I think the posing is actually minor to the one that is the worst, which is his totally fake “Black Accent,” aka the “Martin Luther King” accent. That’s totally a put on. No one from Hawaii would talk like that. And the only other place he lived was in Indonesia, and of course no one from Indonesia speaks like that.
I’ve only heard him drop the accent once, which was part of a response he gave to a Hawaii reporter interviewing him in Hawaii before he became a heavy hitter candidate. He caught himself quickly though and reverted into his Black Accent. He actually has a typical “haole” white accent, which would be expected if you went to Punahou and all your friends were haole (white).
I find the Mussolini pose more disturbing. The black accent affectation is pandering, which I expect from politicians who think they can pull it off. It's like Hillary's hot sauce in her purse, or her saying "y'all".
The chin-in-the-air pose is different. It is so egotistical and off-putting to anyone who has seen Mussolini, that I can't see the strategic value in doing it.