VLADIMIR Putin did not look “comfortable” as he twitched and sagged during his interview with Tucker Carlson, an expert has said.
Professor Erik Bucy, body language pro, told The Sun that the Russian despot appeared “emaciated” as he sagged during the surreal two-hour sit down.
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Bucy told The Sun that “Putin is not completely comfortable in his own skin”, pointing to his twitching feet, fidgety hands and sagging posture.
The two-hour interview this week with American TV anchor Tucker Carlson was Putin’s first with Western media since his bloody invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Vlad threatened to launch a third world war if US troops were sent to Ukraine, blamed former PM Boris Johnson for the conflict and bragged about Russia’s nuclear tech during the sit down.
Another body language expert claimed the tyrant appeared “dominant” throughout, asserting his superiority over Carlson through body language and eye contact.
READ MORE ON PUTIN’S INTERVIEW
But Bucy argues that the despot seemed sickly and weak sitting next to the comfortable American TV pundit.
Uncomfortable in his own skin
“Putin does not sit as comfortably as Carlson, nor does he show as
much bodily discipline, circling his feet at times perhaps out of nervousness or physical discomfort,” Bucy explained.
The Russian despot plants his feet on the ground like a “school child”, suggesting a “loss of flexibility in his legs”.
Professor Bucy even suggested the behaviour is indicative of Putin’s physical “limits”, as if he is “masking pain”.
It’s not the first time experts have speculated about the tyrant’s health after seeing him twitch and fidget during a meeting.
“Rather than dominate physically, Putin employs long discourses, windy answers, and drawn out narratives to signal control,” he said.
“But there are signs of physical discomfort.”
Footage from the interview also shows the tyrant sagging slightly in his chair as Bucy points out that he stays in his seat for the entire two hours – perhaps finding it challenging to move to a standing position.
Twitching & fidgeting
Right from the beginning of the interview, Putin can be seen fidgeting with his hands.
Professor Bucy, who works in Strategic Communication at Texas Tech University, pointed out that he “rubs his right wrist repeatedly for about 15 seconds” before taking off a cufflink.
The body language expert told The Sun: “World leaders do not typically adjust their clothing with the cameras on, so Putin must have felt significant irritation around his wrist to do this on camera, suggesting sensitive skin.”
And the mad despot looks to be twitching his legs and feet throughout the bizarre two-hour chat.
After about an hour, his foot rises off the floor and he has to use his hand to push it down.
Bucy said: “His left foot rises and he uses his hand to push down his left leg and foot at the knee, as if he couldn’t manage such movement without an extra push down.”
“This is an unusual form of extremity assistance that we don’t see in non-afflicted people; Carlson by contrast sits erect and still, gazing directly at Putin the entire time, and shows full control of his physical presence.
“In comparison to Putin, he is a portrait of health and expressive discipline.”
Emaciated and thin
Professor Bucy described Putin’s legs during the interview as “emaciated and thin”.
In snapshots his face also looks somewhat gaunt, with large bags under his eyes and some hollowing in his cheeks.
“Noticeably, we do not see Putin walk into the studio and sit down; nor do we see him stand up and leave,” Bucy goes on.
“Carlson and Putin appear in the frame already sitting down facing
each other when the interview begins. There’s no entrance, no striding towards each other, no greeting, no taking a seat.”
He explains that this set up will be a deliberate staging by Putin’s Kremlin cronies – perhaps to avoid speculation about his health.
“This portrayal indicates a kind of protective stage management by the Kremlin and can’t be unintentional.”
Going from standing to sitting, he also says, is a “considerable challenge if you are physically compromised in some way”.
Poor eye contact
Putin’s darting eyes and his interruption of Carlson throughout also shows a level of discomfort.
“Putin also searches around the room with his eyes while answering questions and not allowing Carlson to speak.”
Bucy told The Sun that while, at times, Putin manages direct eye contact, he is often seen “looking down, away from Carlson and avoiding eye contact”.
It means that not only is the Russian tyrant is evading eye contact, but a form of “direct communication”.
The dodging of direct eye contact could have worked as a “form of evasion” on behalf of the despot as he sat down to answer questions from Western media for the first time in two years.
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