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Donald Trump soaks up the crowd at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

By Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Long before he embarked on the ultimate ego trip, leveraging his celebrity to seize the highest levels of political power, Donald Trump spent decades obsessed with appearances. An outer-borough boy from Queens who grew up longing to make his name in Manhattan, Trump flecked his every home with gold, bleached his teeth, and blew out his hair in a gaudy simulacrum of wealth. He called gossip pages and other reporters, adopting a fictitious P.R. persona, to give scoops about himself, hoping to see his name in print. He ran beauty pageants and created his own reality show where he could star. Like a modern-day Midas, he branded everything he touched, and licensed his name so that entire stretches of Manhattans West side would bear the words TRUMP, spelled out in three foot-high golden letters, reflecting across the Hudson River. He did interview after interview picking apart the appearances of foes and friends alikeextolling the attractiveness of his own daughter, for one, while calling Rosie ODonnell a fat pig.

Americans witnessed this childish display throughout the 2016 campaign and, it seems, his fans approved. They cheered his rhetorical assault on the establishment, the status quo, bien-pensant thinking and sensibilities. Trumps core support never wavered, even when he ripped into the looks of Alicia Machado, or dismissed allegations of sexual harassment by claiming his accusers were not attractive enough to warrant his attention, or when he retweeted an image contrasting a less-than-flattering photo of Ted Cruzs wife with a stunning shot of his wife, Melania (his third spouse, all three of whom were former models).

This translates into a fixation on how Trump himself is perceived, too. Thats why he could not stop talking about how well he was doing in polls and how many people showed up to his rallies. Its why he insisted that Mexicans loved him even as he called them rapists and repeatedly promised to build a wall to keep bad hombres out of the United States. Only Trump alone would be able to save the American people from the dismal picture he painted of the state of the nation, because he was the smartest, the best deal-maker, the most respected, he would say. Perhaps this is why, too, as his doctor admitted in a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump takes a prostate-related drug, Propecia, to ward off male-pattern baldness.

Old habits die hard, particularly for 70-year-old billionaires, which is why, even with the nuclear football tucked under his arm and the weight of the free world on his shoulders, Trump remains deeply concerned about the visuals of his presidency. According to a new report from Axios, sources close to Trump noted that the president chose his Cabinet nominees based, in part, on who best looked the part (General James Mattis and his strut got the nomination over General David Petraeus, who Trump noted to aides was quite short). He expects his staff to wear tiesthe wider the betterand the women who work for him to dress like women, which often means pressure to wear dresses.

Donald Trump is far from the first narcissist infatuated with optics to work in Washington. But the magnitude of both his position and his attention to appearance while in that role is stunning. On the first morning he woke up in the White House, for instance, he reportedly personally called Park Services in order to discuss photos they posted of the size of his inaugural crowds. That same day, he used his speech at C.I.A. headquarters to again talk about how many people came out to watch him take the oath of office, and he sent his press secretary Sean Spicer into the White House briefing room to falsely claim that it was the most-watched inauguration in history. (Trump was reportedly furious with Spicer afterward, not because he blatantly lied to the American people or stormed out of the room, but because he did not approve of his ill-fitting suit, pin-striped suit.)

Trump continued to focus on superficial details and perceived slights as his presidency entered its second week, even as his hastily-written executive order restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries provoked mass protests in the U.S., confusion within his own agencies, and outrage around the world. When he had the chance to talk to Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday, he boasted about his electoral college win and ended the call early after clashing over a refugee resettlement agreement,The Washington Post reported. On Wednesday, he turned a brief speech commemorating the start of Black History Month into a rant against the media, particularly CNN, which he called fake news. And at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington on Thursday morning, Trump joked onstage that we should be praying for Arnold Schwarzenegger and his ratings for The Apprentice, the reality show the former California governor took over when Trump stepped down from the gig.

While Trump seems to care a great deal about his electoral win and his crowds and his ratings, he does not appear to give that same attention to keeping key allies, advisers, and partners in his good graces. Both Rex Tillerson, who was sworn in as secretary of state on Wednesday, and Department of Homeland Security chief John Kelly were reportedly upset with the president for not giving them enough time to review Trumps immigration order before he signed it on Friday. On a call with Mexican president Enrique Pea Nieto last week, after Trump blew up their planned meeting with a series of tweets about the country paying for his planned wall at the border, Business Insider reports that Trump was offensive, told him that he was going to pay for the wall whether he liked it or not, and threatened to use military force to fight the drug trade if they couldnt handle it themselves (both sides have called the phone conversation friendly). A source told me last week that the canceled meeting infuriated Trumps usually unflappable son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, who had spent a full day brokering it.

