Fox News “body language expert” found possible meaning in Clinton's use of left hand to drink beer

Written by Lauren Auerbach

Published

On America's Newsroom, while discussing a video clip of Sen. Hillary Clinton drinking a beer on the campaign plane, Bill Hemmer asked Fox News' “body language expert” Tonya Reiman: "[I]s that an honest moment, a moment of levity?" Reiman replied: “You know, the only thing that struck me as odd is, she's holding the beer with her left hand, and she's a righty. And if you think about how you would normally take a sip, it's a little bit awkward to drink with your nondominant hand, unless you have a reason to be doing that.”

On the March 4 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, while discussing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton drinking a beer on the campaign plane, co-host Bill Hemmer asked Fox News' “body language expert” Tonya Reiman: "[I]s that an honest moment, a moment of levity?" Reiman replied: “You know, the only thing that struck me as odd is, she's holding the beer with her left hand and she's a righty. And if you think about how you would normally take a sip, it's a little bit awkward to drink with your nondominant hand, unless you have a reason to be doing that.” Hemmer then asked: “Well, what would that reason be, then?” Reiman answered: “It could be anything. Maybe she's really just holding that cup to hold that cup, you know. Maybe she wants to give the appearance of being light and easy.”

Appearing on the September 24, 2007, edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, Reiman asserted that Clinton exhibited “evil laughter” during a Fox News Sunday interview with host Chris Wallace. On the January 30, 2007, edition of The O'Reilly Factor, Reiman stated that “Hillary just look[ed] like a zombie” during part of President Bush's 2007 State of the Union address. Reiman then purported to analyze Clinton's body language during a January 28, 2007, speech in Davenport, Iowa, in which Clinton responded to a question by saying: “What, in my background, equips me to deal with evil and bad men?” Reiman said: “Watch how she sways back and forth. It's almost childlike, the way she moves back and forth.” Reiman then said that Clinton was in a “little-girl posture,” to which O'Reilly responded: “Right. 'I'm bad, I'm bad.' ”

From the March 4 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom:

HEMMER: All right, let's talk about Hillary Clinton. She did something on the campaign plane the other night, and our embedded producer, Aaron Bruns, brought this to us. She was drinking a beer in a red plastic cup when she went back to talk to reporters. Watch here and we'll talk about it.

[begin video clip]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Need a beer?

CLINTON: Got one. ... We're helping to get out the differences and raise some issues.

[laughter]

CLINTON: This is my favorite press avail of all time. I can't tell you -- it's been a long year.

[end video clip]

HEMMER: Is that a -- is that an honest moment, a moment of levity?

REIMAN: You know, the only thing that struck me as odd is, she's holding the beer with her left hand, and she's a righty. And if you think about how you would normally take a sip, it's a little bit awkward to drink with your nondominant hand, unless you have a reason to be doing that, you know?

HEMMER: Well, what would that reason be, then?

REIMAN: It could be anything. Maybe she's really just holding that cup to hold that cup, you know. Maybe she wants to give the appearance of being light and easy.

HEMMER: But isn't she the one who said we don't need a president we need to get a beer with, we've already been down that route? I think I remember hearing that.