that despite there being ‘romanticized’ cues, the way JD ended the embrace with the double tap showed he was ‘clearing away any notion of romantic involvement.’
