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 standardsthat he expects them to satisfy.
According to Zac Seidler, a clinical psychologist, beneath the Trump Cabinet tough guy exterior “all you see is fragility.”
“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.” Trump uses appearance-based criticism as a tool of power. Rose 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.” 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. His surrogates frequently tout his vitality, and the president often connects himself with men who evince masculine traits, including musclebound influencers — reinforcing a narrow, performative version of acceptable manhood. 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.
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