So, I absolutely love everything about this article.
I think what I love about this aesthetic is that it is so unapologetic.
Like, yeah, they want to be hot and don’t care if someone thinks it’s “too much” or déclassé.
I’m probably biased because I grew up on a farm in Iowa but the thing I like about the “Midwest car dealership owner” class is that well many of them are quite wealthy….they aren’t too good to come over for chili and watch the Husker game.
PS- The book Madness Under the Royal Palms is a fascinating look into Palm Beach 🏝️
Chess, most interestingly, is fascinating in its capacity to enable the study of cross-cultural hierarchies in a nascently multicultural setup. What I mean by this is, if we compare any two players from different, entirely bifurcated tournament rings and figure out what the win probability is for one against the other, their ELO scores basically enable us to know the win probabilities of just about everyone on the servers. Well, maybe you need a few more measurements to get the standard deviation or skill expression, but in theory, even a single measurement should provide you a significant amount of information.
I mention this because, as you can see, and it's exemplified quite well in Trump World, there are different aesthetic sensibilities pursued by Americans in different social milieus. The RFK musculature but questionable skin health and gravely voice would be completely out of place in academia and the more refined presentation on old-school Wall Street types is antithetical to the visible plastic surgery or tan product usage in the Fox News sphere. What the Trump parade does, however, capture is that all these people do succeed in, or almost succeed in, apotheosizing the aesthetics of their respective constituencies, all of which coincidentally have a place in the Trump coalition.
Kash Patel is a good example of your heteronormative-but-inclusive, multiracial whiteness concept. He fit the masculinist aesthetic more than Vivek Ramaswamy and so survived the first round of purges.
Tom Homan is another iconic figure just for his ‘skullcrusher’ aesthetics: imposing build, icy stare, military and merciless vibes.
It's yet another way Trump is disintermediating the legacy media. Aesthetics is a way to cut through selective editing and bad faith questions... especially when you still have all the Boomers that watch the nightly network news shows.
This also raises the question of how the "greater 2010's" will potentially age. Assuming Trump is successful in establishing a new cultural equilibrium a la Reagan, the "2010's" (really late Obama to Biden COVID era) could become a retrospective cultural black hole on par with the mid to late 70's.
I hate Trump and MAGA in general, but, good piece. The irony of the MAGA aesthetic being perhaps the one closest to what America signifies explains a lot.
One more thought: this aesthetic used to have its home on the left- JFK, even Bill Clinton were considered handsome by female voters, and Democrats had plenty of celebs who were more than comfortable being attractive for the hell of it. The right has SNL-church lady types and weirdo accountant looking types.
Good article, but what is one to do if one is a Trump supporter who isn't a jock, model, or nerd? Just watch from the sidelines? Plenty of dull, fat, and even ugly (MTG) people in the Trump coalition, for instance.
Seems like above all else, Trump values loyalty and ass-kissing, though. You can be a past renegade, like JD was, just so long as you grovel on your knees, beg Trump's forgiveness, and thoroughly lick Trump's ass this time around. A jock, model, or nerd who doesn't lick and suck Trump's ass probably wouldn't be welcomed in the Trump coalition.
If you want to see an example of how Trump, or at least his supporters, treat an attractive person who stands in their way, just take a look at what happened to Officer Caroline Edwards:
So, I absolutely love everything about this article.
I think what I love about this aesthetic is that it is so unapologetic.
Like, yeah, they want to be hot and don’t care if someone thinks it’s “too much” or déclassé.
I’m probably biased because I grew up on a farm in Iowa but the thing I like about the “Midwest car dealership owner” class is that well many of them are quite wealthy….they aren’t too good to come over for chili and watch the Husker game.
PS- The book Madness Under the Royal Palms is a fascinating look into Palm Beach 🏝️
Totally. I’ll check out that book — thanks.
