Something had been gnawing at me.  But I could not quite put my finger on it.  I had to draw on my creative process, especially the observation skills.  I needed to remember it’s not always what you see.  Sometimes, it’s more important what you don’t see.  And there it “wasn’t.”

From his first day on the job, Sean Spicer seemed out of place.  And it took his being replaced with Anthony Scaramucci to see why that was.  And as if the change in Trump world personnel was not enough, “the Mooch” himself, appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” laid it out when he told host Jake Tapper he would do whatever he could to make Sean’s replacement Sarah Huckabee Sanders “better.”  His first piece of advice?

Sarah, if you’re watching, I loved the hair and makeup person that we had on Friday. So, I would like to continue to use the hair and makeup person.

Trump World has always been about appearance versus substance.  Every time I see Donald Trump, I cannot help but think of Harold Hill, the traveling salesman and con artist in Meredith Wilson’s The Music Man.  When Trump talks about American carnage, he might as well be singing, “There’s Trouble in River City.”  Except in this latest off-Broadway revival the river is the Potomac.  And while “professor” Hill pretends to be a music teacher and band leader, “president” Trump has also made many promises he never intended to fulfill. And, like Harold Hill, he plans to leave town with  his  pockets lined with ill-gotten gains.

Which brings us back to Scaramucci.  Sean Spicer was, like Marian the librarian, a native of River City who Trump enlisted to help sell his message to the naive residents of a rural Iowa town. But, as we now know, while Trump will say anything to lure the common folk into his web, he prefers to spend his time with the rich and beautiful.  His women must be beautiful.  One can only imagine whether Ivana would be first lady if only she had stayed in shape like Emmanuel Macron.  His male companions must be equally handsome and wear Armani suits. (Oh, I forget, with the exception of the Russian ambassador to the United States and the Russian foreign minister.)

As I watched excerpts from Scaramucci’s press briefing on Friday, my first reaction was, “Did Donald and Ivana have a third son we’ve never seen before?  Or has Trump green lighted a cloning program at NIH?”  Until Friday, I always thought Jared Kushner was “Mini-Me” to Trump’s “Dr. Evil.”  But Jared only looked like a Trump.  Scaramucci is the whole package.  Apparently, he shares the boss’s addiction to alternative facts and a vision of this bizarro world on the Potomac where everything is going just fine and everyone loves Trump.

Spicer’s immediate resignation following Scaramucci’s appointment as White House communication director was consistent with The Music Man’s story line.  Did Sean, like Marian, eventually see through the scam?  One can only hope so  and that enough of Trump’s supporters come to the same conclusion. Otherwise, the “Shipoopi”* will certainly hit the fan.

*For those unfamiliar with the score, “Shipoopi” is a musical number in Act II of The Music Man, sung by Harold Hill’s former partner-in-crime Marcellus Washburn in which he explains the mystical forces which are bringing Harold and Marian together.

For what its worth.
Dr. ESP