The Second Unfortunate ex-Mrs Harris sent me last Friday the viral video of Dr. Deborah Birx blinking and thinking in mortification at Trump's disinfectant and light treatment for COVID-19. I was not impressed. I responded that Birx should have immediately gotten up from her seat and debunked the quackery. I remembered the reaction to Dr. Anthony Fauci caught apparently trying to suppress a grin and rubbing his forehead at the nonsense when Trump referred to the "deep state" at the State Department--just as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had stepped away from the microphone. Fauci was called on that body language by White House staffers and was able to plausibly deny that he considered Trump a buffoon by claiming that he had been feeling unwell and was sucking on a throat lozenge. Dr Fauci diplomatically pushed back on Trump's nonsense but it was not diplomatic enough for Trump's protectors in the White House or in the propaganda media. As Fauci said to Maureen Dowd, "What am I going to do, push him off the stage?" Yes, something close to that. For science and scientists to have credibility scientists must correct pseudoscience in real time. No matter who is peddling it. Fauci has been seen little since. Replaced at the now discontinued daily coronavirus briefings by Dr. Birx. Trump likes Birx; considers her "elegant."
Trump likes Dr. Birx for another reason: she flatters him. She does not correct him; she does not hold him accountable. She has praised his attention to detail in the coronavirus task force meetings even as she excuses his Light-&-Lysol suggestions with his non-participation and inattention in the task force meetings. He just got hit with the information on light before stepping on stage, she excused. He was processing. Out loud. On television. To the nation.
On Saturday the Second Unfortunate and I exchanged text messages about Kellyanne Conway. The exchange began with a link she sent me to an ad produced by the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group co-founded by Kellyanne's husband George. It was a very good ad and I told the ex-Mrs. it was very good and added "Howja like to be a fly on the wall in that house hooo doggie." She replied, "I always think about that...Something insider her is going on."
Peut-être some unwanted sublimation addled my brain for I processed "insider" as "inside her" and directly went directly. "OHHH! Wait a MINUTE! You think Trumpie and Kellyanne are...playing doctor??? I had NEVER thought about that..." The ex-Mrs immediately shot that down, "No not that." She offered alternatively that Kellyanne "must be super indispensable or knows too much." That Kellyanne "knows too much" seemed to me preposterous. What more is there to know about Trump that can be damaging over and above what we already know? "Super indispensable" again touched my brain on that spot as any mention of numbers touched Mrs Smallweed to go off on money. Trump is a cuckold. Melanoma does not give him sex. Sex seems super indispensable to Trump, ergo, Kellyanne is super indispensable as a sexual outlet. No, rejoined the Unfortunate. Me: "It may just be trust, Trump trusts her."
I then tried to focus on the subject solely from Kellyanne's perspective. Forget why Trump finds her super indispensable, why does Kellyanne find Trump super indispensable? This cannot be good for the Conway marriage. Why would Kellyanne stand so loyally by Trump's side at the cost of damage to her marriage? "I've NO idea," the Second Unfortunate. The exchange then petered out as text exchanges do. In the end my ex had convinced me that whatever it was it was not sex.
Women (generalizations incoming) can be fiercely loyal to and protective of, men, even "a pig of a man" like Trump. Hillary Clinton. Sometimes not their husbands though. Their sons? Yes. Sometimes. Sometimes not. Moreso than husbands? I think so. The mothering instinct? Yes, women have that. The daughter-father bond? Ivanka Trump. I would generalize that the daughter-father bond is more often (not always) stronger than the wife-husband bond. Is that what is going on in the Kellyanne-Trump relationship? Trump is old enough to be Kellyanne's father, but Kellyanne is 53. I don't see that from either's perspective. Obviously not in the Birx-Trump relationship. Do women, generally, have a more intense need to be "super indispensable" than do men? I don't know. Stockholm Syndrome? There certainly is some of that with Trump's cult.
I ended my own ruminations on that string of misogynistic maybes and maybe nots.