Political observers have long hoped that Trump might rise above his insecurities now that he understands the grave responsibilities of the presidency, with all its attendant briefings on secret intelligence and sobering insights into national security. Yet, Trump does not seem to be sweating this big stuff. Instead, he seems to be becoming smaller, and more petulant, every day. Spicers tie, the number of people who watched his Supreme Court nomination announcement, these get under his skin. Alienating and prematurely hanging up on a critical American ally trying to talk about Syrian refugees? Who has time for that when there are Apprentice ratings to poke fun of and cable news pundits, talking about him, to watch?

Seth Meyers

John McEnroe and Diane von Furstenberg

Claire Bernard

Jimmy Buffett

Kelly Meyer, Carey Lowell, and Jean Pigozzi

Peggy and Mickey Drexler

Rhea Suh and Hasan Minhaj

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Seth Meyers

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

John McEnroe and Diane von Furstenberg

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Claire Bernard

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Jimmy Buffett

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Cocktail service at the after-party.

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Andy and Betsy Kenny Lack and Imran Khan

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Robyn Todd Steinberg and David Steinberg

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Harvey Weinstein and Lloyd Blankfein

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A box of popcorn was placed at each seat ahead of the performance.

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John Oliver

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Mike Birbiglia

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

A scene from the after-party, also held at 583 Park Avenue.

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Leslie Moonves, Tom Freston, and Bryant Gumbel

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Jane Buffett

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David Zaslav, Len Blavatnik, and Richard Plepler

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Ronald O. Perelman

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George Lopez

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Kelly Meyer, Carey Lowell, and Jean Pigozzi

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Peggy and Mickey Drexler

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

Rhea Suh and Hasan Minhaj

Photograph by Hannah Thomson.

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Donald Trump's Vanity Is Destroying His Presidency - Vanity Fair

Reddit has banned three major alt-right subreddits for breaching the companys content policy as part of an overall strategy to stamp out extremism on the site initiated by former CEO Ellen Pao.

The so-called Alt-right arelargely known for their vehement anti-liberal stance, oftenfavoring white supremacist views instead.

This new ban targets the /r/altright, /r/rightyfriends and /r/alternativeright subreddits on the site, although the company has only alluded to breaches in the companys content policy as to why it shut them down, and has yet to make an official public statement on the ban.

Speculation is rife online, however, that the real reason for the shutdown centers around an incident involving controversial, alt-right figurehead Richard Spencer.

More specifically, following the attack on Spencer, a fund was set up on the controversial website wesearchr to identify Spencers assailant, with a bounty of $5,353 offered for information leading to his identification.

READ MORE: Alt-right leader sucker punched by masked man during DC protest rally (VIDEO)

This practice, known as doxxing, relates to the the proliferation of personal and confidential information for malicious purposes. Many online commentators and journalists believe repeated discussion of and links to this particular attempt at doxxing is the main catalyst for the ban.

Reddit is the proud home to some of the most authentic conversations online. We strive to be a welcoming, open platform for all by trusting our users to maintain an environment that cultivates genuine conversation and adheres to our content policy, the company said in a statement.

We knew this day was coming, so it comes as no surprise... But the admins are playing a losing game of whack-a-mole here, user /u/MortalSisyphus, a former /r/altright moderator of the subreddit, said in a statement.The more the established political institutions try to maintain the status quo and marginalize us, the more they will drive free-thinking, independent lovers of truth to our side.

READ MORE: Twitter suspends alt-right WeSearchr on back of dubious bounty offer

A former senior moderator of the altright subreddit, who identified himself as Bill Simpson, told The Daily Beast, however, that he believed moderators on the site had been overly strict.

So much for leftist tolerance, Simpson said. Our moderator team enforced stricter standards of behavior than reddit requires, and our users were very prompt at reporting violations so we could ban violators and delete posts and comments that broke the rules.

While Reddit has long been known as a champion of freedom of speech, there has seemingly been a recent dramatic shift in policy. During the US presidential campaign, Reddits CEO Steve Huffman even admitted to directly editing posts directly attacking or referencing him in the dedicated Donald Trump subreddit, /r/The_Donald.

