Expert reveals moment Mike Johnson 'breaks' during hot mic moment that caught JD Vance complaining about Trump

A body language expert has weighed in on the viral footage of US Vice President JD Vance and Congress speaker Mike Johnson poking fun at Donald Trump during a hot mic blunder earlier this week.

Spilling the tea to Tyla today (6 Mar), human behaviour expert Inbaal Honigman claimed there's one tell-tale sign in the conversation that insinuates Johnson suddenly realised their mistake, after which he 'breaks'.

For those out of the loop, Vance and Johnson seemingly has no idea their damning chit-chat was being amplified during an appearance in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, ahead of the Republican leader's debut presidential address to Congress.

Speaking to lawmakers for the first time since his January inauguration, Trump laid out his key objectives for his upcoming term, and provided a surprising update on America's role in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Before the 78-year-old had a chance to take to the podium, however, his VP, 40, and Congress speaker Mike Johnson were seen having a close-knit conversation whilst standing beside the microphone.

Vance and Johnson's 'oops' moment

Waiting for the father-of-five's arrival, the high-profile pair began savagely mocking Trump's notoriously-lengthy speech-making skills, seemingly having had no idea that they'd been mic'd up.

The recording - which subsequently went viral online - heard 40-year-old Vance tell Johnson: "By the way, I think the speech is going to be great," the recording hears Vance say of Trump.

"But I don't know how you do this for 90 minutes."

Johnson then replies: "The hardest thing was doing it during Biden."

The speaker then pushes the microphone downwards, appearing to have just realised that the device is switched on, before adding of Trump's Democratic predecessor: "When his speech was a stupid campaign speech."

Another potentially-scandalous moment saw Vance go on to tell Johnson, 'Man, I've got to be honest...', before leaning into the speaker's ear and obscuring the message he then conveyed.

A body language expert's opinion

The awkward mistake left many viewers of the footage wondering if Vance and Johnson's mistake was truly an accident, or whether they'd known the mic was switched on the entire time.

Thankfully, body language expert Inbaal Honigman has since told Tyla - on behalf of Casino.org - that it appears the duo really didn't know they were being recorded.

Discussing the VP's confidence at the beginning of the catch-up, she assessed: "Vance’s smile turns to a neutral work-smile when he says that the speech is going to be great, his eyes look directly at Johnson and his cheeks are no longer rounded.

"His hand sweeps beside him, punctuating how great, and long he believes the speech will be. Large, sweeping hand gestures relate to large concepts."

The expert added that, though Johnson doesn't seem to realise at this point that his mic is on, he is genuinely concerned about Trump's speech, compared to Vance, who is keeping things casual.

"Johnson swallows at that time, showing anxiety, he’s a little stressed about the speech," Honigman added. "Vance then mentions about the length of the speech, his body language unchanged from before.

"He’s still expressing how great he thinks the speech is going to be, the chat is still very on-script and professional.

"His arm is still sweeping beside him, showing that JD Vance is admiring Johnson’s staying power when it comes to monitoring lengthy speeches. There’s no secrecy from his end at all."

Breaking point

It is at this moment, however, that Honigman says Johnson 'breaks' - it dawning upon him what he and Vance may have done.

"His eyes glaze over as he forgets the room around him, the press and the recording equipment," she adds.

"He shakes his head from side to side in exasperation, exhaling in a way that shows that he’s tense.

"When he shares with Vance that it was hard for him to monitor Biden’s speeches, this is meant as confidential information between the two men.

"Johnson is seen first lowering his eyes so that his eyelids effectively shield him from everyone else. He then glances out into the room as if he’s making sure nobody is listening, and then his lower lip raises while he’s talking, forming a barrier behind which to hide his words.

"He’s sharing exclusive information with Vance which is not meant for everyone to hear. Johnson is speaking in secret.

"When Johnson mentions Biden, Vance is seen leaning back, listening intently, and his lips close over his smile.

"Vance is happy to listen to some hot tea, but he has nothing to contribute. He was fooling around, bantering with a colleague, and not expecting to hear gossip.

"When Johnson lowers the microphone to show that this is confidential, Vance’s brow furrows.

"Vance is perplexed by the lowering of the mic. Either Vance is confused trying to figure out what difference that microphone would make, in a room full of various recording equipment, or he’s unsure why Johnson is trying to have a secret conversation in a room full of people – but he definitely shows that the chat has gone to a different place to what he was expecting."