Then yesterday I realized that there was another instantiation of this constellation of speculations, Hope Hicks. She's baack. Has been back for a couple weeks. She escaped her captor, so throw out Stockholm Syndrome on her. Sex? Eww. Absolutely not. From either's perspective. And I read today that Trump does consider Hopie, as he calls her, almost as another of his daughters. That's from his perspective. Does Hope feel a daughter-father bond with Trump? I would bet not, I obviously do not know, I just would bet not. But like Dr. Birx and Ms Conway Hope Hicks does play up to Trump. "You're very big, this is very small" was her way of trying to talk Trump off his anger ledge. Whether it works or not you're going to stay in Trump's good graces if you praise him. From their perspective why would the women want to stay in the good graces of "a pig of a man"? The article I read said that Hope missed being at the center of power and history and all of that. That gestures powerfully toward "super indispensable," that is from the woman's perspective; that would explain Kellyanne Conway, Deborah Birx too. Proximity to power, "power is the ultimate aphrodisiac," the woman behind the scenes, wanting to be "super indispensable," however phrased that notion seems to tick all the boxes.
"Super indispensable" comes at a cost. You're only as good as the reflected light you stand in. Once that light is gone, you may be too, literally. Ask, if you could, Jiang Jing, Madame Mao. Trump's is tarnished light. Stand in it and you too will stand in it's sickly orange glow. How many of Trump's ex's, men and women, went on to better things? Here is Sean Spicer's post-Trump career arc per Wikipedia:
After several low-profile months, Spicer made a cameo appearance at the presentation of the Emmy Awards...
Spicer announced in December 2017 on The Sean Hannity Show that he would release a book, The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President, in July 2018 about his tenure with the Trump administration.
On July 31, 2019, President Trump announced his intention to appoint Spicer to be a Member of the Board of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy.
In August 2019, Spicer was announced as a contestant on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars. This announcement was met with alarm...One ABC employee told CNN journalist Oliver Darcy: "It's a slap in the face to those of us who had to deal with his baloney and the consequences of the ongoing lies and disinformation campaign at the White House."...On the first installment of... the popular celebrity reality competition, Spicer wore a bright lime green shirt with ruffles while his dancing partner's dress prominently featured pineapples as they engaged in a salsa dance...
Starting in March 2020, Spicer hosts a political talk show for the channel Newsmax TV called Spicer & Co.
In other words, Sean Spicer hasn't been able to find work since. Who would want Spicer, Kellyanne Conway or Hope Hicks to work for them? They were nothing before working for Trump and will be nothing after he is gone. Deborah Birx was something before Trump but now? Man, who wants a doctor who turned in her lab coat and now wears a bright lime green shirt with ruffles and dances with a clown in a shirt with pineapples all over it. Dr. Birx will be selling snake oil on Fifth Avenue and doing commercials for Lysol.
Trump likes Dr. Birx for another reason: she flatters him. She does not correct him; she does not hold him accountable. She has praised his attention to detail in the coronavirus task force meetings even as she excuses his Light-&-Lysol suggestions with his non-participation and inattention in the task force meetings. He just got hit with the information on light before stepping on stage, she excused. He was processing. Out loud. On television. To the nation.
On Saturday the Second Unfortunate and I exchanged text messages about Kellyanne Conway. The exchange began with a link she sent me to an ad produced by the Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group co-founded by Kellyanne's husband George. It was a very good ad and I told the ex-Mrs. it was very good and added "Howja like to be a fly on the wall in that house hooo doggie." She replied, "I always think about that...Something insider her is going on."
Peut-être some unwanted sublimation addled my brain for I processed "insider" as "inside her" and directly went directly. "OHHH! Wait a MINUTE! You think Trumpie and Kellyanne are...playing doctor??? I had NEVER thought about that..." The ex-Mrs immediately shot that down, "No not that." She offered alternatively that Kellyanne "must be super indispensable or knows too much." That Kellyanne "knows too much" seemed to me preposterous. What more is there to know about Trump that can be damaging over and above what we already know? "Super indispensable" again touched my brain on that spot as any mention of numbers touched Mrs Smallweed to go off on money. Trump is a cuckold. Melanoma does not give him sex. Sex seems super indispensable to Trump, ergo, Kellyanne is super indispensable as a sexual outlet. No, rejoined the Unfortunate. Me: "It may just be trust, Trump trusts her."