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'Alt-right' groups banned from Reddit in shock move - RT

CECILIA DAVENPORT, an Alt-Right blogger, likes to tweet "fan-girl" photos of Richard Spencer (pictured), the movements unofficial leader. In one photo, Mr Spencer, who in November held a conference in Washington, DC to celebrate what he described as a white nationalist awakening, is shown talking on the phone: Heil girl, lets get daiquiris later and talk about making you queen of the ethnostateof my heart. The memes are an ironic take on the popular Hey girl meme in which Ryan Gosling, a Hollywood actor, is shown as a feminist boyfriend, saying things like Hey girl, sure Ill unload the dishwasher for you. Just let me finish folding and putting away the laundry first.

Ms Davenport is one of a small number of women who publicly identify themselves as members of the Alt-Right. Mr Spencer has said he believes women constitute around one-fifth of the movements followers. A video from the November conference is revealing: it shows attendees giving Nazi salutes, all of them men. Peter Brimelow, another Alt-Right leader who runs VDARE, an anti-immigration site, says this is because women are not drawn to radical politics. He points to the protesters that inevitably surround Alt-Right events: These people are obscene and violent. The police will not stop them. Very few women, and not many men, want to subject themselves to that sort of risk.

It is an odd kind of thinking that sees danger in democratic protests against fascism and white supremacism. But this is consistent with the Alt-Rights sense of being victims in a liberal society. The notion that women shy away from dangerous politics does not hold up, of course: they have led some of Americas most radical movements, including labour reform, prohibition, and abolitionnot to mention womens suffrage.

A more likely explanation is that white nationalism valorises a distinctly macho culture. I love empire, I love power, I love achievement, Mr Spencer has said. The movement is founded on white dispossessionthe idea that immigration and multiculturalism will leave white people marginalised and dispossessed. It offers men a role as heroic protectors. Followers of the movement see liberal politics and political correctness, by contrast, as a form of oversensitive, feminine hysteria: Who can respect such pathetic crybabies? Mr Spencer has tweeted. Mainstream conservatism is similarly held in contempt.

For white men who feel displaced and emasculated by a society in which women and minorities are treated as their equals, this culture can be appealing. It is less clear what it has to offer women. But Ms Davenport is not convinced that the movement fails to attract women. I dont actually think there are so few women in the Alt-Right, she says. She knows of at least 100 herself, she says, who are followers. Women tend to be more private, she reckons, and less likely to signal their support publicly.

Nevertheless, Ms Davenport and another blogger, Wolfie James, are working to pull more women into the movement, by giving advice to men. For those whose partners are resistant to Alt-Right ideology, Ms James has written an online guide. How to red pill your woman suggests tactics like triggering the fear of assault by immigrants because women are more emotional than rational.

Executive disorder: Crowds protest against Donald Trumps immigration ban

The next justice: Donald Trump taps Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court

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No women's march: Women and the Alt-Right | The Economist - The Economist (blog)

The University of California, Berkeley has cancelled a speech by rightwing internet troll Milo Yiannopoulos after thousands of students gathered in protest and a group of black-clad anti-fascist activists shot fireworks at the speech venue.

The Martin Luther King Jr student union was heavily fortified behind several layers of police barricades when protesters began gathering outside at 5pm on Wednesday, three hours before the event was scheduled to start.

The gathering was boisterous but peaceful until about 6pm, when several dozen protesters wearing black face masks and carrying glittering flags arrived. The group quickly attacked the police barricades, then began shooting firecrackers at the building. Some used barricades to smash windows.

After about 15 minutes, a police officer announced that the event was cancelled.

Some cheered when the police announced the cancellation, but others continued to jeer and call for the police to send Milo out to face the crowd. Milo isnt here, one police officer shouted amid the din. Milo isnt here.

Around 6pm local time, Yiannopoulos posted a statement on Facebook claiming that the Left is absolutely terrified of free speech and will do literally anything to shut it down.

After the event was cancelled, and after the crowd watched a light pole that had been set aflame burn itself out, the atmosphere in the crowd quickly turned festive.

A large sound system was turned on, blasting music. The first song played was YGs Fuck Donald Trump.

At one point riot police on the student unions second floor appeared to fire non-lethal weapons at the crowd, but it was unclear what kind.

We wont put up with the violent rhetoric of Milo, Trump or the fascistic alt-right, said a Berkeley history student who declined to give his name. The student, who was dressed in black and wore a face mask, carried a banner that read Queers bash back. He said he identified with the antifa (anti-fascist) movement.

