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‘I was quite alarmed’: Handwriting expert analyses Trump’s signature

US President Donald Trump holds up the executive order withdrawing the US from the TPP.

US President Donald Trump holds up the executive order withdrawing the US from the TPP. Photo: Getty

Since his inauguration, US President Donald Trump has sparked mass protests and spooked overseas onlookers with a few simple pen strokes.

While those executive orders have caused outrage in many quarters, it’s the jagged lines at the bottom of the page that have left handwriting experts alarmed.

The 45th President’s signature was thrown into the spotlight after he proudly displayed it to the cameras during a series of signings in the Oval Office, with some drawing comparisons to the lines of a heart rate monitor or a lie detector test.

Sydney handwriting expert Melissa Becker told The New Daily she was shocked when she first saw the billionaire’s autograph.

“I have to admit the first time I saw it, just on the news, I was quite alarmed,” said Ms Becker, who analysed Mr Trump’s signature for The New Daily.

The graphologist, who studied in New York at The New School for Social Research, said Mr Trump’s signature belonged to someone who “was really wanting to make an impression”, and noted that the lines formed a series of triangles.

Donald Trump's signature.

Donald Trump’s signature.

“He’s famous for Trump Tower, it’s like he’s presenting an image of someone who is literally a tower builder,” she said.

The way Mr Trump’s autograph went from letter to letter in an angular fashion also provided clues to his character, she said.

“He simplifies to the point where they are zig-zags to the exclusion of other connecting forms. This can be used by very intelligent people,” she said.

“It is also the favourite signature of very aggressive and, actually, very violent people. You can decide where you think he fits on the spectrum.”

Those angles – and a lack of loops – also pointed to another key takeaway from the New Yorker’s signature, according to Ms Becker.

“When you have slower loops at the bottom and rounded forms, that’s like an open hand. It’s considering other people. From that you get a sense of openness and generosity,” she said.

“He has this angular form, but it’s also squashed up. The thickness of it and the definiteness of it, it’s very cramped.

“There’s no empathy. It’s, ‘I’m going from place to place in this very big, consistent way and there’s no concern for anybody else’.

“I think you would have to say it’s pretty ruthless.”

Ms Becker said many politicians had “thready” handwriting, which meant “they empathise with you, even if it is just temporarily”.

“He doesn’t have that. The final backflick of the P, it’s quite anti-social,” Ms Becker said.

“It’s not like he’s trailing off or going towards the person, he’s pulling it back towards himself.

“The O in the Donald and the A, they are big circles but they’ve been filled in. That’s quite self-centred, really.”

Donald Trump signature

Donald Trump signs his name to an executive order last month. Photo: Getty

The new President has added his signature to a series of executive orders that have triggered fault lines in the US and around the world.

Those acts and orders have included appointing new officials to his cabinet, ditching the Trans Pacific Partnership and his controversial new immigration laws, with Mr Trump moving at a pace that has shocked observers.

Mr Trump’s signature may offer some insight into that approach, according to Ms Becker.

“There’s a massive amount of energy, but I’m not quite sure that he’s that focused,” she said.

“[But] looking at the body of the writing, he is organised. He will get things done.”

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