Even though New Republic senior editor Elspeth Reeve is a liberal she seems to be wildly, madly in love with Donald Trump. In fact, she appears to be so crazy in love with Trump that by her own admission she can't stop staring at pictures of him. Reeve, sounding like a love struck groupie, confesses her obsession with Trump's face. She even has thoughts about porn when staring at Trump's face which gives you an idea of how bizarrely captivated she is about The Donald.
...he is very good to look at. Because unlike most of the other candidates, Trump shows real emotion. He’s not afraid to make himself look really ugly. And this is one of the most important components of the aura of “authenticity” Trump projects.
Hmmm... Reeve seems impressed by authenticity. Keep in mind that she was married to serial fabulist Scott Thomas Beachamp who succeeded Stephen Glass at the The New Republic in the field of fantasy. Back to Reeve's obsession with Trump:
For months, I cropped high-quality photos of his face, scrutinizing different angles for the most ridiculous expression that would befit a story about, say, Trump's unbelievable bragging about his wealth, or his admission that he was just a teeny bit birther. The best is a classic Getty Images shot from a rally in Boca Raton, in which his face is frozen the most beautiful (hideous) square-ish O, a mixture of a child's tantrum and an opera singer. You rarely get to know a face so well unless it belongs to your significant other.
How does the face of your serial fabulist significant other rate on the authenticity scale?
There are countless images of him looking angry, with his lips smushed into an almost obscene oval.
...My favorite is his maniacal conspiratorial smile, which usually flashes by almost too quick to catch. I have to slow down my recordings and go frame by frame to capture it. But the effort is worth it.
...Trump's face will be one of the most exciting parts of the GOP debate on Wednesday. Usually in these debates, politicians are smothering one emotion with the facial expression of a more pleasant one.
...You don't have to wait an entire campaign for a single frame of video showing real anger on Trump's face. With Trump, there is no pretense of civility, whether with other candidates or journalists. There are many YouTube supercuts of Hillary Clinton fake-laughing away reporters' questions. If Trump doesn't like a question, his face will show contempt and disgust, and he might mock the reporter to her face. Which response you prefer depends on whether you value good manners over sincerity. But Trump doesn't appear to care about your preference.
Turn up the mood music turn down the lights, and fill up the jacuzzi for now Reeve's Trump face fascination goes really intense into the realm of porn, baby!
Porn offers some insight into the magic of Trump’s face. In David Foster Wallace’s report on the Adult Video News Awards in Consider the Lobster, he argues that porn feels mechanical and lifeless because of the performers’ faces, which appear bored but actually show “the self locked away someplace far behind the eyes.” Wallace writes, “Surely this hiddenness is the way a human being who’s giving away the very most private parts of himself preserves some sense of dignity and autonomy—he denies us true expression.” But in the rare moments when "genuine erotic joy" washes over a performer's face, the "effect on the viewer is electric."
You can imagine the typical presidential candidate wants the same thing, a barrier between their true feelings and their Sunday show face. But Donald Trump doesn't seem to want a barrier.
Have you discussed this with your less than authentic serial fabulist if you are still with him? And speaking of authenticity, Reeve returns to that subject as she stares and stares and stares at Trump's face:
And that's one more reason we love Trump's face. Even as he shows authentic emotion, he's mocking the silliness of the way we elected presidents, as if he's saying to the viewer, "Can you believe how stupid this shit is?" There is something that feels very real in the way he casually acknowledges the artificiality of the situation—that we really would evaluate a presidential candidate by a single line in Ecclesiastes.
One can almost hear the sounds of "Love Is a Many Splendored" over the pounding of Elspeth's heart as she continues staring at the face of you know who.
