The internet lit up this week after comedian and Trump supporter Adam Carolla posted a tongue-in-cheek comparison that turned into a viral debate about power, posture, and masculinity.
Carolla took to X and uploaded three side-by-side photos of President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama, and California Governor Gavin Newsom — each man seated in dramatically different ways.
In the photos, both Obama and Newsom sat with their legs neatly crossed, their hands folded politely. Trump, by contrast, was leaning back in his chair, knees spread wide — a classic “manspread” stance that immediately sparked commentary.
Carolla’s caption was simple but cutting. The implication was obvious: posture speaks volumes, and the contrast between Trump’s broad-shouldered sprawl and the Democrats’ tidy leg-crossing said more about strength and confidence than a thousand policy speeches.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., even reposted Carolla’s image in a since-expired Instagram story — and thousands of supporters piled on to agree with the sentiment.
“The way Obama crosses his legs tells you everything you need to know about him,” one commenter wrote.
Another chimed in, “You never caught my father crossing his leg… It was an impossibility. They don’t make them like that anymore.”
For many Trump fans, the photo mash-up wasn’t just about body language — it was symbolic of the cultural divide that defines modern politics. “Trump 2.0 is the return of masculinity in our feminized culture,” one user declared, echoing the broader “strong-leader” narrative that has fueled Trump’s popularity since 2016.
Others took a more personal tone: “I don’t know a single man who sits with his legs crossed,” another supporter wrote.
Even outside political circles, experts have long said that posture and body language can communicate power and competence. According to a Stanford University professor, as much as 55 percent of how people perceive confidence and authority comes from nonverbal cues — not words.
A report from Husson University backs it up, claiming that confident individuals “take up more space” and that an open, commanding stance makes people appear more dominant and trustworthy.
Carolla’s post sparked a flood of follow-ups and memes, with some Trump critics replying with older photos of the former president sitting cross-legged during meetings. But that didn’t stop conservatives from running with the comparison, many framing it as a metaphor for political strength versus image-conscious fragility.
“Body language doesn’t lie,” one viral comment read. “You can tell who’s in charge and who’s just pretending to be.”
Meanwhile, liberals were quick to mock the discussion itself. Several progressives pointed out that the term “manspreading” — first coined as a social critique of men taking up too much space in public — wasn’t meant to be a compliment. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the act of a man spreading his legs to intrude on the space of others.”
Critics argued that Carolla’s comparison was juvenile, and some insisted that leg-crossing has nothing to do with gender or strength. Others, however, pointed out that cultural signals are powerful — and that such visual differences often feed into how voters subconsciously view political figures.
Still, Trump supporters had the last laugh. For them, the side-by-side snapshot summed up the broader contrast they see between their candidate and his opponents: Trump, the unapologetic alpha who takes up the room, versus Obama and Newsom, the carefully groomed elites obsessed with appearances.
As one Trump voter put it: “Some people sit like they’re afraid of being seen. Trump sits like he owns the place.”
Whatever your take, the viral post proved one thing — even something as mundane as how a president sits can ignite a culture war in 2025 America.