I then tried to focus on the subject solely from Kellyanne's perspective. Forget why Trump finds her super indispensable, why does Kellyanne find Trump super indispensable? This cannot be good for the Conway marriage. Why would Kellyanne stand so loyally by Trump's side at the cost of damage to her marriage? "I've NO idea," the Second Unfortunate. The exchange then petered out as text exchanges do. In the end my ex had convinced me that whatever it was it was not sex.
Women (generalizations incoming) can be fiercely loyal to and protective of, men, even "a pig of a man" like Trump. Hillary Clinton. Sometimes not their husbands though. Their sons? Yes. Sometimes. Sometimes not. Moreso than husbands? I think so. The mothering instinct? Yes, women have that. The daughter-father bond? Ivanka Trump. I would generalize that the daughter-father bond is more often (not always) stronger than the wife-husband bond. Is that what is going on in the Kellyanne-Trump relationship? Trump is old enough to be Kellyanne's father, but Kellyanne is 53. I don't see that from either's perspective. Obviously not in the Birx-Trump relationship. Do women, generally, have a more intense need to be "super indispensable" than do men? I don't know. Stockholm Syndrome? There certainly is some of that with Trump's cult.
I ended my own ruminations on that string of misogynistic maybes and maybe nots.
Then yesterday I realized that there was another instantiation of this constellation of speculations, Hope Hicks. She's baack. Has been back for a couple weeks. She escaped her captor, so throw out Stockholm Syndrome on her. Sex? Eww. Absolutely not. From either's perspective. And I read today that Trump does consider Hopie, as he calls her, almost as another of his daughters. That's from his perspective. Does Hope feel a daughter-father bond with Trump? I would bet not, I obviously do not know, I just would bet not. But like Dr. Birx and Ms Conway Hope Hicks does play up to Trump. "You're very big, this is very small" was her way of trying to talk Trump off his anger ledge. Whether it works or not you're going to stay in Trump's good graces if you praise him. From their perspective why would the women want to stay in the good graces of "a pig of a man"? The article I read said that Hope missed being at the center of power and history and all of that. That gestures powerfully toward "super indispensable," that is from the woman's perspective; that would explain Kellyanne Conway, Deborah Birx too. Proximity to power, "power is the ultimate aphrodisiac," the woman behind the scenes, wanting to be "super indispensable," however phrased that notion seems to tick all the boxes.
"Super indispensable" comes at a cost. You're only as good as the reflected light you stand in. Once that light is gone, you may be too, literally. Ask, if you could, Jiang Jing, Madame Mao. Trump's is tarnished light. Stand in it and you too will stand in it's sickly orange glow. How many of Trump's ex's, men and women, went on to better things? Here is Sean Spicer's post-Trump career arc per Wikipedia:
After several low-profile months, Spicer made a cameo appearance at the presentation of the Emmy Awards...
Spicer announced in December 2017 on The Sean Hannity Show that he would release a book, The Briefing: Politics, the Press, and the President, in July 2018 about his tenure with the Trump administration.
On July 31, 2019, President Trump announced his intention to appoint Spicer to be a Member of the Board of Visitors to the United States Naval Academy.
In August 2019, Spicer was announced as a contestant on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars. This announcement was met with alarm...One ABC employee told CNN journalist Oliver Darcy: "It's a slap in the face to those of us who had to deal with his baloney and the consequences of the ongoing lies and disinformation campaign at the White House."...On the first installment of... the popular celebrity reality competition, Spicer wore a bright lime green shirt with ruffles while his dancing partner's dress prominently featured pineapples as they engaged in a salsa dance...
Starting in March 2020, Spicer hosts a political talk show for the channel Newsmax TV called Spicer & Co.
In other words, Sean Spicer hasn't been able to find work since. Who would want Spicer, Kellyanne Conway or Hope Hicks to work for them? They were nothing before working for Trump and will be nothing after he is gone. Deborah Birx was something before Trump but now? Man, who wants a doctor who turned in her lab coat and now wears a bright lime green shirt with ruffles and dances with a clown in a shirt with pineapples all over it. Dr. Birx will be selling snake oil on Fifth Avenue and doing commercials for Lysol.