I heard the Current Occupant's speech on the radio yesterday, and couldn't help noticing the thumping sound. I guess he was pounding the podium at the end of each sentence?
Was he just trying to keep Joe from nodding away?

I guess little things like that intrigue me. When I was much younger I noticed Nixon said 'uh' a lot when he was speaking and I would say 'uh' right after him and drive my mom crazy.