Chess, most interestingly, is fascinating in its capacity to enable the study of cross-cultural hierarchies in a nascently multicultural setup. What I mean by this is, if we compare any two players from different, entirely bifurcated tournament rings and figure out what the win probability is for one against the other, their ELO scores basically enable us to know the win probabilities of just about everyone on the servers. Well, maybe you need a few more measurements to get the standard deviation or skill expression, but in theory, even a single measurement should provide you a significant amount of information.
I mention this because, as you can see, and it's exemplified quite well in Trump World, there are different aesthetic sensibilities pursued by Americans in different social milieus. The RFK musculature but questionable skin health and gravely voice would be completely out of place in academia and the more refined presentation on old-school Wall Street types is antithetical to the visible plastic surgery or tan product usage in the Fox News sphere. What the Trump parade does, however, capture is that all these people do succeed in, or almost succeed in, apotheosizing the aesthetics of their respective constituencies, all of which coincidentally have a place in the Trump coalition.
Brilliant observation.
Kash Patel is a good example of your heteronormative-but-inclusive, multiracial whiteness concept. He fit the masculinist aesthetic more than Vivek Ramaswamy and so survived the first round of purges.
Tom Homan is another iconic figure just for his ‘skullcrusher’ aesthetics: imposing build, icy stare, military and merciless vibes.
Absolutely. Homan has notable Nebraska-90s-Oline physiognomy. https://www.volumepigs.com/p/make-farm-ball-great-again
Man, love this topic. Great read!
Thanks Joel, it was fun to write. Just decided to let er rip.
It's yet another way Trump is disintermediating the legacy media. Aesthetics is a way to cut through selective editing and bad faith questions... especially when you still have all the Boomers that watch the nightly network news shows.
This also raises the question of how the "greater 2010's" will potentially age. Assuming Trump is successful in establishing a new cultural equilibrium a la Reagan, the "2010's" (really late Obama to Biden COVID era) could become a retrospective cultural black hole on par with the mid to late 70's.
Good piece.
I hate Trump and MAGA in general, but, good piece. The irony of the MAGA aesthetic being perhaps the one closest to what America signifies explains a lot.
Thanks, glad you liked it.
Last thought: would the shift still have happened, ironically, if Kamala won? She is, after all, a conventionally attractive woman.
No, the vibe shift definitely would not have happened under Harris. It would’ve gotten worse (I say this as someone who voted for her)
One more thought: this aesthetic used to have its home on the left- JFK, even Bill Clinton were considered handsome by female voters, and Democrats had plenty of celebs who were more than comfortable being attractive for the hell of it. The right has SNL-church lady types and weirdo accountant looking types.
What happened?
Good article, but what is one to do if one is a Trump supporter who isn't a jock, model, or nerd? Just watch from the sidelines? Plenty of dull, fat, and even ugly (MTG) people in the Trump coalition, for instance.
Seems like above all else, Trump values loyalty and ass-kissing, though. You can be a past renegade, like JD was, just so long as you grovel on your knees, beg Trump's forgiveness, and thoroughly lick Trump's ass this time around. A jock, model, or nerd who doesn't lick and suck Trump's ass probably wouldn't be welcomed in the Trump coalition.
If you want to see an example of how Trump, or at least his supporters, treat an attractive person who stands in their way, just take a look at what happened to Officer Caroline Edwards:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caroline_Edwards
It's very satisfying to see good looking, well-groomed people again.
And tell your friend I'll take the good-looking midwestern car dealer men. They're hawt.
Jesus Christ, that’s what RFK looks like without his shirt on!?
Usha won’t be on the cover of Vogue and we all know why.
Why, because she's part of the Trump admin - or something else? I can see the media making her the one acceptable figure in that respect. Vogue's already written favorably about her https://www.vogue.com/article/4-things-to-know-about-usha-vance
It’s an article on aesthetics. Go complain about the wetness of water.
Yes — Trump uses his aesthetic finesse to distract from his bad behavior.