Hochul looked like a deer in the headlights during NY gov debate against Blakeman: body language expert

Gov.Kathy Hochul was defensive and dismissive while drawing fiery attacks from Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman during Tuesday’s New York gubernatorial debate, a human behavior and body language expert said.

While the incumbent looked like “a deer in headlights,” her GOP opponent gave an aggressive showing — repeatedly attacking Hochul over New York’s high energy costs, taxes, and rising antisemitism, Dr.Lillian Glass told The Post.

Blakeman at points even visibly displayed his “anger,” according to Glass, who holds doctorates in counseling psychology and communication disorders and has testified in court as an expert witness in the field.Glass provided her expert insight on some key moments during the debate: Hochul stumbled in her opening statement as she shot off her first of nearly 20 mentions of President Trump through the hour-long program.“And you’re going to hear a lot of… lot of… different opinions here this evening,” Hochul said, struggling to find her words — something Glass said she thinks exudes Hochul’s “defensiveness.”“It did not come off well, especially for somebody who is an incumbent governor,” Glass said, noting it showed a lack of preparation.“Not good.Not a good look,” she said.Hochul’s defensive posture extended to taking long pauses before answering questions, frequently smiling and looking down at the podium, and smiling as Blakeman talked.“There was also a lot of pause time where she had to take her time to manufacture an answer.

Whereas Blakeman just went right to it and had answers right back to her and had accusations that were very, very straightforward towards her,” Glass said, praising the Long Island pol’s swipes.“What’s happening is you’re seeing Kathy Hochul really embarrassed.She’s blinking a lot and she’s looking down, smiling.

She’s not handling this well,” she added.Overall, Blakeman just presented better, according to the expert.“There’s a closing off...