2024 Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates
what their handwriting says about them
Note: The samples of Joe Biden and Donald Trump are from 2020. Any changes due to aging or health would have to be determined by my recent samples. This is the closest I could find. Kamala Harris’ sample is from2017. I could find only a signature JD Vance, and it is undated.
Joe Biden
This highly simplified, hasty handwriting shows a quick, impatient thinker who likes to get to the bottom line without a lot of frills. Are you old enough to remember Dragnet’s Joe Friday: “Just the facts, ma’am”? The changeable size of letters and bouncy quality of the writing suggest an emotional person who is flexible and able to deal with all kinds of people, making quick changes of direction as needed. His signature is congruent with the rest of his writing, plain and open, hiding nothing. What you see is what you get. The writing has a strong uphill movement, which is often a sign of optimism in one who tells himself, “just keep pushing, things will get better tomorrow.” Like Trump’s, Biden’s handwriting has remained consistent over a long period of time.
Kamala Harris
Vice-president Harris’ signature (noting that this is just her first name) is showy and elaborate, suggesting that her image is important to her. The final stroke extends outward in a long, straight movement, which tends to keep others at arm’s length. When we compare it to other writing, though, we find a capital I that looks like a large numeral two, and that is generally made by someone who puts themselves second–the job of a VP (which she was not at that time). The writing has large loops, has some sharp angles, and moves to the right. This all adds up to someone who, despite her need to protect herself, is an inclusive people person with a sharp, incisive mind.
Donald Trump
Having observed Donald Trump’s handwriting since the 1990s, I can say there has not been a great deal of change. Most of the time (although not in the handwriting I’ve used here–which I picked because of its recency) he uses a heavy felt tip pen and writes at a diagonal slant to the paper. His signature is profoundly different from the writing, which indicates someone whose private inner life is different from what he shows to the world. The squarish shape of the writing (not the signature) points to a strong need for security in someone who never felt secure, despite all the properties and monies he has amassed. The signature is sharp and aggressive, and looks like a fence. The final letter, ‘p’ bursts up, then plunges down like a knife, cutting through his name in a self-destructive manner. It would be impossible for him to back away from a power struggle because he insists on being the most important person in the room.
JD Vance
A signature on its own reveals mainly what the writer wants us to know about him. In this case, it is very little. The signature is extremely simplified and only partially legible. Not knowing the writer’s name, a reader would be hard pressed to guess what the last name was intended to be. The capitals are extremely large, which suggests self-confidence to the point of conceit. At the same time, the illegibility hides his true self. And until some more handwriting arises, that’s about all I can say about Mr. Vance.
Note: If on reading my thumbnail sketches of these handwriting, your inclination is to say, “well, that’s obvious, you see it on TV,” know this: 1. Handwriting tells the truth about the writer, and 2. I describe what I see in the writing I am analyzing, not the behavior I saw the writer engage in. My opinions are based on the limited samples of handwriting above. Of course, this reflects just a small part of each personality and is not intended to be an intensive analysis.
(p.s. As a non-US citizen, I don’t get a vote, so none of these candidates is likely to benefit from what I say.)