Oh, good grief. The latest thing to come out is that the ‘cabinet’ isn’t manly enough. So apparently, everyone has to make changes. It’s surprising to hear that Hegseth was included. After all, he considers himself the machismo manly man of all time. What a laugh! Now everyone has to do what they were told. I appreciate Raw Story:
Beyond the widely derided “Mar-a-Lago face” that is a staple among women in Donald Trump’s orbit, the New York Times is reporting that men working in the administration are also being scrutinized by the president, who has strict appearance standards that he expects them to satisfy. According to Zac Seidler, a clinical psychologist, beneath the Trump Cabinet tough guy exterior, “all you see is fragility.”
Oh, yes. It’s almost all about appearance. Whether or not they can do their *jobs* is secondary (see: Hegseth and Patel). They just have to look right. Why Trump cares about the men is beyond me. A guess would be that he thinks *he* is manly when he isn’t, so he’s forcing it on his sycophants (see: Marco Rubio’s Florsheim shoes). Trump certainly has some strange quirks. Pontificating about himself and cutting down *everyone* else is easy to explain. Menswear, not so much. The fragility (ha) is most likely not actually being able to do their jobs, and worrying about who is going to be fired next.
“It’s constant attempts at trying to cultivate a persona that in their eyes seems strong and powerful and dominant and stoic,” explained Seidler. Trump’s obsession with appearance extends to his own image, the Times’ Jesse McKinley wrote, noting that last fall, the president publicly groused about a Time magazine photo he claimed made him look bald — a moment that exposed the very insecurity his male staff members are forced to perform against.
Political scientist Dan Cassino explained how this dynamic plays out across the administration: “Men in the Trump administration are performing a very specific type of masculinity in order to try and appeal to Trump.” Hackman, author of “Emotional Labor,” explained the psychological mechanism: “Commenting on someone’s look or looks is one of the most basic forms of power play we have.”
Power play, indeed, and it seems to be Trump’s first weapon for the vast majority of the time. We have been shown this in his postings time and time again, as well as at various public events. That’s absolutely a known factor, and everyone blows it off, except, it seems, his ‘cabinet’. It’s a Trump tactic, and someone could lose their job at any time for anything since he’s so fickle, so why stress about appearance? (Only The Shadow knows.)
The system weaponizes insecurity against loyalty, with Hackman pointing out that what Trump has said about men in his inner circle “effectively reduces them to assets,” which can “make them feel like they have to be jumping around him, or else their status in his eyes could change at any time.”
The psychological toll is severe, McKinley elaborated. “That sort of presidential evaluation can trigger men’s insecurities, part of ‘this overarching belief that you must look and appear a certain way or you have failed.'” When appearance-based status can shift instantly, “the whole edifice shakes.” Trump has extended this image control beyond his staff.
Northwestern University professor Maryam Kouchaki, who studies workplace dynamics, described the underlying vulnerability, telling the Times: “It’s fragile. And it’s easily lost.” Masculinity, she notes, is constantly “earned“ and constantly under threat when it depends on external validation rather than internal substance.
Everyone has insecurities. One of mine is whether I am writing well enough. It’s known, and I do my best. But to be among Trump’s cabinet with this kind of nonsense has to wear them out. And maybe that’s part of why Todd Lyons is leaving. It’s a surprise that Trump went over a *year* before he fired someone. The way you look is a very serious concern. And almost everyone has that, too. Sitting at home vs going out in public is part of that. Trump will never let up. It’s up to them to decide how much they can take before leaving. Reminds me of a job I once had. We can assume this abuse will continue, so what will Trump come up with next?
See you soon!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise that among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a group of elderly, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
