Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface xiii
4. 1 Trump’s Family Romance and the Magic of Television 1
5. 2 Gaslight and the Shock Politics Two- Step 13
6. 3 The President’s House Is Empty: Inauguration Day 33
7. 4 He Said, He Said: The Feminization of James Comey 39
8. 5 The Members- Only President Goes to Alabama 46
9. 6 An Empire unto Himself? Harvey Weinstein’s Downfall 52
10. 7 Race and the Revolving Door of (Un)Reality TV 56
11. 8 They Want Civility, Let’s Give It to Them 62
12. 9 Stormy Daniels’s #MeToo Moment 70
13. 10 The Trump Doctrine 76
14. 11 Jon Stewart and the Limits of Mockery 81
15. 12 Bullying Canada: An American Presidential Tradition 86
16. 13 House Renovations: For Christine Blasey Ford 92
17. 14 No Collision: Opting Out of Catastrophe 98
18. 15 Epstein, Barr, and the Virus of Civic Fatigue (with Sara Rushing) 107
19. 16 Mueller, They Wrote 112
20. 17 Unbelievable: Scenes from a Structure 117
21. 18 Gothic Girls: Bombshell’s Variation on a Theme 126
22. 19 Boxed In: Debbie Dingell vs. Donald Trump 130
23. 20 Mediating Masculinity: Rambo Republicanism and the Long Iran Crisis 138
24. 21 “13 Angry Democrats”? A Noir Reading of 12 Angry Men 145
25. 22 In the Streets a Serenade: Siena under Lockdown 153
26. 23 Isn’t It Ironic? Spitballing in a Pandemic 157
27. 24 Build That Wall: The Politics of Motherhood in Portland 163
28. 25 Impenetrable: Gaslighting the 14th Amendment 171
29. 26 “Hallelujah”: The People Want Their House Back 178
30. 27 Loose Threads 184
31. Acknowledgments 195
32. Notes 199
33. Credits 241