Melania Trump drew significant attention as she and Donald Trump arrived at the United Nations on Tuesday. The couple briefly got stuck on an escalator, though the president still proceeded with his General Assembly speech.
Photos of Melania quickly went viral because of her distinctive smile, which has since been analyzed by an expert.
During Trump’s speech—already off to a rocky start due to a teleprompter failure—the White House expressed frustration over the escalator incident. According to Newsweek, officials even requested an investigation into whether the stoppage was intentional. The UN later said a safety mechanism had been accidentally triggered.
Trump remarked that if Melania “wasn’t in great shape, she would’ve fallen.” She stayed to listen to what became the longest presidential UN speech in history, but it was her composed demeanor and subtle smile that captured the spotlight.
Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail that Melania behaved very differently from her visibly irritated husband. She described the first lady’s expression as a “Sphynx-like” and “wry smile of agreement” as Trump complained about the malfunctioning escalator.