We are willing to resist by any means necessary, he added.

Lana Wachowski, another protester, defended using extreme tactics to deny Yiannopolous a platform. The moral imperative is to win, she said. Theres something to be said for fighting according to a code, but if you lose, people are going to die. People are going to get deported.

Its absolutely acceptable to use violence. They are 100% certain to use it against us.

Trump threatened to pull federal funding from Berkeley in a tweet sent early on Thursday morning:

The Yiannopoulos event, which was sponsored by the Berkeley College Republicans, has divided the former home of the free speech movement in recent weeks. Many students, alumni and community members demanded that action be taken to stop Yiannopoulos from spreading his racist and transphobic views.

Last week, university chancellor Nicholas Dirks defended Yiannopouloss right to speak on campus, though he described the Breitbart editor as a troll and provocateur who uses odious behavior in parts to entertain, but also to deflect any serious engagement with ideas whose act [is] at odds with the values of this campus.

Dirks also addressed Yiannopouloss tendency to single out individual students on stage such as a transgender student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for mockery and abuse, which the chancellor said does not justify prior restraint on his freedom of expression.

The Berkeley College Republicans said in a statement that the opportunity to invite Yiannopoulos was too good to pass up, though it disclaimed that the group does not agree with everything Milo has said or done, and totally disavow [sic] any violence or hurt that could result from this event.

Just hours before the protests, Reddit banned an alt-right subreddit page, r/altright, that had become a community for white nationalists. The page now reads: This subreddit was banned due to a violation of our content policy, specifically, the proliferation of personal and confidential information.

Yiannopoulos is a well-known figure in the rightwing internet, though he was permanently banned from Twitter in July 2016 for instigating racist and sexist abuse of Ghostbusters actor Leslie Jones. Since 2015, Yiannopoulos has traveled to university campuses as part of his Dangerous Faggot tour, frequently provoking student protests.

A protester was shot and seriously injured outside a Yiannopoulos speech at the University of Washington on 20 January, reportedly by a Trump supporter who was seeking Yiannopouloss autograph.

This article was amended on 2 February 2017. An earlier version referred to the University of Wisconsin Madison where the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was meant.

Link:
UC Berkeley cancels 'alt-right' speaker Milo Yiannopoulos as thousands protest - The Guardian

The alt-right started 2017 strong.

Donald Trump, hero to the white nationalist movement, was inaugurated as president. Richard Spencer, would-be head of the movement, launched a new website and announced plans for a national tour. And the Reddit channel /altright/, a main congregating point for the largely-online movement, saw 5,000 new subscribers in just one month.

We started at 11,870 and as of this posting, we have 16,445, wrote the Reddit user TomorrowBelongsToUs. Keep spreading the word. This is the place to red-pill people.

Red-pill is a term used by the alt-right to signify ones political awakening to white nationalism.

Act like your posts and responses are reaching thousands of people whom you want to red pill, because they are! Be welcoming to new people and always follow reddits rules, TommorowBelongsToUs went on.

On a thread dedicated to the surge in alt-right subscribers, users debated what it meant that there was an uptick in interestamong a wider range of groups than some had expected.

I am strongly in favor of welcoming people who can be an asset to our movement, and even welcome blacks to discuss with us, wrote One_Winged_Rook, but Jews simply have no place here.

The user went on: They are not welcome by me, and its something I feel we should all agree on.

The alt-right has conflicted and complex views of Jews and Israel. The question of how Jews fit into the movement and the white nation more broadly is a source of division within alt-right ranks.

Other users were surprised that their alt-right sub-Reddit had not been shut down.

TBH its shocking we havent been shoahd, the user LeoMacht wrote.

Shoah is a reference to the Holocaust. The term is used here as a verb and has taken on meaning in the alt-right to mean killed or shut down.

Another user shared that they were one of those thousands of subscribers who had recently been drawn to the alt-right.

I came here on a whim because I kept hearing people refer to the alt right like some kind of nazi hate group and I wanted to see what it is all about, wrote Revrant. Needless to say, it isnt a hate group. I feel like the SJWs and BS like that basically created the alt right, or the need for the alt right.

SJW, or social justice warrior, is a is a pejorative term used to refer to progressive activists.

Revrant went on: People get tired of them trying to re-define reality.

Email Sam Kestenbaum at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum

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White Nationalist 'Alt-Right' Celebrates a Banner Month - Forward